Top 5 Budget Hotels in Kuala Lumpur

Kuala Lumpur is a very competitive market for Hotels. As far as numbers go, Kuala Lumpur has more than enough hotels however by 2020, the government has estimated an excess of 48 million tourists. This will surely lead to a shortage of accommodation. As most of us are aware, Budget Hotels are the current trend in the market. I have listed 5 of the best hotels in Kuala Lumpur. I have not been paid on endorsed by any of the Hotels.

Let's start with the pick of the bunch. The cherry as we like to say. My choice for this is a little known boutique hotel which is gaining big traction in the market. The Hotel has only been operational since October 2010 however it has made waves in the budget accommodation market and the wonderful branding has made it a power to be reckoned with in the future.,

1. Apple Hotel in Kuala Lumpur is a unique boutique hotel in Jalan Alor. Why is it number one? The Hotel has gone out of it's way to be Green. It has environmentally friendly towels and pillow cases which can be easily disposed of after use without causing harm as opposed to big normal towels. The hotel is clean and comfortable. The security is excellent. As far as location goes. This Hotel is a dead set winner. Right in the heart of Bukit Bintang in Jalan Alor. The food crazy street of Jalan Alor pays a lot of homage to many travelers and Apple Hotel in right in the middle of it. Either, you want to rough it for simple street food or something a lot more extravagant, it's all available in this area. The price point is very good, from RM108 to RM148. I give it a nice 8/10.
2. Tune Hotel. Without a doubt, Tune has been a leader in the market. The hotel is clean and comfortable, the security is very good like Apple Hotel, the location is great. The monorail is next door making it easy to access other areas of Kuala Lumpur. The only issue for me is the price point. I feel charging for every little thing is a bit much. The add on of air con etc should be free and the price point is not to my liking. 6/10.

These two are currently the market leaders, Next week i will cover the other three I have discovered in Kuala Lumpur. Think these are the best. Why not let me know what you think.

My Hero - Happy Mothers Day

Recently, one of my friends asked me who was my hero? I remember back when I was younger, I would answer back with a "Michael Jordan " or a " Sir Edmond Hillary ". However, times have changed. I have grown. As has my knowledge of the real world. With growth, I have gone thrown failure and success, ups and down.

But at last I know, I can name my true hero. They compete on all levels with the greats of the world. They may not be a Einstein or a Pele, but to me, they will forever be my hero. You ask me who my hero is, well, it's simple. They are my parents. If people don't know me, they will ask the question, why your parents? Let me answer that in the simplest fashion possible.

I was born in Fiji in a very remote place called Labasa on Vanua Levu. Not the main island called Viti Levu but the other one that not many tourist go to. We moved to Suva and my memories of Labasa are dim at best. We moved to Suva the capital and with his job and career prospects, we saw Nadi, the international airport is there. During the first coup, we lost a lot in it and had to move to New Zealand. I was still a little shit than but New Zealand opened my eyes like it would never have happened in Fiji.

My Father left Fiji before us to set up shop in New Zealand , looking for a job etc. My mum with six children in tow took a plan to New Zealand around 6 weeks later. With little or no money, All eight of us shared a room at my Aunties house. A experience i would never forget. We didn't have enough money between us to catch a bus or train to the local town, things were very tight, so we walked. My father took a job at the bank and my mum took a job at the nursing home. Both walked tirelessly to make a better life for myself and brothers and sisters. We worked after school sometimes juggling different jobs, including a paper route or milk run. We even took a job at the local supermarket. Times were tough.

With time and hard work, our conditions improved in New Zealand. We are all away to different parts of the world chasing our dreams. But we can never forget the how we got here to this point. My friends are chasing there dream with Apple Hotel and they all had a similar start as me. My story may not be unique or inspiring however when I asked the question who is your hero, give some thought to your parents and the sacrifice they make.  I want to take the time to thank my Mum for always cooking my favorite food when i'm home and going out of her way to do so. Happy Mothers Day

Taxi Drivers in Kuala Lumpur

Normally, I don't like to say a lot about people scamming etc however my patience has finally run out. Yesterday I tried to catch a cab from Jalan Alor to Bangsar, taking into account it wasn't peak time. I walked from Apple Hotel which is in Jalan Alor to Bukit Bintang, areound a minute. Walked across the road dodging crazy traffic and went to the que of taxis.

