Swiss Garden International closes 2 hotels in Malaysia

Hotel management company Swiss Garden International (SGI) will be closing two of its hotels: Swiss-Inn Chinatown in Kuala Lumpur, and Swiss-Inn Sungai Petani in Kedah. A+M understands that its Swiss Garden Beach Resort Damai Laut will also be closed for renovation, and subsequently converted into a DoubleTree by Hilton hotel. A quick check by A+M showed that Swiss-Inn Chinatown in Kuala Lumpur and Swiss-Inn Sungai Petani have been removed from SGI's official website.

According to New Straits Times, which cited group managing director Ong Ju Yan in a letter to employees, there will also be a further reduction of staff across its other hotels, as well as further payroll reduction programmes that will be implemented. SGI has declined to comment on the matter. A+M understands that there are currently over 700 employees in SGI. 

In May, SGI temporarily halted operations for all its hotels "due to the uncertainty of the rapidly changing COVID-19 pandemic". The notice, which was posted on its official website and Facebook page, added it will be upgrading its products and facilities during the period of closure. SGI was established in 1991 as a hotel operator to manage hotels under the OSK Group. It currently manages nine hotels and resorts with an inventory of over 2,000 guestrooms.

SGI is not the only hotel brand to have its operations negatively affected. Last week, Four Points by Sheraton Sandakan in Sabah also said it will be winding down operations and terminating its employees by 31 May. In a letter to employees by general manager David Scully seen by A+M, the hotel has been experiencing economic downturn over the past few months due to a lack of demand for products and services in the hospitality sector. Four Points by Sheraton is part of Starwood Hotels and Resorts, which is a subsidiary of Marriott International. 

Separately in March, OYO Hotels was reportedly reducing its global workforce by approximately 5,000 individuals to 25,000 in a bid to raise profitability, with employees in China being hit the hardest, Bloomberg reported. This comes as the business was impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak, Bloomberg added. In a statement to A+M, OYO's spokesperson said the changes have no impact on marketing roles and teams in globally, including Southeast Asia. There will also be no key personnel changes at OYO in Southeast Asia.

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