Tune Hotel Melbourne Opening November 2013

[dropcap]I[/dropcap]nternational hotel group Tune Hotels today announced the pre-opening sale of its first Australian property in Melbourne and that the city will serve as its operational headquarters for the Australia and New Zealand region.

From left – Mark Lankester, Group CEO of Tune Hotels; Hon. Dr Denis Napthine, Premier of Victoria; Tan Sri Tony Fernandes, Co-Founder of Tune Group; Stuart Myerscough, Commercial Manager Australia of AirAsia X unveiling the opening price of Tune Hotel Melbourne.

The announcement was made here today by Mark Lankester, the Group CEO of Tune Hotels in the presence of the visiting Premier of Victoria, Honourable Dr Denis Napthine. Also present was Co-Founder of Tune Group, who is also Group CEO of AirAsia, Tan Sri Tony Fernandes.

[pullquote align=”right”]Tune Hotel Melbourne opening November with A$49* launch rate. Melbourne – The World’s Most Liveable City May Have Just Got Better![/pullquote]

Tune Hotel Melbourne at 609 Swanston Street, Carlton is conveniently located next to the University of Melbourne, just two streets away from popular Lygon Street and minutes to Melbourne’s Central Business District (CBD). The 225-room property will open for customers on 1 November 2013.

To celebrate its arrival, Tune Hotel Melbourne is offering an attractive room rate from just A$49* (US$46 / RM157) per night. The promotion is offered exclusively online at www.tunehotels.com and guests have the option to choose and pay only for amenities that they require.

Bookings can be made from 18 June until 28 June 2013 for stays between 1 November 2013 and 31 March 2014, subject to availability of rooms. A total of 1,000 rooms will be made available at that price.

Dr Napthine said: “Melbourne’s new Tune Hotel would open its doors in Melbourne’s CBD in November to coincide with Victoria’s world-famous Spring Racing Carnival.”

Dr Napthine also welcomed the decision by Tune Hotels to set up its Australia and New Zealand Operational Headquarters in Melbourne. “Together, the investment is expected to create up to 100 jobs.”

The Premier is currently leading around 300 Victorian businesses and 450 delegates on a Super Trade Mission to South East Asia. Kuala Lumpur is the mission’s first stop before moving on to other key Asean cities – Singapore, Jakarta, Bangkok, Manila, and Hanoi, among others.

In a recent ranking of the world’s “most liveable” cities, Melbourne took the number one spot for the second year running. The city was awarded perfect marks for education, healthcare, and infrastructure by the Economist Intelligence Unit.

As Australia’s events capital, Melbourne boasts a rich calendar of theatre, sporting and cultural events. Blockbuster annual events include the Australian Open Tennis Championship, Formula One Grand Prix, Spring Racing Carnival, Melbourne Food & Wine Festival, and more.

Melbourne is a romantic, stylish, cosmopolitan city with a European feel and hidden city laneways and arcades for visitors to discover hidden treasures, cafes, boutiques, bars and restaurants. The city is also the gourmet capital of Australia with award-winning chefs and a diverse cuisine with unique settings, provincial specialties and world class wine regions within easy access of the city.

A range of diverse travel experiences are available within easy reach of Melbourne in regional Victoria. Whether it’s skiing the Victorian Alps, reclining on picture postcard beaches, sampling award-winning wines or unwinding in luxurious day spas, regional Victoria is replete with immersive experiences year-round.

To add to the celebration, long-haul low cost airline AirAsia X is also running a joint promotion where a one-way flight seat from Kuala Lumpur to Melbourne is going from as low as RM329**. Guests have until 23 June 2013 to make a booking for travel between 15 November 2013 and 31 March 2014, subject to the availability of seats. Also on offer are Fly Thru services from Jakarta-Melbourne (from IDR 1,459,000** one-way) and Bangkok-Melbourne (from THB 5,890** one-way), allowing guests to seamlessly connect via Kuala Lumpur.

Guests who would like to travel with extra comfort may also fly on AirAsia X’s Premium Flatbed seats from as low as RM2, 299** from Kuala Lumpur to Melbourne. AirAsia X was the first long-haul, low fare carrier to introduce Premium Flatbed seats, which have standard business class specifications of 20” width, 60” pitch and stretch out to 77” in full recline position. Premium seat guests also enjoy premium complimentary products and services including Pick A Seat, Priority Check-in, Priority Boarding, Priority Baggage, 25kg Baggage Allowance, Complimentary Meal and Pillow & Duvet. For more information and flight bookings, please visit airasia.com.

Tan Sri Tony Fernandes said:

“AirAsia X had been serving the Melbourne route for more than four years now and it is one of our best-selling. I am very pleased that Tune Hotels will now have its presence in Melbourne to give visitors to this wonderful city a truly compelling accommodation alternative. We are sure the Australian market will welcome and embrace Tune Hotels just as they did AirAsia X.”

Commenting on Melbourne as Tune Hotels’ Operational HQ for Australia and New Zealand, Group CEO Mark Lankester said:

“We are very excited about Tune Hotel Melbourne as it marks our growing brand’s entry into Australia and New Zealand. Melbourne will be the location for our HQ overseeing Australia and New Zealand operations, working in conjunction with the corporate office in Kuala Lumpur. Given our long term plans for the region, the Australia and New Zealand HQ will be staffed relevantly to oversee and provide central support to Tune Hotels’ properties in Australia and New Zealand.”

