10 -16August 2000

Eden Leisure Group: Always room for further expansion

Eden Leisure Group is embarking on new projects in the hospitality and entertainment field. Franco Aloisio interviewed Eden Leisure's executive director Kevin De Cesare on the present and future plans

Thirty-five years in business, and yet, there seem to be no signs of aging in your company. What is the driving force behind the Eden Leisure Group?

After 35 years of operations, one would start thinking that it is time to retire. Actually, this is not the case. Our biggest project is being undertaken at the moment. The Eden Inter-Continental Hotel is a very exciting and innovative project. I must say that one of our biggest successes was that we did not copy ideas, but rather we were innovators.

For instance, Eden Leisure Group had the idea to open up a cinema complex in 1993. Many did not believe we would have succeeded in this area. Yet, four years later there were cinemas all over the island, although I must add that there is not enough business for all of them. Unfortunately, market research is not done properly in Malta, if at all. Eden Leisure Group had come up with the idea of opening cinemas first, and thus had a four-year advantage before competition stepped in.

Apart from the hotel, there are other projects underway, such as the IMAX theatre...

The company is coming up with some innovative ideas, such as the IMAX theatre, which is a total change from normal cinemas theatres. The IMAX theatre is a six-storey high screen which shows edutainment films, that is educational and entertaining films.

The quality of IMAX films is much better, because the print is 10 times larger than the normal 35 millimetre film. Hollywood is starting to produce more commercial types of IMAX films, such as the Michael Jordan IMAX film, a movie on a boy's experience of the last World Cup. The IMAX has a totally different market, in particular for school children.

The Eden Leisure has had many success stories, except for the Palladium. How did the company come to terms with that failure?

We generally turn our failures into success. For instance, the Palladium was a 750-seater nightclub, which for five years was generating a profit every year. However, when millions are spent on such a project and the return is not good enough, we decided to close it down. We had to do something about it. In the entertainment field, if you do not get your money back in five to six, you start struggling. We had the guts to turn the Palladium into something else.

What about Bay Radio? Are you still interested in having a second radio station which would focus on current affairs?

Bay Radio is probably the most profitable radio station in Malta. The radio always had a sense of direction. Bay Radio's mission was to focus on the younger generation. Surveys show that we are the first on the island among the younger generations, and overall we are the fourth most popular radio station.

I am still planning to have a second station. The new law still does not permit the owner of a radio station to own another. I asked the parliamentary committee and the Prime Minister to look into the matter. Why is it that the political parties can have more than one station, while I cannot own a second radio station? Would I will be controlling the people's thoughts by having another station? I believe the country needs a good station focusing on current affairs.

What will the Eden Inter-Continental bring to Malta?

The Inter-Continental is owned by Bass Group - which also owns the Crown Plaza and the Holiday Inn brands. The group has over 2,000 hotels worldwide. The fact that Inter-Continental are coming over to Malta is good news for the country.

We are very pleased to have Inter-Continental. It will be the largest five-star hotel in the island with 460 rooms and four tumoli of garden within the hotel premises. This is a lot when you consider that each tumolo is worth Lm1m in Paceville and St George's Bay. We had to do that, otherwise the hotel would just be a concrete jungle. The garden area and pool will be above the ice-skating ring. There will be various restaurants, and we will be offering also timeshare.

We will be moving also into conference and incentive travel. The five-star sector has created a new market. Five-star hotels in Malta are today doing their own marketing, apart from that carried out by the MTA. They are going abroad and spending around Lm150,000 a year on marketing their own brand.

What is the nature of the agreement with the Inter-Continental?

Basically, Inter-Continental will manage the hotel. We preferred selling the management rather than franchise. The brand will come over with its own general manager and standards. I do not think we have the expertise to run a hotel. We know what standards we want to achieve.

To compete in the five-star market, you need to have a good brand and an excellent management structure. You need a booking network which provides you with work.

The hotel will cost Lm20m, and this does not include the cost of land.

What can you tell me about the hotel's design?

Every hotel in Malta has a classical design. The Eden Inter-Continental will have a contemporary design. The design will be far more expensive as the materials are not readily available. We are creating a different type of hotel. The design will be in the hands of US interior designers Di Leonardo.

How will the St George's Bay area develop with the new hotel and other projects such as Bay Street?

We will be revamping the streets and areas around the hotel including the two-way streets at St George's Bay. I believe St George's Bay will be of a higher quality than Paceville. Paceville too has to be totally upgraded.