MELIA HANOI TARGETS GREATER SHARE OF MUSLIM TRAVEL MARKET SOL MELIA'S VIETNAMESE PROPERTY OFFERS SPECIAL NEW MUSLIM AMENITIES

Meliá Hanoi seeks to capture a larger share of the Muslim travel market, with the launch of a range of new services to cater to their special needs. These new amenities include the launch of a halal-dedicated kitchen facility, the only such hotel facility in Hanoi, capable of catering to groups and large banquets. The hotel is also offering prayer carpets and copies of the Holy Al Koran, which are available on request.

The halal meals are specially prepared by two Muslim Chefs in a separate kitchen facility which includes a dedicated stewarding area and utensils for the preparation of Halal food. Special food products that are unavailable in Hanoi are imported from Muslim suppliers with special Halal certificates. Meliá Hanoi also offers a range of Halal dishes on the a la carte menus in the hotel's restaurants and room service.

The incorporation of this new facility is in response to the increasing numbers of Muslim business and leisure travellers to Hanoi. Currently, an average of 15% of the hotel's guests are Muslim travellers mostly from South-East Asian countries including Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei Darusallam and Indonesia. Meliá Hanoi is seeking to increase their market share of travellers from these countries as well as the Indian sub-continent and is committed to serving the growing legions of Muslim travellers.

Meliá Hanoi's location in the centre of the city's business and diplomatic district, near the government offices, also makes it an ideal venue for social and diplomatic functions. Hanoi is home to nearly 60 embassies, many of which represent the Middle-Eastern and other Muslim countries. Meliá Hanoi is seeking to grow this market by offering services that are relevant to the market such as offering halal cuisine.

Meliá Hanoi has already been the venue of choice for several social and diplomatic functions hosted by these embassies. These include National Day celebrations for Brunei Darusallam, Myanmar, Indonesia and Turkey, social functions for the embassies of Brunei Darusallam, Myanmar, Malaysia, Singapore, Algeria, Pakistan and India as well as hosting many international delegations as well as several ASEAN Ministerial conferences with delegates from Muslim countries.

"Our goal is to broaden our services, amenities and strategies to fulfil the diversified needs of our guests," said Mr Hubert Klemenz, General Manager of Meliá Hanoi. "The Muslim travel segment is an important aspect of our business which we are continually looking to grow and enhance, by making special services and amenities available when requested."