Aitken Spence Hotels follows
general re-branding trends in tourism sector, but who’s going
to be next?
On the back of several re-branding exercises by
companies on their tourism sector, Aitken Spence also followed suit
in rebranding their hotels with the Heritance brand, making the
industry wonder who next.
Despite industry analysts claims that the Jetwing Group was the
next likely candidate to jump the bandwagon, its CEO Hiran Cooray
confirmed that they will not do so.
“We are purely into tourism, unlike the other companies who
opted for rebranding. We are definitely not planning to rebrand,”
he told The Sunday Times FT.
Industry analysts said that results of a recent survey carried out
by one of the conglomerates had revealed that the top of the mind
brand in the country is Jetwing. “The other companies did
not have such a strong brand name and this may be one of the main
reasons for them to rebrand,” an industry analyst said.
Aitken Spence and Company’s Managing Director, Rajan Britto
said that The Triton Ahungalla, rebranded as Heritance Ahungalla
will be launched as a five star hotel in late June after a $12 million
refurbishment.
Kandalama will follow with its new $6 million refurbishment as Heritance
Kandalama and The Tea Factory will be called Heritance Tea Factory.
“Ours is not just a paint job or a simple name change. The
brand DNA is the service factor and the name change is based on
heritage and inheritance,” he explained.
The leading global spa brand Sixth Sense has tied up with Aitken
Spence, on a joint management deal to construct a Rs. 125-million
exclusive Sixth Sense spa adjacent to Heritance Ahungalla.
Mr Britto said that 54 Villas will also be constructed in the adjacent
10 acres, while plans to construct 12 exclusive villas on the Madu
Ganga will start early next year.
John Keells with the Cinnamon and Chaaya brands brought together
their premier and second tier hotels together late last year and
during late last month respectively while the Connaissance Group
rebranded their properties with the Amaya brand earlier.
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