Tune Hotels

I recently wrote an article detailing my opinions of the low cost airline Air Asia. The low cost carrier business model where customers only pay for the specific services they require is very common in the airline industry. The founder of Air Asia Tony Fernandez has now established a range of hotels which are based on the same business principle as his hugely successful airline.

The concept is certainly interesting and the company is having good success, increasing its portfolio of hotels in a wide range of countries. I have personally used tune hotels twice once in Hat Yai, Thailand and once Ipoh, Malaysia. Much like Air Asia the customer pays a low cost for a basic service which is the use of a hotel room and all additional services the customer requires will be charged on top of this price. The good thing is that both of the tune hotels I have stayed in had large spacious rooms with excellent beds and fantastic hot water power showers which was all included in the basic room price. The room also comes with a fan that can be used free of charge, if you don't wish to purchase the use of air conditioning as an additional add on. If you do require an air conditioner for the room then you can purchase it and it's actually not that expensive in comparison to the room. You will choose how many hours of air conditioning you require and then the unit will be set so that you are limited to the amount of time that you purchased. The customer will also have to bring their own towels and toiletries unless they wish to purchase a toiletry kit, which if purchased you will receive at checkin in a small red bag as well as an air-conditioning and television remote if you have purchased these as add ons. It certainly is a unique way to enter the hotel room with a little red bag and a handful of remote controls.

(Tune Hotel in Hat Yai, Thailand)

Tune hotels is clearly aimed at budget travellers who still require a certain level of comfort in their accommodation. I have seen the word 'flashpacker' coined on the internet and I think this is the most likely group of people who would use Tune hotels in this part of the world. The basic cost of the room would be a little too much to make backpackers consider staying here especially when there are better value guesthouses out there if you are willing to make some compromises on comfort. Business travellers and western tourists on a set holiday will most likely choose to stay in a full service hotel because there are some beautiful hotels and resorts in this part of the world which are available at bargain prices. I would recommend that anyone who values the hotel highly at part of the travelling or holiday experience to NOT stay at Tune Hotels and instead choose a local hotel where the customer service will probably be more personalised and you can take full advantage of all the amenities the hotel has to offer.

I would consider myself to be part of the target market Tune hotels is looking to attract. I value comfort and a hotel in a good location but I don't actually spend that long in the hotel room because I am usually out exploring. I don't usually watch the TV and only require limited use of amenities such as air conditioning so it makes more sense for me to only pay for the services which I require. I usually find that hotels in the same price range as Tune are old and usually fairly run down but then they obviously have unlimited use of services such as air conditioning, TV, WIFI etc. On both of my stays at Tune hotels I have purchased the comfort package which is a toiletry kit and the use of air conditioning for 24 hours. I felt this was enough to give me all the comfort I needed and that the modern room, great shower and extremely comfortable bed would rival any other local hotel in its price range.

Below is a full list of prices from the Tune website for Hat Yai in Thailand. It is worth remembering that Hat Yai is an extremely large city in the south of Thailand and is very popular with Malaysian tourists so the prices are obviously in accordance with demand.

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