KUALA LUMPUR: Local hotel management company, Ri-Yaz Hotels & Resorts (Ri-Yaz), which currently manages three hotels locally, hopes that in 10 years the number would grow to 20 "good-performing hotels" around the world- Managing director Datuk Shaheen Shah said building on its current success in managing Cyberview Lodge Resort & Spa, Ri-Yaz Heritage Resort & Spa in Terengganu, and Belum Rainforest Resort in Pahang, he is certain that the Malaysian hospitality brand will grow big overseas- "We have 10 years of history managing one of the country's finest resorts (Cyberview) and it is no secret that Malaysian hospitality is highly looked upon especially in emerging markets and we want to tap into this," he said, adding that Ri-Yaz is all prepared to compete with other well-known international hotel management players- Ri-Yaz's first foray outside the Malaysian shores - as early as the first quarter of 2012 - will be in Bali, where two boutique resorts are currently being built in Seminyak and Kuta-Soon after, it will go to Dubai to manage a city hotel as Ri-Yaz wants to slowly diversify from merely managing resort-theme hotels- "Then within the next five years, we want to go to India, Thailand and aggresively into the Middle East market especially in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates," he said in an interview with Business Times in Cyberjaya recently- Shaheen added that Ri-Yaz has been getting quite a number of queries from Dubai as the Malaysian brand is highly regarded in that booming metropolis- On why it is not going big in Malaysia itself, the 37-year-old co-founder of Ri-Yaz said: "The average hotel rate in Malaysia is not as good as in these countries- Bali, for example (we are looking at), is about US$200 (RM608) and the occupancy rate is 90 per cent compared to US$150 (RM456) in Langkawi- "In terms of rate, Malaysia has a long way to catch up- Even in India, the rates are higher and returns are much faster-" Ri-Yaz is also looking at venturing into owning property by 2013 instead of merely managing them and it has begun with a small stake in the upcoming resort in Seminyak- Ri-Yaz was formed in 2008 and it comprised mostly the management team of Cyberview Lodge, "with the mindset that there are not too many local hotel brands"- The meaning of Ri-Yaz in Sanskrit is devotion and its logo depicts the Malaysian national flower, the hibiscus with its petals opening and the word Ri-yaz at the heart of the flower- "It implies that we are devoted to give the best," he said adding that under Ri-Yaz's management, all three hotels under its wings, either had or currently going through room expansion- Cyberview, which is Ri-Yaz's flagship hotel, has gross operating profit that is on par with hotels in Kuala Lumpur and it has an occupancy rate of about 75 per cent at a rate of RM330- The hotel is adding 62 rooms to the current 74 by the end of this year- "Being outside KL, Cyberview Lodge is doing fairly well," said Shaheen, adding that it is this success that attracted the Terengganu state government to offer Ri-Yaz to undertake a RM2 million rebranding to what was formerly known as Pulau Dayang Resort into Ri-Yaz Heritage Resort & Spa in Terengganu, the official hotel for Terengganu's Monsoon Cup event- "After our takeover, we managed to turn around the resort in less than two years and last year we won the world's best venue organiser award for an international event- "The hotel is doing quite well and compared to other properties in Terengganu, the average occupancy rate is about 50 per cent but the business there is very seasonal-" Its third property, the Belum Rainforest Resort, which it took over last September, will be expanded into a spa resort but with an eco-forest touch and 40 new rooms will be added to the current 76- "The two new properties that we took over since 2008 had given us the opportunity to go into different market audience from what we have in our flagship Cyberview Lodge- "Cyberview does not have a beach, but in Terengganu we have a marina and a beach- In Belum, it is a whole new market for us because its clientele are mostly foreigners who are more fond of such an eco resort- These three resorts may be different in concept but they still have that unique Ri-Yaz touch---," said Shaheen- Ri-Yaz, which has been profitable since last year, he said, is a feat for a newly-founded company- "Our hotel owners are our partners and our fees are not fixed- We charge based on the location of the property and we will come out with a suitable package- Our fees are structured in such a way that we try to be flexible enough to ensure that the owners make money first before management companies do," he said- ...

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