Hilton Colombo showed extraordinary resilience and resourcefulness notwithstanding challenges, as it always has, by reposing faith in the fundamental principles such as quality, staff, commitment and teamwork all of which came to the fore during the year to make the most of a challenging situation, Chairman, Hilton Colombo, Krishantha Prasad Cooray states in his review in the company’s 2018 Annual Report.
He said the company was poised to welcome a record number of visitors during the peak season in 2018 but unfortunately, we were unable to realise the expected benefits due to the volatile political climate that prevailed in the country from October 2018 during which frequent protests were held in the vicinity of the hotel.
“Despite delays in commencing room refurbishment, the company managed to compete aggressively with new entrants to the industry recording only a marginal decline in revenue compared to the previous year.
“The profitability during the year under review was impacted by a substantial charge of depreciation arising from capitalisation of the refurbishment cost at the completion of the first phase in August 2017,” the Chairman said.
However, he said there were many positive developments such as high revenue and strong performance from the refurbished F&B outlets, coupled with strong business from the MICE sector which deemed Hilton Colombo to be the most preferred property for corporate events.
“We had already made major investments in surveillance and protection technology to ensure heightened security for guests which have been further reinforced in recent days. The level of security and protection we offer in the leisure sector apart from being the most prized address in the city has cemented the confidence of our guests and corporate clientele,” the Chairman said.
The company according to him had always adopted a medium to long term outlook to sustain the growth momentum.
“I am confident that this year too will be no different and that the industry will receives reflexively within a short time. Travel advisories have been lifted and visitors have the assurance to holiday in the country again. Considering the positive projections for the year 2019, I am confident that we could carve out a strong recovery by working together to instill confidence in tourists to return to Sri Lanka,” the Chairman said.
Going forward he said all stakeholders in the tourism industry have a role to play in making a collective effort to move ahead stronger and we will be assessing how we could leverage the Hilton brand to make a tangible difference.
“Having immense faith in our products and the people behind it, I am confident about our ability to reinvent growth,” the Chairman said.
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