GE signs Memorandum of Collaboration with Tune Hotels for sustainable development globally

General Electric (GE), a global innovative, high-tech infrastructure and financial services company, and Tune Hotels, the pioneering value hotel brand, sign an agreement to explore collaborative opportunities

KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA – September 9, 2011 – General Electric International Inc (NYSE:GE) and Tune Hotels, the pioneering value hotel chain under Tune Group, signed a Memorandum of Collaboration (MoC) today to explore opportunities on sustainable developments. The MoC was signed by Chief Executive Officer of GE ASEAN, Stuart Dean, and Group Chief Executive Officer of Tune Hotels, Mark Lankester, to identify opportunities for collaboration with the aim of achieving cost savings and energy efficiency in Tune Hotel’s operations globally.
From left: Chief Executive Officer for Asia, GE Lighting - Mohamed Butt; Chief Executive Officer of GE ASEAN - Stuart Dean; Minister of Energy, Green Technology and Water Dato’ Sri Peter Chin; Group Chief Executive Officer of Tune Hotels - Mark Lankester; and Chief Financial Officer of Tune Hotels - Mitul Lakhani.

The signing was witnessed by Dato’ Sri Peter Chin, Minister of Energy, Green Technology and Water, with Mohamed Butt, Chief Executive Officer for Asia, GE Lighting and Mitul Lakhani, Chief Financial Officer of Tune Hotels also present at the ceremony.

Stuart Dean expressed GE’s commitment to working with local partners to develop environmentally driven business strategies that will help drive Malaysia towards becoming a high income nation.

“Our partnership with Tune Hotels demonstrates GE's commitment to accelerate the development and deployment of innovative technologies through open collaboration. Using our ecomagination & GE Sustainable Cities approach, we have been building sustainable developments certified by various Green Building Certification programs in multiple jurisdictions across the globe, powered by our new technologies and solutions. We hope to contribute and share our expertise across the spectrum of products and services we offer and work with Tune Hotels to achieve the desired impact for its operations,” he said.

“This collaboration is a testament of GE’s commitment to support the Malaysian Government’s aspirations to promote efficient green solutions,” he added.

Under the agreement, GE’s role will be to assist Tune Hotels in reviewing, planning and designing properties by contributing its knowledge and expertise in the areas of low-cost operational modeling, sustainable development, cost-saving infrastructure, energy efficiency and green technology. The collaboration will also help Tune Hotels work towards achieving relevant eco-building certifications such as with Malaysia’s Green Building Index, the Singapore Building and Construction Authority’s BCA Green Mark and the US Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design rating system.

The agreement will also explore the development and implementation of sustainable energy solutions within Tune Hotels’ operations and allow them to leverage GE’s ecomagination™ line of products and cutting-edge technologies in creating environmental solutions for both their existing and upcoming projects.

GE has previously announced collaborative agreements with local partners in Malaysia including top public and private companies from a diverse range of industries. Some more notable partnerships include NAZA, PETRONAS, TNB, Malaysia Airlines, AirAsia, and Sapura.

Tune Hotels’ Group CEO Mark Lankester said: “Tune Hotels has been in consistent pursuit of green technologies and eco-friendly approaches to ramp up our service and business efficiency. Having pioneered the pay-as-you-use concept that has gained huge popularity amongst travellers and holidaymakers from across the world, we are proud to be working with GE on exploring environmentally driven business strategies. This will not only benefit our business but more importantly our guests who can look forward to enjoying further savings and convenience.”

Tune Hotels, which is part of the lifestyle conglomerate Tune Group currently has 13 hotels in its global network. Its 10th Malaysian hotel is opening in Kulim, Kedah later this month, on top of 2 hotels in Bali, Indonesia and one in London, England. More Tune Hotels are scheduled for opening in Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia, the UK, India and Malaysia from Q4 this year through 2012.

Known for innovation and technological exploit, Tune Hotels was recently named among Top 20 Most Innovative Brands in Indonesia by MIX magazine, the country’s leading marketing communication publication. Standing at number nine, Tune Hotels was the only hotel brand on the list. Tune Hotel Westminster in London was awarded a Certificate of Excellence by the world’s largest travel website TripAdvisor, as a “result of consistently great feedback” from the hotel guests while the guide portal About.com ranked Tune Hotel Westminster at No 1 among Top 10 Cheap London Hotels.

Tune Hotels is part of the lifestyle business conglomerate Tune Group that was founded by Tan Sri Tony Fernandes and Dato’ Kamarudin Meranun. Tune Group seeks to innovate and revolutionize the way services are made available and has employed efficient web-based technologies to reach and engage its customers, presenting a unique lifestyle offering ranging from value hotel stays, personal finance solutions and affordable prepaid mobile services. Tune Group of Companies are Tune Air, Tune Hotels, Tune Money, Tune Talk, Tune Box, Tune Studios, Tune Tones, Team Lotus, ASEAN Basketball League, Queens Park Rangers Football Club (QPR) and Kuala Lumpur Education City (owner of Epsom College in Malaysia).