I asked the taxi driver if he could take me to Bangsar, price quoted going by my accent , as I can easily pass as a local with my Indian background. RM45 was the price. I knew the fare was no more than 10 0 15 depending on traffic. Now I have heard that the cab drivers here were some of the nastiest in the world but now I have had first hand experience as a tourist. This has happened to me at KL Sentral and Mud Valley as well. also when my family arrived here. Some Hotels seem to have a deal with these taxis, how far can the Hotels go to police the situation, maybe ban the cheating drivers?

I am aghast at this situation here. It clearly states that the Taxis are not allowed to bargain, or more to the point that we were not allowed to bargain with them. In any event, if i threatened to complain, I feel the driver would only laugh at me. To top it off most of the cabs here are illegal. Will the Government take a stance against them? I feel and saw how this is really hurting the tourist business here. A bright block came up with a solution for this and introduced the blue cabs. Funny, I say, the price you pay them is double including RM6 just to get started.

In summary, whether your catching a cab from Apple Hotel in Jalan Alor or catching a can anywhere, be prepared to get ripped off. Welcome to Kuala Lumpur people. The Malaysian Government could surely do something but i fear this is a dead issue as they don't give a shit. I am not slagging the government as such but I feel in terms as a nice image of their country, it may be a good idea to really crack down on these taxis. Anyone had a bad experience? Feel free to comment. 

Battle Between Facebook & Google for Likes

For anyone who is anyone, you may have jumped on to Facebook and gathered a community of friends. When you post something, your friends may press the like button on Facebook. Sometimes it's good to see how many of your friends support your cause or simply that your friends are paying attention to your life and they do care. Now what has this got to do with Hotels in Kuala Lumpur you ask ?

Well, Google just introduced the +1 function on the web. (this is currently only available in the US) The function is similar to the like button and lets you add the +1 to a website you like. Great, you think? Well there is more. Through this you will be able to see how many other uses have added the +1 and it will give you a tally of your community and other people as well thou you won't know who they are.

We as Hotel Marketers are already fighting for the Social Media space knowing full well the signals provided by Facebook do provide a boasting hand to your SERPS. Now, we all expected the Panda changes or farmer update but this, I have to admit, I was not ready for. Now I am at the drawing board already getting ready to fire up plans on how this will effect Search Engine Traffic.

Clearly moving forward this +1 function will have an effect on our Search Results. The fact that users are now directly influencing our results may not be a bad thing. Our daily battles with content optimization, searching for Back Links like the Holy Grail has now given us something else to mull over. The mix of internet Marketing into the Social space has been the trend for a while however with Google jumping in as it has tried a few times already will make this a lot more interesting. I for one will be following this one as I also feel they will be a lot of abuse of this product.,

I ask Google to prove me wrong here =)

The good the bad and the ugly in SEO

Most companies now have taken the foresight to dive into the SEO market. Some will do it head first will others will dip a toe to find the best way forward. SEO in the near future is here to stay. Combine that with Social Media and your armed to the teeth in a never ending war against your competitors.

The Good

The good part is that most SEO services will stay within the safe guidelines that Google has provided. That means natural link building by providing quality content. Not copying and pasting into your CMS. Most will do a through analysis of your site, starting onsite, working with relevant keywords, by that I mean converting keywords. A good example of that is in the Hotel industry. a phrase like "Hotel Kuala Lumpur" might not be the best converting phrase. In terms search volume, it is pure mass. Around 130,000 searches locally per month. Now getting a percentage of this market would make anyone happy. I would consider this a branding phrase. Great to get your name up there however the conversion would not be high in terms of sales. If you were a budget Hotel. The better converting phrase would be "Budget Hotel in Kuala Lumpur". The search volume is lower hence not so Generic.

This would give you a better chance at converting the phrase. You could funnel it down a bit more to "Budget Hotel Jalan Alor" Now Jalan Alor is a street. This is a lot closer to home. The chances have increased dramatically. The search volume is not high and the competition value is low. A great phrase to target to get to the first page.

