MÖVENPICK Hotels & Resorts has signed a management agreement with an existing property on Koh Samui as part of its expansion strategy for Thailand, which will see the Swiss hotelier expand its footprint to as many as nine properties within the next few years.
The Passage, a 50-key property on Lam Yai beach, will be renovated at a cost of 20 million baht (US$616,732) and rebranded as Mövenpick Resort Laem Yai Beach Samui, which is due to open on November 1, said Tossaporn Satitwittayakul, executive director of Thana Group, the property’s owner.
An additional 23 rooms and villas will be added within three years.
Andreas Mattmüller, COO, Middle East and Asia at Mövenpick, said this brings the operator’s hotel count in Thailand to three, with two more properties to open by the end 2015.
“We would like to have (a total of) eight or nine hotels in Thailand within the next few years,” he said, adding that while Thailand is a current focus for the management company’s regional expansion plan, there will be similar developments in Vietnam, Malaysia and the Philippines in the near future.
“Thailand is very fortunate in attracting visitors from diverse markets,” said Mattmüller. “There is an increase in travel from the Middle East. Intra-regional travel from Hong Kong and Singapore is very strong for both Koh Samui and Phuket. We’re also yielding good results from our sales offices in China, Japan and Russia.”
Mattmüller said the current political problems in Thailand have not affected Mövenpick’s position on the country, though it has delayed the opening of the new resort in Pattaya.
The Samui opening will be its third property in Thailand followed by Mövenpick White Sand Beach Resort Pattaya and Mövenpick Suriwongse Hotel Chiang Mai next year.
Negotiations are ongoing for additional properties in Hua Hin, Samui, Bangkok and Phuket, added Mattmüller.
