FOLLOWING a reincarnation from the Palm Beach Club in May 2011 and its success with the family segment, Mövenpick Resort Bangtao Beach Phuket is now keen to attract weddings to boost business.
“Our beachfront location, together with the recently expanded beach club, makes the resort an ideal venue for weddings and special occasion groups of up to 300 pax,” said Michael Wenk, the resort’s executive assistant manager.
Since positioning itself as a wedding venue since last October, the resort has seen positive results, with the Australian market showing the strongest demand, revealed Linda Basran, director of sales & marketing.
The 40-key resort has 11 three-bedroom residences, but will soon begin reconstructing them into three configurations from May, so they can be rented out as one-, two- or three-bedroom units in the future, increasing the total number of keys to 51.
Hailing Russia, China, the Middle East and Australia as its top source markets, Mövenpick Resort Bangtao Beach Phuket is also hoping to boost its share of the domestic market – currently less than one per cent of its clientele – to between three and five per cent.
Wenk remarked: “Occupancy averaged around 60 per cent last year and we hope to push it up to 70 per cent this year. Meanwhile, we are aiming for an overall growth of 27 per cent this year.”
Looking ahead, Wenk said the outlook for 2013 was good. “Bookings in the first quarter have already grown 30 per cent from the same period last year, and we are only halfway through the first quarter.”
At the same time, the Mövenpick brand will see a “significant expansion” in Thailand this year, with new properties opening in Chiang Mai and Koh Samui in the second quarter and Pattaya in the third quarter, according to Basran.
