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Thursday, 29 August 2019 00:06 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
Santani Resort and Spa, an award-winning wellness resort has added a number of accolades after being selected as one of the best hotels in Sri Lanka by the Evening Standard, one of the top newspapers in the United Kingdom. Just 10 properties were selected to this list.
Georgia Hopkins of the Evening Standard wrote: “The incredible views over the mountains that can be found from this once-abandoned 120 acre tea estate are extraordinary. The holistic architecture (described as an ‘architecture of silence’) has been thoughtfully designed with a minimal footprint – unobtrusive and made primarily of glass and wood, with a natural and gentle colour palette that blends in perfectly with the surrounds, bringing you back to your natural peace.”
Santani was also shortlisted under the ‘Best in Wellness’ category for the International Travel and Tourism Awards, presented by WTM. More than 90 nominations in total for all categories have been shortlisted for the prestigious awards scheme, now in their second year, as the Awards will celebrate the very best of travel and tourism on a global scale.
The ITTAs recognise the outstanding successes of destinations, tourist boards, private sector companies and individuals. The winners will be announced to an audience of more than 500 leading industry figures – including Heads of Tourism and Government Ministers – during a prestigious awards ceremony at Magazine London. Santani was one of just two properties from Sri Lanka selected on to this shortlist.
Deshan De Silva, one of the Directors of Santani stated, “We continue to be humbled by the number of international institutions and publications recognising the hard work that we have done by creating a game-changing product. It’s been almost three years since we opened, and it’s nice to know that even at this point of the product life cycle, we are being recognised globally.
“The support from the travel trade has also been great and just recently we were selected by guests of Red Dot Tours as the #1 hotel in Sri Lanka with 100% satisfaction on all the aspects that were evaluated. Santani was the only hotel to achieve a 100% score among over 140 hotels that were ranked. That kind of award means as much, if not more, because of the fact that it is based on direct consumer feedback.”
Located in the mountains of Sri Lanka showed an impressive recovery following the industry downturn due to the Easter attacks. The occupancy in August was over 50%, while the average daily rate has increased in comparison to last year. This was a testament to the strength of the brand that had been created with recognition from past guests, as well as publications such as TIME, CNN, Vogue, Conde Nast, Travel + Leisure, Forbes and more.
Santani CEO Vickum Nawagamuwage added, “We were above our expected budget for July and August and the most encouraging fact of this is that over 60% of the room nights booked for August were booked after 21 April. Our focus on the online segment and direct traffic has helped us bounce back faster than we expected. A PR-focused narrative with coverage in the New York Times also added to this. Our team is constantly focused on staying ahead of the curve in all aspects, and these results show the tenacity and the resilience of our team. However, there is still a lot more work to be done, and Sri Lanka needs to continue to be in the press at all points of time for the right reasons.”
For a resort completing its second full financial year, Santani performed extremely well in the financial year ending on March 31, 2019 with a GP margin of 89%, a EBITDA margin of 36% and an NP margin of 16%. These results also provided a 17% return to equity shareholders.
Santani is now on the next stage of its expansion with a clear strategy of scaling the brand. The first step in this expansion is Santani Residences, which is an extension of the current Santani property with 22 new villas that are currently available for private investment. Santani is also currently engaged in multiple discussions for managed properties, where they are looking at bringing in the success of its brand, products, and operating models to other partners.
Nawagamuwage added, “We are currently in negotiation with a few partners in Sri Lanka and in different parts of the world, and Santani’s footprint will soon extend beyond the shores of Sri Lanka. We are extremely excited about the next few years as we have the opportunity to further strengthen a global brand with Sri Lankan roots and position it among some of the top hospitality chains of the world.”
More information about the resort can be accessed at www.santani.lk.
