Thailand’s Montara Hospitality Group – known in the luxury market for its Trisara resort in Phuket – has set up a separate company, Heritage Stay, to turn heritage buildings into posh hostels or poshtels.

The new company is a joint venture with an experienced hand at poshtels, Chittipan Srikasikorn, who was business development director at Lub d, part of Thailand’s Narai Hotel Group that operates modern hostels in Bangkok and Phuket.

Poshtels generally are design-, technology- and social-led, their growing popularity driven by travellers who desire local colour and interaction, not necessarily just budget accommodation. The trend started in Europe with brands such as Generator, which change the idea of hostels as cheap and dirty with their smart looks and a full social programme that brings guests together.

Heritage Stay adds a new twist. Its first project is a conversion of one of Asia’s oldest movie theatres, Prince’s Cinema in Bangkok’s Bang Rak district, near Shangri-La Hotel, into a poshtel. Abandoned for years, the building is under the purview of the Thai Treasury; Heritage Stay has obtained a 10-year lease with an option to renew, according to Montara chief commercial officer, Kittisak Pattamasaevi.

The cinema is now being renovated into a theatre-inspired poshtel with around 100 beds. There will be private suites and ladies rooms, and the maximum number of beds per room will be eight, although each guest will have his/her privacy in a way that keeps to the them – theatre curtains in this instance.

“We’re looking at the top-end of hostel offerings, targeting an average rate of 600 baht (US$17) to 700 baht per night per bed,” said Kittisak. “We expect a high turnover due to the great location, the concept and our focus on key essentials such as security.”

The idea to turn heritage buildings into poshtels stems from his father’s love for old buildings. The Pattamasaevi family, which established Montara, has preserved buildings in Lampang as a library, art and exhibition centre.

Chittipan, who is managing director of Heritage Stay, said the company is looking to acquire or lease not just heritage buildings in Thailand but South-east Asia.

When asked how differently he would do poshtels from his previous company, he said: “The Lub d brand has a sense of fun, is social and vibrant. Heritage Stay will be more focused on local authentic experiences – we have tons of stories about the property and destination – and more social engagement. We want to be a smart host as we know travellers today don’t travel only for fun.”

Heritage Stay is targeting for 1,000 beds by 2019.

The annual smog that blankets northern Thailand due to slash-and-burn agriculture in the months of March and April is less severe this year, which should give tourism operators in Chiang Mai cause for optimism but other factors weigh on their business outlook.

Chalinee Rojanaboontham, e-commerce manager at Dusit Princess Chiang Mai, said the hotel is not affected by the smog but occupancy for the Songkran holiday is still not full. Room occupancy on April 13-14 has reached 80 per cent but dips to only 50 per cent on April 15.

Wat Phra That Doi Suthep 

Part of the reason, according to Chalinee, is that this period is a low season for Chiang Mai, unlike the peak season from late November to February.

While the smog impacts other northern provinces and rural areas of Chiang Mai, neither Chiang Mai’s downtown nor Standard Tour’s business is affected, said the company’s spokesperson Ampha Chanawat.

However, the Chiang Mai-based tour operator, whose main clientele is Chinese, has saw a decline in Chinese business following the zero-fee tour clampdown as some customers switched to Vietnam instead.

As well, a Chiang Mai Tour Center staff told TTG Asia that the smog is a lesser concern but the agency has not seen much business from foreign tourists, resulting in a loss of revenue. The company plans to compensate for the loss by launching tours to target the domestic market instead.

The Flight Centre Travel Group (FLT) has outlined plans to create a new global business that will provide in-destination services to travellers, including transfers, excursions and day-trips, arrangements for meetings and incentive groups, and land arrangements for cruises and tour groups.

The plans, which are being implemented in conjunction with Vietnam’s Thien Minh Group (TMG), will see the companies create a large Asia-based DMC business by combining TMG’s Buffalo Tours business in Vietnam with the smaller joint venture DMC businesses the two companies currently operate across 10 other countries.

“We believe that there are huge opportunities in the in-destination sector and it has become one of our key strategic growth areas for the future,” said FLT’s managing director Graham Turner.

