5-star Sheraton in Dhaka by March

Unique Hotel and Resorts Limited will launch a five-star Sheraton hotel in the capital's Banani by March 2020. Marriott International will have operational responsibility for the hotel.

The American multinational hospitality company earlier operated Sheraton Hotel in Dhaka from 1984 to 2011 under the ownership of the Bangladesh government. The company also operates Four Points by Sheraton, Dhaka, a 4-star hotel, in Gulshan.  

Unique Hotel and Resorts also plans to launch the 7-star St Regis Hotel and the 5-star Hyatt Centric Dhaka Hotel in Gulshan by 2025.  Marriott International will operate the hotels.

Currently, Unique Hotel owns luxury Westin Hotel in Gulshan and HANSA in Uttara. Marriot International runs the hotels.

Jone Kumer Gupta, chief financial officer of Unique Hotel and Resorts, told The Business Standard that the construction of Sheraton Hotel began in 2012 and was scheduled to open in June 2018.

"The construction of the hotel has been completed. The hotel will be launched by March 2020. The launching date will be announced soon," he added.

Regarding the delay in construction, he said, "The reasons for the delay in completion of works of the project are due to change of the operator, that is, acquisition of Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide by Marriott International and interior design modification as per guidelines and compliance rules of Marriott International."

Hotel industry outlook

Data from the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) show that the hotel and restaurant sector posted a 7.28 percent growth in fiscal year 2018-19. The figure was 7.13 percent in the previous fiscal year.

The financial size of the sector was Tk7,300 crore in the last fiscal year, according to BBS.

According to a world tourism survey, the growth rate of the global hotel industry till 2023 will rise by 4.07 percent annually.

During this period, Bangladesh will be host to 5.7 million tourists. Around 56 hotels in the pipeline will commence operations in the country in the next five years.

The hospitality industry of Bangladesh is currently in a commendable condition even though it is at a growing stage. It is estimated that in the next five years, between 8 and 10 five-star hotels will be built.

Overall, there are clear signs of the hospitality industry growing rapidly in the years ahead.

It will help the country's economy to grow significantly through higher foreign currency inflow and greater employment opportunities.

Tk1,600 crore investment in three projects

Unique Hotel and Resorts has invested around Tk1,600 crore for building Sheraton Dhaka Hotel, Hotel Hyatt Centric and St Regis Hotel.

Of the amount, Tk457 crore has been invested in the construction of Sheraton Hotel, Tk533 crore in the matter of Hotel Hyatt, and Tk621 crore in the building of St. Regis Hotel.

The chief financial officer of the company said, "The construction of Sheraton Hotel has been completed. The construction of the two others is underway."

He said the two hotels will be launched by 2025.

Investment in power

The company has an investment in the power sector also.

It is establishing new ventures and will add another feather to its cap by establishing a 600MW power plant named "Unique Meghnaghat Power Limited".

The plant is expected go into operation by 2022.

The management of Unique Hotel and Resorts is diversifying its portfolio by establishing a private economic zone.

Business performance

The company began its commercial journey through the inauguration of Westin Hotel in 2007. It earned Tk30.87 crore that year.

In 2018, the company launched another hotel named 'HANSA' in Uttara. It earned Tk8.48 crore from that concern in fiscal year 2018-19.

From fiscal year 2006-07 to 2018-19, the earnings of the company increased by 609 percent to Tk218.72 crore. The net profit of the company rose by 2461 percent to Tk61.48 crore.

In the last financial year, the company gave 20 percent cash dividends to its shareholders.

Share performance

Unique Hotel and Resorts was listed with the stock market in 2012. At the time, the company collected Tk195 crore by issuing shares with a face value of Tk10 along with a Tk65 premium on each share.

Monday's closing price per share was Tk43.90 at the Dhaka Stock Exchange. The highest price of its share was Tk55.50 while the lowest was Tk41 during the last one year. ***