Booming economy brought InterContinental back

Steady economic growth of Bangladesh has inspired InterContinental to come back to Dhaka after a break of 35 years, said a top official of the British multinational hospitality company.

“InterContinental had to return to Dhaka as more of its regular customers are getting interested to visit the country.”

Pascal Gauvin, managing director for India, Middle East and Africa at InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), shared the info during an interview with The Daily Star.

Bangladesh has been growing at over 6.5 percent in the last decade and achieved 7.86 percent GDP growth in 2017-18.

“Bangladesh's economy is growing rapidly and it is really important for us to be in cities that have such high growth. We need to grow in markets where our guests want to go,” he said.

InterContinental now has operations in all important cities in South East Asia, he said.

IHG opened Bangladesh's first five-star hotel in Dhaka in 1966 and left the capital in 1983. After that, Sheraton took over.

Sheraton's contract ended in December 2008 but the government requested it to continue the operations until April 30, 2011 for the ICC Cricket World Cup.

Starwood, the parent company of Sheraton, gave Bangladesh Services Ltd a conditional extension offer in 2009, but there was a disagreement between the two parties over the renovation cost and the fate of the employees.

Eventually, Bangladesh Services Ltd took over the hotel's operations, renaming it to Ruposhi Bangla Hotel.

It took four years for the government to complete the renovation of the Dhaka hotel at a cost of $65 million before handing it over to InterContinental.

This time, InterContinental has signed a 30-year agreement with the government, Gauvin said.

“The deal was signed in 2012 but the time count started on December 1 in 2018.”

InterContinental will run the venture following a profit sharing model. “We will get 8 to 10 percent of the profit depending on the value of the gross profit.”

IHG is a very strong brand across the globe and they have the target to be the best hotel in Bangladesh, he said.

“InterContinental had also been a part of Bangladesh's Liberation War history. The hotel has been the only neutral venue then,” said Gauvin who has over 36 years of experience in the hotel management industry.

“Now we want to touch a new horizon with our impeccable and best-in-class hospitality services in the country,” Gauvin said during his visit to Dhaka in the first week of December at the opening of InterContinental Dhaka.

“Foreign guests will be our main target. Inviting the world in this hotel along with keeping an eye on the local market will be our goal. We will give extra efforts to accommodate government programmes here.”

The hotel now has big accommodations -- more than 1,000 guests can sit in the Ruposhi Bangla ballroom, he said. “The hotel also has some other comfortable meeting rooms.”

InterContinental Hotels and Resorts currently has 200 hotels in the world with InterContinental Dhaka being the 199th hotel of the group and InterContinental Shanghai Wonderland the 200th.

There are 34 InterContinental hotels in India, Middle East and Africa, Gauvin said.

“Our foreign and local guests would love to come and stay here as InterContinental Dhaka is the group's one of the most attractive hotels in the region thanks to its modern architecture and design.”

Renovating a hotel of this size is more complex than building a new one, said Gauvin.

“It took four years to renovate. I am sure it would take less time if we had built a new hotel. I am very impressed with the quality of the new hotel. It's really a great hotel we have.”

The size of the hotel's rooms has become bigger, but the number of rooms has declined, he said. “Now we have 226 rooms, including 25 suites, down from 271 before the renovation.”

The 70-year-old group—mainly a leader in South and North America—keeps eyes on its competitors in Dhaka and also looks forward to expand its business in other cities of Bangladesh, he said.

“We love to grow in other big cities with the right partner.”

The group headquartered at Denham in Buckinghamshire has different brands like Regent, Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express and lifestyle brands like hotel Indigo.

“As we have anchored in Bangladesh, the new hotel will help us understand and take decision for the market faster,” he said.

The other brands of InterContinental can also come to Bangladesh and complement each other, he said.