Now being on the first page is great. But let's face it! the bottom of Page one is not good. You might as well shoot yourself on the foot instead of celebrating. The position your after is top 3. The click ratio increases to 33% of the total search volume. A friend of mine recently started looking after Apple Hotel in Jalan Alor. The company has some great social media strategies as you can see on their Facebook Page. However, all the pages on the site have an error in the root directory. This is considered a major problem in terms of having a clean indexable site for the keywords.

Tomorrow will dive a bit more into the bad of SEO. In the mean time feel free to go onthe Apple Hotel site and be sure to fire back some suggestions on how to improve it.

Facebook Questions Feature for Apple Hotels in Kuala Lumpur

Yesterday was a day of trail and error. Facebook recently launched it's new question's feature and being a willing participant I decided to give it a bash to see the engagement level. So we decided to post it up on Facebook, the question being "Where should Apple Hotel Build a New Hotel".

Apple Hotel usually gets engagement level of around 0.98% of it's 1690 or so fans. When we started this campaign, the  level was 1680 fans so maybe it's lead to a slight growth. However, what is really great is the raise in engagement and also from countries unexpected. When I went to sleep last night, our level was around 1.3% so already a bit of a success. I woke up today to find that we had people voting from Ireland and that was winning the poll. The total engagement level is now at increasing the ratio to around 1.6%.

Now, this is great. However, not only can we use the poll for this but we can also use it for many other things, including research in making the Hotel better. Companies can use this for consumer research and the numbers don't lie. I have already become a fast fan of this product. Already preparing a list of questions to ask per week to engage our fans at Apple Hotel in Kuala Lumpur.

So many uses for such a great tool leaves me wondering which other clients of mine could use it. Apple Hotel is making a big point in doing something new. No other company in Malaysia has so far used this feature and Apple Hotel's is clearly a step ahead than the rest.

Budget Hotel in Bukit Bintang Kuala Lumpur

We all know they are plenty of hotels in Kuala Lumpur. With the current trend towards budget hotels, we seem to be seeing a lot more spring up everywhere there is land or building. In my recent venture to Kuala Lumpur, I was in Bukit Bintang, more specifically Jalan Alor. 

For those who haven't been there, Jalan Alor is a food lovers paradise. Walking down the street at night (dead in the day time) the street is vibrant and full of life. Food stalls pop into existence from little side streets. The whole street is full of color and life. The hawker's stand at every restaurant trying to pull you in. The table cloths are out for the more expensive restaurant. 

A few icons stand out while walking down Jalan Alor, you got old town coffee, and of course the other beacon of light in Jalan Alor is Apple Hotel. The big green hotel is like a beacon of hope for weary travelers passing by. I walked in to a very nice lobby, by far one of the nicest for a budget hotel in Kuala Lumpur. The Lobby had the chairs all designed like an apple which i thought was way cool. 

I moved to my room after checking, prices range from RM88 to around RM148 depending on what your after. Their is a loft service provided and it works. The room was a bit small however, the way i figure it, I'm here to see the city and not spend time in my room. Now travelling around Asia, I have to say "this was the best nights sleep, so far in Asia". The beds are super comfy, the toilets are a bit weird with the shower and toilet very close, but hell, this is Asia. 

Later the manager told me, the beds are "dreamland". The high end beds here in Malaysia. Making it a super comfortable sleep. I asked to have my room cleaned as i extended for a second night. I came back after a hard day of wondering about, the room was spotless. Now, once again I have to say the thing that got me was cleanliness.  Upon check out, i thanked the lovely staff and went on my merry way. A great hotel and would easily recommend. Apparently they have iPad check in now as well. Dam, how i wish i was there for that. Sounds like a traffic idea. I wish Apple Hotel in Jalan Alor all the best for the future. They Facebook page is pretty cool as well. 

The Week in Review

So just to be different I decided to stay away from the Hotel Topic and talk about the week in Review. Let's start with some Fantastic results in Football, Man Utd lost two big games and now the door is open for Arsenal to climb the table. Utd lost the rails against Chelsea than were totally outplayed by Liverpool. It was a real pity Arsenal couldn't take advantage and were held to a draw by the gallant Sunderland.

