By Jane Han
Staff Reporter
An executive of an overseas human resources consulting firm, who asked not to be named, says in weighing between Lotte and Hyatt for its corporate hotel in Seoul his company recently decided to turn down the Korean lodging giant. The reason for the rejection went back to the struggling business's same old problems.
A weak brand image, almost non-existent global recognition and aging facilities are factors that had Lotte Hotel lose again, all of which are pushing the country's biggest lodging unit further into the red.
The business, under the wings of South Korea's fifth-largest conglomerate, has been suffering a hefty deficit for the past two years. It saw a 9.8 billion won loss in operating profit in 2006 and another 5.2 billion won loss in 2007.
A deficit is bad in itself, but the worse part is that its main competitors, Shilla and Westin Chosun, are enjoying profits at the same time.
What industry experts and potential guests point out as Lotte's biggest problem is its