S Puvaneswary, Phnom Penh (2011-01-24)

BRUNEI'S only international hotel brand, Radisson Hotel Brunei, will undergo a refurbishment exercise, even as new flights between Bandar Seri Begawan and Melbourne are expected to boost travel demand for the sultanate.

Royal Brunei Airlines (RBA) will launch four-weekly direct services on March 29 (TTG Asia e-Daily, October 19, 2010).

The renovation, which will commence in the first half of this year, will be carried out in stages over 18 months, and cover all 142 rooms, the business centre and club floor rooms.

The hotel, previously the Sheraton Utama Hotel until May 2010, closed last year at 50 per cent occupancy, higher than the country’s average of 40 per cent.

General manager Peter Feran said he was banking on RBA's new service to attract more Australians, which is an important market for the hotel. RBA already flies to Brisbane and Perth.