In other news of worth, England lost a thriller to Irelan, joyous news I say, however they did bounce back with a nice win against South Africa (this is cricket btw). I  had a delicious helping of Hokkien Mee, it was lovely.  Looking forward to the New Zealand game now and hoping to get a nice win against the Pakis today.

There is a Franchise show or exhibition this week and Apple Hotel in Jalan Alor has entered in hoping to grow the Hotel. The first budget to Hotel in Malaysia to think outside the box, great Facebook Page as well. Stabucks has been a great place for me as life without internet is not great. All Black Caps time to secure that place in the quarters.

Hotel Magic

A little magic can go a long way into making your Hotel more than just another Hotel. What do I mean by magic? By Magic, I mean do something a little different, be creative with branding or simply use your marketing skills to think outside the square. 

The hotel market in Kuala Lumpur is very competitive. Most Hotels struggle to survive and the one's with the big budget usually win. How can a small Hotel compete in such a big market? The first step I would suggest is going Niche. 

Why Niche? When Niche, it makes it easier to compete for the keyword or the phrase you are after. A hotel should aim to dominate at least one key search phrase in any given market. The Phrase may actually be there own brand eg Apple Hotel. It is a well searched phrase, and if you type in Apple Hotel in Kuala Lumpur, they have done a great job of dominating the first page results. 

Other things to consider are the Facebook Page. Apple Hotels has once again set a standard here in Kuala Lumpur. They have a landing page and are one of only a few to do that in Malaysia. Only the 5 Star Hotels seem to be taking this step seriously. Facebook as far as we are concerned is a goldmine for engaging fans and pulling in new customers. 

Twitter and why twitter? Most people don't relize the SERPs benefit on Twitter but even better is the fact that you can plug into what people are saying. This can lead to a key generation of business. 

SMB's need to start looking into these little ideas to stay ahead in the very competitive business world. 

Rising cost of PPC for Hotels

In terms of Marketing, Hotels are always looking for more effective forms. Pay Per Click (Adwords) is generally  just one of the methods utilised by high end companies. Even some budget hotels are getting into the act of doing Adwords.

However with the marketing budget of a big 5 Star Hotel like Sunway or Hilton, it is very hard to compete on that platform. You are not only competing with the big gun hotels but also with major OTA players like Agoda, Booking.com. The cost of PPC is anyhere depending on the words your after from 1USD to 6USD and even more in some cases.

Take into account the clicks are not sales but a click through to a landing page. Now I have just opened another can of worms here with landing pages. We won't discuss that today, and stick with PPC costs. A efficient method is looking for longer tail keywords.

Know the enemy as I like to say and do your homework and research, Plan, Plan and Plan. The keywords like Hotel in Kuala Lumpur, is simply not a converting keyword for most Hotels. It is A; too generic, and it doesn't fit the bill of the end user. This is where the research is comes in. Are people searching via narrow locations eg using suburbs.

I have recently been engaged by Apple Hotel in Kuala Lumpur who have a modest budget for this however our performance outranks the big players due to research and finding the right converting keywords. Keyword tools from google is great for research however other tools are available and don't forget the Ad copy. Write a few and monitor to find the best.

In Malaysia, Adwords is still under utilised in most markets however in the Hotel market, you need do a lot of research to get this right. 

Boutique Hotels in Kuala Lumpur

The trend is boutique and Budget. The two big B's of the hotel world. Why Boutique and why budget you ask? Let's start answering that with a Budget first, price point is always the key point for any traveller. Be it a family or a solo person. Hotel's are either offering promotions to entice customer or slashing down the rack rate to make sure the room is occupied.

The hotel would rather have someone in that room even at just over break even point than not at all. Budget Hotel trend can be credited to the likes of Tune however another Hotel making big waves is Apple Hotel in Kuala Lumpur. Which brings me to the point of Boutique. Apple Hotel is a boutique hotel with all the bells and whistles offered in great branding.

The Hotel has rattan chairs designed in the apple shape, basins, light all shaped by the brand. The place is clean and comfortable. The rooms are a bit small but is reality,  it's no frills accommodation for the busy tourist. I appreciate the qualities as all we are after are the two Cs, clean and comfortable. The price point is in between a guest house and a Hotel which it self may be seen as bridging a market.

