Restaurant operator Hi-Lai Foods Co (漢來美食) expects its new hotel facility in Taipei to generate NT$1.7 billion (US$52.8 million) in revenue next year and break even in three years.
“The hotel of 425 guestrooms and six restaurants aims to break even and turn a profit in three years if things go smoothly,” Ted Lin (林子寬), general manager and CEO of the group’s hotels and resorts business, said on Saturday following a soft opening of the Grand Hi-Lai Hotel Taipei (台北漢來) in the city’s Nangang District (南港).
It was the first time in 28 years the group introduced a new hotel since the launch of the Grand Hi-Lai Hotel Kaohsiung (高雄漢來) in 1995.
Photo: CNA
Located next to the Nangang high-speed railway station and within walking distance of Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center, the hotel aims to cater to business travelers attending trade shows, Lin said, adding that HP Inc, Advanced Micro Devices Inc and several multinationals have branch offices in the neighborhood.
It is also targeting conference and banquet businesses and expecting an increase in customer traffic as Japan’s Mitsui Fudosan Co is to open a Lalaport shopping mall next door in May next year, he said.
The Kaohsiung-based group posted NT$3.2 billion in cumulative revenue during the first eight months of the year, up 43.74 percent from a year earlier. It reported a net profit of NT$202.54 million in the first half, compared with a net loss of NT$59.55 million a year earlier.
The group spent NT$2 billion on the new hotel’s guestroom decor and restaurant setup after the landlord Taiwan Fertilizer Co (台肥) poured in NT$5 billion to construct the building, Lin said.
The group holds a positive view of the sector’s outlook and took up another contract earlier this year to run the lossmaking Wen Wan Resort (日月行館) near Sun Moon Lake, he said.
The Hi-Lai Wen Wan Resort (漢來日月行館) is to open next spring after a NT$1.1 billion renovation, Lin said.
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