Felda Residence Kuala Terengganu

Felda Residence Hotel Kuala Terengganu, a 101 room opened its doors recently and was the focal point of political leaders during the recent Kuala Terengganu (KT) by-election. The hotel building itself, is majestically towering above the KT skyline and visible from most parts of the city which one would not miss. A quick glance of the building shows some resemblance of the famous Burj Al-Arab of Dubai. The view from this hotel is captivating where the Crystal Mosque, Islamic Civilisation Park, Pulau Duyung and Sungai Terengganu provides the backdrop.

A walk along the river banks leads you to the Chinatown and Pasar Kedai Payang (Central Market) on one end and riverside promenade on the other which fairly provides lots of activities to the visitor. The easy accessibility to other local attractions add value to hotel guests and central Kuala Terengganu (KT). Should you need a taxi, look for Pakcik Awang who without doubt an easy going and charming taxi driver in the city.

Jambatan Sultan Mahmud (as seen in the picture above) connects Pulau Duyung Besar where the view of the Crystal Mosque is most awesome.

When dusk falls, the town is very much quiet although efforts are being made by the State Government to "inject" more activities and events t liven up the city.

This hotel provides guests which clean and value for money services along with the friendly staff readily to assist you. WIFI which is the most sought after facility for majority travelers is available to top up the many other facilities.

The rooms amenities and furnishing provides an ambience for a good rest equipped with satellite TV, IDD phones, coffee/tea making facilities. Room types ranging from Deluxe, Premier Deluxe, Suite, Executive Suite and Premier Suite gives a variation in accommodation type for guest to choose from that suits their taste and budget.

Check out Felda Residence Kuala Terengganu and what better way to book hotel rooms directly with the online reservations facility.

Felda Residence Kuala Terengganu is part of the Plantation Resorts group of hotels/resorts with 5 other properties which provides great value for money accommodation.

A poster in the lobby of the hotel depicting the design concept of the hotel building.

Stairace leading to the coffee house/restaurant of the hotel from the lobby area which overlooking Sungai Terengganu and Pulau Duyung.

The hotel lobby.

The hotel reception.

Sungai Terengganu river view from the hotel lobby including all rooms facing the river.

Front view of the hotel.

The hotel as seen from Kampung Cina (Chinatown) located in the Kuala Terengganu city.

Entrance to the hotel.

The hotel as seen from Pasar Kedai Payang (Central Market).

2.6 Percent Rise In Tourists Arrivals

July 17, 2008 22:09 PM

KUALA LUMPUR, July 17 (Bernama) -- The number of foreign tourists visiting Malaysia during the first six months of this year increased by 2.6 percent from the same period last year, from 10,690,426 to 10,963,120 people, said Tourism Malaysia.

For the month of June this year, the number of foreign tourists visiting Malaysia increased by 8.7 percent compared to the same period last year, that is from 1,803,594 to 1,961,355 people, it said in a press statement issued here Thursday.

It said Singapore maintained its position as the biggest tourist generating market for the first six months with a total 5,475,930 visitors, followed by Indonesia (1,095,511), Thailand (758,114) and China including Hong Kong and Macau (491,682).

Most major markets also recorded double digit growth last month compared to the same month last year, which include Russia (11.2 percent), followed by Cambodia (76.5 percent), Switzerland (65.4 percent) and the Netherlands (61.2 percent).-- BERNAMA

Online room reservations directly with accomodation providers

Traveling worldwide has been made easier with the advent of the World Wide Web. What used to be the hassle of finding more information about the destination and available choices of accommodation to suit one's budget had all been done away since. The over reliance of seeking travel agents to make travel arrangements is slowly but surely diminishing with many information being made on the internet.

Accommodation providers have since realised that they can make do without indirect marketing whether online or traditional mode over time if they embark on their online direct marketing. With such realisation and visionary approach, Hilton Group had embarked on this initiative years ago which they are now enjoying the fruits of their labour.

It is with such initiative and eliminating the "middlemen" would guests making online reservations be able to enjoy better hotel room rates, packages and promotions. In similar fashion as the hypermarkets, the savings on commissions paid to reservation portals and travel agents are transferred to the guests as hotels are able to save on administrative costs by leveraging on technology.

A point of comfort for guests making reservations directly with the hotel would be the instant confirmation they secure from the hotels itself instead of emails which would need 24hours reply confirmation which are practiced by most reservation portal. This not only causes inconvenience to all but simple process which

Most online reservation facilities on the official hotel website are still on F2E ("Form To Email") which means that guest personal and reservation details are entered and sent through email. Complications arises during guests request for cancellation and more critical when there are “no-shows”.

With “no shows” by guests making reservations online and further complicated without any deposit or payment, simply means that the hotel’s personnel would need additional wasted hours in trying to secure the payments and in many cases, they would be able to present a case to recover the sum.

However, with more hotels getting on board with online reservations directly to the guest, guests are able to interact with the hotel much closer and more importantly perform reservation cancellations and modifications with ease. Credit card verification and security encryption by established companies working on the hotel’s online reservation facility would greatly enhance the confidence of guests providing credit card details online for payment.

There are also a fair number of hotels reluctant to join the revolution and prefers to keep to the traditional mode of F2E. The outcome from such conservative approach would only mean that they would be lagging behind their fellow peers who embark on such move whilst aggressively marketing their website on the web.

In a nutshell, making reservations directly with the hotels provide the guest benefits of;
(a) communicating directly with the hotel,
(b) room reservation availability confirmed by the hotel with credit card guaranteed
confirmation,
(c) allows the hotels to look into your special requests immediately prior to arrival,
(d) making reservations, cancellations and modifications anytime and anywhere via internet,
(e) no more emails, faxes or phone calls going to and forth,
(f) savings in room rates or packages and
(g) most importantly the peace of mind of having a room to rest after all the traveling.

Should a hotel decides on joining the online reservation directly with the guests, drop me an email and would be pleased to assist.