Malaysian Students Pick Tune Hotel As Transit Point In Melbourne

From Rafe'aton Mohd Ali MELBOURNE (Australia), March 31 (Bernama) -- Tune Hotel Melbourne, which has been operational since November last year, has become the top choice for Malaysian students and their family members as an economical transit point. Almost all students choose the pay-as-you-use hotel which is situated in Swanston Street, Carlton, here, due to its low charges and suitable location which is close to the Melbourne central business district and universities. Among universities near Tune Hotel Melbourne are Melbourne University, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT), Monash University, La Trobe University and Victoria University. A PhD student at Melbourne University, Khatijah Bee Mohd Ali, 44, when met by Bernama here, said that she chose Tune Hotel as a temporary lodging here as it is within close proximity to her university. "This hotel is in the compound of my university and it takes me about 15 minutes walk to my faculty. If I take the train, it will take me five minutes," she said. An RMIT University student, Noor Aishah Ahmad, 27, said in the beginning, she was anxious about lodging arrangement since the hotels in Melbourne are quite expensive, which is between A$200 to A$400 (RM600 - RM1,200) per night. "Initially, I planned to rent a room at the Malaysia Hall at High Street St Windsor but luckily Tune Hotel opened its doors here in November last year. "This made it possible for my parents to come along. We got a really good rate and RMIT is not too far from here," she said. Another PhD student at Victoria University, Swee Lin, 35, from east Malaysian state of Sarawak, said that with the opening of the Tune Hotel, more Malaysian students' parents can come to help their children settle down at their respective universities, especially for the first timers. "I think Tune Hotel should open more branches in other Australian cities such as Perth, Sydney and Brisbane," she said. Meanwhile, Tune Hotel Melbourne General Manager, Nathan Copsey, said since January this year, the hotel has received tremendous response from international visitors especially from the Asean market. "We started operations in November last year, but in the beginning business was quite slow. However, now there is 85 per cent occupancy every month, mostly because the visitors have already recognised our brand," he said. The 225-room hotel offers cafe and luggage storage services, self-service laundry, free Internet access in the lobby and car parks. --BERNAMA