Cinnamon Grand adds more spice

The first hotel of the Made in Sri Lanka brand of Hospitality Cinnamon Hotels and Resorts, the Cinnamon Grand celebrating its first year of operations has achieved excellent results.

CEO Cinnamon Hotels and Resorts and Executive Vice President John Keells Holdings Rohan Karr said that after the group invested US$ 22 million on the refurbishment program of Cinnamon Grand, the chain's flagship hotel things were not bright and positive as we expected but nevertheless we kept our promise and worked on our people and our brand and that has paid off.

The hotel has been able to record a 50% growth in room revenue, Food and beverage as well as service charge.

He said that the hotel has recorded a 57% growth year on year on room revenue. Now our brand which is all about indulgence is unique among our competitors. In the Food and beverage market we have a 31% market share while the balance is shared by the other four city hotels.

The Cinnamon Grand has increased its staff strength from 958 to 1,156. The staff is positive and happy to work here. Last year the average service charge per employee was Rs. 10,000 per month while from 2006 it increased to Rs. 15,000 per employee per month.

The Hotel has added another feather to its cap by winning the Gold award for the best new entrant 2006 achieving a pinnacle of success in nine months of operations competing with 14 other organisations at the SLIM Brand Excellence Awards held in October 2006.

It is an award no other hotel has won so far which makes it a double accomplishment for the team at Cinnamon Hotels and Resorts.

Speaking of future plans, he said, that they will launch Cinnamon Lodge Habarana next month while the property in the Maldives will be launched in April next year as Cinnamon Alidhoo.

We are also looking at other opportunities to grow the brand in the SAARC region, said Karr. We are also planning to open two other properties under the Cinnamon brand in the near future, he said. Karr said they are not complacent with the results they have achieved and are hoping to do better in the future.

The Cinnamon brand is about making people of all ages feel cared for pampered and spoilt. The brand promises comfort, creativity and discovery. It is full of colour and passion, affordable and within your reach. Cinnamon is about modern comforts that retain valued traditional touches.

(SG)