“And to celebrate in true Tune Hotels style, we’re offering travellers one of the lowest room rates seen in central Melbourne for years. Tune Hotels is all about offering a great night’s sleep at a great price. Tune Hotel Melbourne will serve domestic business and leisure travellers and visitors from abroad who are looking for great comfort just minutes from Melbourne’s CBD without paying the usual exorbitant rates,” added Lankester.

The basic room rate at Tune Hotel Melbourne is already inclusive of air-conditioning and and/or heating. For an additional A$10, guests will get a pair of towels and toiletry kits and enjoy high-speed wireless broadband and Foxtel TV entertainment.

Tune Hotel Melbourne features an indoor courtyard, a recreational lounge, a restaurant, café/ convenience store, luggage storage, self-service launderette and computer kiosks. It is also equipped with a basement car park, something unusual for city centre hotels in Australia.

The hotel is just two streets away from Lygon Street, more famously known as Little Italy. The central business district, Melbourne Central Train Station and QV Melbourne; one of Melbourne’s finest retail, dining and entertainment precincts, is only two tram stops away.

Tune Hotels provides international-class high-quality accommodation which focuses on key essentials but minus the generally underused facilities found in other hotels such as swimming pools, business centres and gymnasiums. By doing away with these costly and high-maintenance facilities, Tune Hotels is able to pass on savings to its guests in the form of super low room rates. Its pay-as-you-use concept lets travellers choose and pay only for amenities that they require to keep costs down, reduce waste and save energy.

All Tune hotels feature space-efficient, streamlined rooms focusing on high-quality basics: 5-star beds and powerful hot showers. The strategically located hotels provide housekeeping services, electronic keycard access into rooms, extensive CCTV systems, and no access into the main lobby without a keycard past midnight for extra security.

The group has received almost five million guests since the opening of its first hotel in Downtown Kuala Lumpur in 2007. Tune Hotels has one hotel in India, 11 in Malaysia, five in the UK, and four each in the Philippines, Thailand and Indonesia. The company is set to open another property in Japan this year while future projects are planned in the Middle East, Europe and Africa.

Tune Hotels is part of Tune Group, a lifestyle business conglomerate co-founded by Tony Fernandes and Kamarudin Meranun, who are the Group CEO and Deputy Group CEO respectively of Asia’s largest low cost carrier AirAsia.

For real-time updates and promotion alerts, guests can stay connected with Tune Hotels via Facebook at www.facebook.com/tunehotelsAUS and on Twitter via www.twitter.com/tunehotels.

For booking and further information, visit www.tunehotels.com.

* Rooms at promotional rates are limited and subject to availability. Promotional rates are limited to double rooms, exclude peak periods, available only on specific dates and only for bookings made via www.tunehotels.com. Advertised rate includes GST and is for room only (excludes comfort package (WiFi, Towel & toiletries and TV) and all optional add-ons). Bookings that are made at the promotional price are strictly non-refundable or changeable. Booking period is 18 June 2013 – 28 June 2013, or until promotional rooms are sold out. Stay period is 1 Nov 2013 to 31 March 2014. No additional charges for booking payments made using PayPal. Additional charges may apply for online bookings paid using credit and debit cards. All amounts are in Australian dollars unless stated otherwise. Refer to www.tunehotels.com for other applicable terms and conditions.

** Promo fares include airport taxes and fees (all-in fares). Flights and fares are subject to availability and are for one-way travel only.

About Tune Hotels & Tune Group
Tune Hotels is part of the lifestyle business conglomerate Tune Group that was founded by Tan Sri Tony Fernandes and Dato’ Kamarudin Meranun. Tune Hotels seeks to innovate and revolutionise the way services are made available and has employed efficient web-based technologies to reach and engage its customers, presenting a unique lifestyle opportunity. All Tune Hotels’ properties feature space-efficient, streamlined rooms focusing on high-quality basics: a five-star bed, powerful hot showers and energy-conserving ceiling fans along with housekeeping services, electronic keycard access into rooms, CCTV surveillance, and 24-hour security. The Tune Group of companies are Tune Air (a substantial shareholder of AirAsia), Tune Hotels, Tune Money (holding company of Tune Insurance), Tune Talk, Tune Box, Tune Studios, Tune Tones, Caterham F1 Team, Queens Park Rangers Football Club (QPR) and Educ8 Group (owner of Epsom College in Malaysia).

About AirAsia X Berhad
AirAsia X is the low-cost, long-haul affiliate carrier of the AirAsia Group that currently flies to destinations in China, Australia, Taiwan, Korea, Japan, Nepal and the Middle East. The airline currently serves 14 destinations across Asia (Tokyo, Osaka, Seoul, Taipei, Beijing, Hangzhou, Chengdu, Shanghai and Kathmandu), Australia (Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and Gold Coast) and the Middle East (Jeddah) with flights to an additional destination, namely Busan, commencing in July 2013. AirAsia X operates a fleet of 10 Airbus A330-300s, each with a seat configuration of 12 Premium Flatbeds and 365 Economy seats. The airline has carried over 9 million guests since it commenced long-haul in 2007. Our vision is to further solidify our position as the global leader in low-cost, long-haul aviation and create the first global multi-hub low-cost carrier network along with other carriers of the AirAsia Group.