Instead of extra add ons, it offers convenient location with a food trail to boot. A great place to stay and the staff all speak english.

I will give this place a thumbs up any day.

Boutique Hotels in Kuala Lumpur

The trend is boutique and Budget. The two big B's of the hotel world. Why Boutique and why budget you ask? Let's start answering that with a Budget first, price point is always the key point for any traveller. Be it a family or a solo person. Hotel's are either offering promotions to entice customer or slashing down the rack rate to make sure the room is occupied.

The hotel would rather have someone in that room even at just over break even point than not at all. Budget Hotel trend can be credited to the likes of Tune however another Hotel making big waves is Apple Hotel in Kuala Lumpur. Which brings me to the point of Boutique. Apple Hotel is a boutique hotel with all the bells and whistles offered in great branding.

The Hotel has rattan chairs designed in the apple shape, basins, light all shaped by the brand. The place is clean and comfortable. The rooms are a bit small but is reality,  it's no frills accommodation for the busy tourist. I appreciate the qualities as all we are after are the two Cs, clean and comfortable. The price point is in between a guest house and a Hotel which it self may be seen as bridging a market.

Instead of extra add ons, it offers convenient location with a food trail to boot. A great place to stay and the staff all speak english.

I will give this place a thumbs up any day.

Hotel Marketing with converting Keywords.

Recently we came across a project from a budget hotel in Kuala Lumpur. The project consisted of us helping increase traffic through SEM , SEO and Social Media to the company. Most people who are in my shoe would have to admit Keyword research is a very time consuming task.

Generic keyword research can lead to low conversions and also from a SEO & PPC point of view, high costs. Now i wasn't at the first meeting however, the bloke meeting my business partner was the official e-commerce expert. He claimed to know SEO and he was a specialist is OTA marketing. However he turned out to be a man that steals ideas. He did know OTA but when he supplied us with keywords, well let me give you a example, "hotel", "Bookings" Those were the keywords he was actually wanting us to chase.

We did have a good laugh at first, than we decided to get down to business. The important factor in keyword research is using a funnel methodology to find the most converting.
eg. Hotels Kuala Lumpur, Thou is massively searched is not really relevant.

Let's look at something more in line :- Budget Hotel in Bukit Bintang , Now this is a lot closer to what we want however it is still someone shopping around. Branding may help you get a better conversion but let's jump a little closer.

Budget Hotel in Jalan Alor , now most experts may consider this a not well searched phrase however, this will have a 75% chance of converting (results based on Google analytics). Directing the traffic to the correct URL is also very important. These things aren't taken into consideration when doing research and it is a pity. The success or failure of your business may on day depend on the smallest detail.

Two very Different Types of Apples

I recently read about two different types of apples. You would say apples, what is new about this. There are many types of apples in this world, but what I am talking about is two types of hotels. Both seem to be vying for Budget Hotel in Kuala Lumpur market, however, as there are standards, so is there class by one has the feeling of security and comfort and one has a feeling more rotten.

I begin my visit to the Apple Inn Jalan Pudu. I started using Google to re-read the reviews before going there just to give me the idea. Google Places and Booking.com have some reviews, and not one was very friendly, so I went to find out for myself. First of all, green used here didn't quite seem to catch the cool atmosphere of the owner was after.That doesn't say much.

I booked a room and was told to go upstairs, Fine so far, however upon entering the room, I knew i was in trouble. The room was small which is consistent with Budget Hotels in Kuala Lumpur. But it was dirty. I can safely say the person who cleaned the room did not change sheets. Not impressed at all. Upon talking to the reception bloke, he said the room was made and no further explanation was needed. Brilliant.

Next on my stay was Apple Hotel in Jalan Alor. Again I went through the evaluation process, before checking into the hotel. The website states that the hotel takes into account travel budget and the rooms are a bit small. It is very true, but for the price I felt it was a good deal. The first thing you notice is that this hotel in Kuala Lump is very clean. The decor matched the mark very well and reached the green to give the brand a bit of freshness. I can easily understand why critics were so good when entering the rooms. It seemed that everything was very new, however, be a new hotel, I'd expect it to be. Each room has a bathroom and think that the owners had really given this hotel some thought. Once again, the convenient location makes this place ideal for a customer visit.

