THE name Charles Morais may not yet ring a bell in Malaysia but the Kuala Lumpur-born entrepreneur is well on his way to becoming one of the leading hoteliers in the United States.

Spurred by the success that he has been notching up since he began acquiring hotels in the US in 1999, his Atlanta-based Kronos Hotels and Resorts last month bought a portfolio of 16 more hotels with 3,100 rooms.

And with 26 hotels already under his chain, mainly in the East Central region of the US, Kronos Hotels has announced plans to acquire 12 other properties outside the US by the end of the year, including two hotels in Morais' native country Malaysia.

Kronos Hotels Public Relations Manager Amira Shahnaz Ahmad Shahizan told Bernama from New York: " Morais wants to expand his hotel business in Malaysia, where he is now in the process of purchasing two new hotels which will be ready to open in 90 days".

Amira Shahnaz, herself a Malaysian and who works in Kronos Hotels' branch office in New York, said not only Morais wanted to expand his hotels to Malaysia but he would also promote Malaysian food and tourism worldwide.

Positioning Kronos Group

Kronos Hotels would through its hotels and restaurants add Malaysian foods such as roti canai, satay, cendol and other Malaysian delicacies in its menus, she said.

"Not only is Malaysian food important, halal food is also a concern for Morais who is trying to have halal meats available in all the hotels for guests who have preference for halal meats and this is how he intends to further satisfy and cater to guest needs," Amira Shahnaz said.

Morais, 45, who is Kronos Hotels Chief Executive Officer, also plans to make travelling and accommodations much easier for fellow Malaysians coming to the US by having toll-free 24-hour Call Centres where they could make bookings and reservations at any of the properties at any time of the day, given the time difference.

Some of the hotels under the Kronos chain include The Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn, Wyndham Hotels and Resorts and Choice Hotels International.

The influential Forbes magazine reported that Kronos Hotels' latest acquisitions of 16 hotels in the US was the first in a series of moves designed to rapidly position Kronos as a major hotel owner and operator both in the nation and worldwide.

Aggressively, yet responsibly

According to the magazine, Kronos Hotels is owned by Morais and his partners Rajesh Mir and Sunil Mir as well as other two investors, Sanwir Hansa and Moses Daniel.

"We understand the hospitality business and intend to grow Kronos Hotels aggressively, yet responsibly - including with other major acquisitions in the very near future," Forbes magazine quoted Morais as saying.

With the latest acquisitions, Kronos Hotels will own and operate hotels in the US that have assets approaching a quarter billion dollars.

The company also operates a hotel subsidiary called Sovereign Palms in Malaysia.

"The more completely we serve our guests and the easier we make it for them to stay at our properties, the faster we will grow due to repeat business from satisfied travellers," added Morais.