Raffles, Hotel Okura Ink Strategic Alliance

SINGAPORE— Raffles International Limited and Hotel Okura Co. Ltd have inked a memorandum of understanding to form a strategic alliance that would seek new hotel developments, acquisitions of hotel management contracts, joint marketing and promotion activities, and joint procurement. Raffles has luxury/deluxe hotels throughout 33 destinations across the Americas, Asia, Australia, Europe, the Middle East and Mediterranean while Hotel Okura Co. Ltd, with 23 hotels, has a domestic network in Japan and in select international primary destinations. Richard Helfer, Raffles chairman/CEO, said, “There is great potential for creating tremendous synergy between both companies. The prospects of working with each other are exciting as we now have more avenues and inroads available for us to achieve our common goals of growing our networks, expanding our portfolios, and increasing brand equity.” Mikio Matsui, president/CEO of Hotel Okura Co. Ltd, added, “From a long-term perspective, progress in strategic alliances will consist of creating new value-added for hotel users of both brands. This alliance makes it possible to build a global network and greater convenience and loyalty benefits for each others customers. I expect that both companies will in future gain unique assets from active exchange of our managerial knowledge and operational technologies.” Under the alliance, both companies are exploring several joint marketing activities, hoping to widen sales distribution and marketing channels including voice and electronic reservations, as well as tap each others database resources. In addition, other areas being developed include joint sales events and participation in travel trade shows, group lead referrals and hyperlinks between, and features in, each others websites.