So between the two apples in Kuala Lumpur, I would say that the price difference is very similar and Apple Hotel in Jalan Alor is by far the best option. As we all know, no one likes a rotten apple and if it is not your choice of food I suggest staying away from the Apple Inn.

Food Shopping in Kuala Lumpur

Food shopping or normal super market shopping in Kuala Lumpur is totally different than we had expected. My friend had advised me that it was cheaper to eat out than to buy groceries here. I scoffed at the idea as being a good old fashioned country boy, we love our cereals and toast.

In saying that the food in Kuala Lumpur is amazing. Lots of variety to choose from. the local Malays have some great food with their Nasi Lemak for breakfast and the tea is very tasty as well (teh tarik). The Chinese seem to prefer a noodle breakfast and the Indians Roti Chenai.

Trying all this is great fun and the taste is amazing however sometimes we just have to have the plain muesli and toast. In my hunt I went to the supermarket to look for some milk, museli, bread, eggs and the good old kiwi trustful, weetbix. I did manage to find it but the prices were ridiculous, maybe it's because they were all imported products apart from the bread,milk and eggs.

So what have a learnt in shopping in Kuala Lumpur for Food? Eat out and it's a lot cheaper than eating than buying food. I know this has absolutely nothing to do with www.applehotels.com or Hotels in Kuala Lumpur however, think carefully before you go grocery shopping in Malaysia.

Budget Hotel in Kuala Lumpur

When looking for a budget hotel, what do we take into consideration? First and foremost is the price. Currently we all use so many portals or online travel agencies to get the best possible price. Is this the best way forward or are we better going directly to the Hotel's website? I think we all have to take other things into account when looking at a budget Hotel.

Security is the big concern as with most budget hotels who really lack the foresight to take the guests safety into account. Reviews is another, how do we really trust those reviews posted on numerous websites saying that the hotel is amazing only to turn up and find out that the hotel is absolutely bullocks.

Recently we found a budget hotel in Kuala Lumpur that seems to have thought most of these processes through. Firstly it's more than a budget hotel but more so a boutique hotel that runs at really low prices. We stayed two nights at Apple Hotel. The security was great as they actually had two people working at night. The front door is keycard controlled and movement to the lifts is controlled by another set of security doors.

Though it is right outside the very busy Jalan Alor, the noise does not carry through which makes for a great nights sleep specially with the amazing beds they have.

They have really gone all out on the whole fake review scenario by posting genuine reviews by all the guests staying there. This is done via video making it more realistic and more likely that i would buy a room here.

Overall we feel Apple Hotel has done a great job and as far as hotel reviews in kuala lumpur goes, they are a mark above anyone else.

Budget Hotel Trend

The recent tread in Hotels isn't so much going for luxury but for convenience. The most recent example been a little Hotel that we fell is going to have a big reputation one day, Apple Hotel in Kuala Lumpur. This Hotel of 40 or so beds is setting the standard in Budget Hotels in Kuala Lumpur.

Let me begin by giving you a quick tour of this Hotel. As you walk through the front door, you will first fill how efficient and clean it is compared to the streets of Jalan Alor. Not that Jalan Alor is that messy however the stalls in front of the hotel hide the true beauty of this place. A key card is received upon check in and customers have to go through a security door to their rooms which is a great comfort to people weary about security.

The Rooms are well designed and made for the no frills traveler. The rooms are small but the bed's are very comfortable, later we found out they are Dreamland beds, a major superbrand in Malaysia. The comfort of the beds are unreal. The room comes with it's own toilet and bathroom.

This is a classic case of budget traveling. The idea is to spend time outside and not in your room however the sleep should be comfortable and the room clean. With Jalan Alor food and Bukit Bintang just outside the door, why would you want to stay in the room.

Our verdict is the designer got this right. The hotel is excellent. The room the right size and no frills is great. The price range is on par with other budget hotels however we would easily pay more for the comfort and security. Apple Hotel has managed to hit the nail in the head in the very competitive cheap accommodation market in Kuala Lumpur.