Further acquisitions and diversification are planned, with FLT previously signalling its intention to consider hotel management opportunities, or joint ventures in key markets in the future.

TMG will retain a 41.5 per cent holding in the larger business, while FLT will see its holding increase from 49 per cent to 58.5 per cent of the new business.

Agreements are in place for FLT to increase its holding further in 2018 and for TMG to invest in the global DMC offering that the companies plan to create in the short to medium term.

The new Asia DMC is expected to turnover about $US70million and generate in the order of $US5million in earnings before interest and tax during the 2017 calendar year.

With the expansion and growth in Asia, the company’s leadership structure will change.

Suyin Lee, previously the head of FLT’s businesses in Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines, will become Buffalo Tours managing director. She will continue to be based in Singapore.

With Lee’s promotion, David Fraser, the managing director of FLT’s Greater China (Mainland China and Hong Kong) business, will now take on a broader role as head of a regional Asia leadership team that will oversee the Greater China, Singapore, Malaysia and Philippines businesses, together with the FCM Travel partner network in the region.

In India, Rakshit Desai will continue as managing director.

Fraser and Desai will continue to report to Rob Flint, executive general manager – global corporate operations, while Lee will report to the Buffalo Tours board.

The potential travel disruptions caused by geopolitical situations, which has been termed VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous) by international travel agency network Virtuoso, has affected how destinations are perceived worldwide.

According to a survey by Virtuoso, 40 per cent of US travel advisors are avoiding destinations like the Middle East, Europe and Africa due to concerns over terrorism.

Mount Cook, New Zealand

Instead, Americans are showing preference for destinations perceived as safer including Japan and New Zealand in Asia-Pacific, or choosing to travel domestically or to Canada.

A smaller percentage of advisors (10 per cent) say clients are changing travel plans due to a concern over anti-American sentiment as a result of president Donald Trump’s travel ban, despite it not being in effect currently.

Outside of the US, 42 per cent of Virtuoso-affiliated travel advisors say clients are avoiding travel to the US due to factors including opposition to the country’s foreign policy and concerns over obtaining visas.

As an alternative, they are electing to travel to destinations such as Italy, Australia and the UK. The majority of advisors anticipate the slowdown in travel to the US will last three to six months.

UK-based OTA Responsible Travel will no longer promote trips that include visits to zoos and has removed six of these from its site, the first travel company to publicly make such a move.

Last year, travel companies and conservation groups voiced their stance against certain controversial wildlife venues and practices, none of which included a total boycott of zoos.

Justin Francis, CEO of Responsible Travel, said: “Zoos are not appropriate in 2017. They are relics of the past, and the arguments to justify keeping animals in captivity no longer stand up. The sad reality is that the animals are held captive primarily for our entertainment not for reasons of conservation and it is time that this stopped.”

The OTA said there is increasing evidence that some animals kept in zoos develop abnormal behaviours not seen in the wild as a result of frustration or stress, and there is little evidence that seeing animals in zoos makes people become active conservationists.

And while many zoos argue they are breeding centres for endangered species, 90 per cent of animals kept in zoos are not endangered.

Responsible Travel had consulted with wildlife charity, Born Free Foundation, leading up to its decision, and is now urging its tour operator partners to follow suit and asks travellers to think twice before visiting a zoo.

The company will still promote legitimate animal sanctuaries and rescue centres for animals that cannot be returned to the wild; wildlife conservancies and national parks; and rehabilitation centres where animals are looked after and then returned to the wild, on the condition that no captive breeding takes place on their grounds.

Bangkok-based Absolute Hotel Services Group will try its hand at managing a golf resort when its first Eastin resort opens its doors in early 2018.

Eastin Thana City Golf Resort Bangkok is located within the Thana City mixed-use development, which includes the newly renovated Thana City Golf and Sport Club, 25 minutes from downtown Bangkok and 10 minutes from Suvarnabhumi Bangkok International Airport.

Guests at the 194-room property will be able to enjoy use of the facilities at the neighbouring golf and sport club, which includes an international-class 18-hole course designed by Greg Norman.