After global hotel major Sheraton dumped the management contract of the five-star Everest Hotel, Marriott is all set to play the knight in shining armour.
"A memorandum of understanding has been signed with Marriott," Everest general manager Anil Ghai told Business Standard. Pointing out that a final contract will be formalised soon, Ghai also said the hotel will have the Marriott brand from June 2000.
The 160-room property, which is owned by M A Lari, is undergoing renovations and there is a proposal to expand the facilities further.
The Casino Everest, one of the four casinos in the Himalayan country, which is housed in The Everest, is also moving to a new place within the hotel campus, according to a hotel source. The vacant space will be utilised for the purpose of banquets etc, and the entire property development plan will be undertaken in consultation with the new partner, Marriott.
The hotel was previously managed by Sheraton. After the agreement between the two party was terminated, the promoter of the hotel decided to go solo, but later felt the need for an association with a global brand recognition.
Speaking about the need to have a global brand name attached to the property for a better brand image and service standard in the current tourism scenario, Ghai said,
"The five star hotel business in Kathmandu is becoming more and more competitive. To have an international marketing focus, we need to tie up with a strong international brands and Marriott is one of them."
Citing the cancellation of Indian Airlines flights from India as the reason behind the decline in hotel's occupancy, Ghai said, "The average occupancy of hotels had gone down about 15 per cent from 60 per cent.
However, five star properties have not been effected much as they have a very strong clientele from the western countries."
"There is about 32 per cent decline in Indian tourist traffic for the Nepalese tourism industry after the hijacking incident of Indian Airlines.
