Ruposhi Bangla renovation kicks off Monday
Ruposhi Bangla Hotel will go for a massive renovation from Monday to upgrade its standards.
The five-star hotel will keep all its operations closed for the next 16 months for the renovation work, Bangladesh Services Ltd, the owner of the hotel, said in a web-posting on the Dhaka Stock Exchange yesterday.
“The renovation is going to start from September 1. Therefore, the hotel will be closed to guests from August 31 till rebranding,” it said. The hotel will be rebranded as InterContinental Dhaka after the renovation, according to the posting.
The renovation will begin in line with a management agreement signed between Bangladesh Services Ltd and InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), a leading global hotel chain.
Ruposhi Bangla, formerly known as Sheraton Hotel, will have to be renovated as per brand standards of IHG and the renovated InterContinental Hotel will resume its operations in January 2016.
Employees will not lose jobs due to the renovation, James P McDonald, general manager of the hotel, had told a group of reporters in May.
“There will be no job cuts during the renovation, as most of the employees will be transferred to Bangabandhu International Conference Centre and Balaka and the rest will continue their job on the project site,” he had said.
In 2012, the hotel logged revenues of Tk 125.26 crore, while its gross operating profit was Tk 53.81 crore and net profit Tk 46.51 crore.
A condition of the deal, signed in February 2012, was that the hotel would undergo an extensive renovation and then be handed over to InterContinental for 30 years.
Bangladesh Services will bear the renovation cost of around Tk 400 crore -- a portion from its own funds and the rest from bank loans.
After taking the operations and management charges, InterContinental will share profit with Bangladesh Services.
In line with the renovation plan, the number of rooms will come down to 226 from 272 as the size of a room will be increased to 40 sqaure metres from 26 square metres now.
The dining hall and swimming pool will be relocated while some added services will be offered.
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