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Asia
The Re-branding of Bangkok Hotels – Here’s the latest Score Card
By Special Correspondent Eve Nurme,
a student at Bangkok University International College
Bangkok, June 2004
Over the past twelve months there’s been a lot of hotel re-branding in Bangkok—most business travellers have little idea what’s what. Edward Carter asked me to find out.
Four Seasons, Regent, etc.
Late last year, the two Regent properties in Thailand were re-branded as the
Four Seasons Hotel Bangkok, and the Four Seasons Resort Chiang Mai.
The Four Seasons Hotel Bangkok
Four Seasons Resort Chiang Mai
The acquisition of the Regent brand in 1992 brought the Regent hotels in Bangkok and Chiang Mai under the management of the Four Seasons. In 1997, the Regent brand was re-sold to Carlson Hospitality Worldwide, but the Thai properties, owned by Rajadamri Hotels, continued to carry the Regent name. The decision to re-brand to the Four Seasons label was taken last August, and the official announcement came in conjunction with the annual Christmas Tree Lighting in December.
The Bangkok property’s public areas were beautifully renovated and refurbished a couple of years ago, and are today’s choice venues of Thai society and international businessmen. Currently, all of the deluxe suites are being renovated as well, and work will start on the rest of the rooms shortly. This is being done in three stages, and is expected to be completed in a year. The re-branding process also involves the retraining of the staff, the first stage of which is a year-long procedure as well.
Hilton, etc.
A prominent hotel in its time, the Hilton International Bangkok has ceased to exist. In January 2004 it was re-branded as Nai Lert Park Bangkok, Raffles International Hotel.
The garden at the Nai Lert Park Bangkok, Raffles International Hotel
The Sampatisiri family, owners of the property, had wanted to replace the Hilton for some time due to its deteriorating facilities. Apart from a few renovations several years ago, the Hilton was too obviously more than 20 years old, and few would pay five-star rates just for sentiment’s sake. On top of that, the Conrad Bangkok opened in early 2003, just a few hundred yards away and is now targeting the old Hilton guests.
Conrad Bangkok
So now that Raffles has taken over the old Hilton, a major renovation of both guest rooms and public areas is under way. Two of the three wings have been closed and gutted behind the original, exterior walls. The third wing, that was renovated 4 years ago, is still open in spite of the constant construction noise. The pool area is also closed and under reconstruction, and the function rooms and restaurants will follow in a few weeks.
Even though management hasn’t agreed on the design of the guest rooms, it is confident that all will be completed by the end of next month. Most of the management was inherited from Hilton and together with all the staff are being re-trained to Raffles’ standards.
Meridien, InterContinental, etc.
Le Meridien is another brand that has been dumped by the local owners. The group endured financial difficulties for some time until Starwood acquired its debt late last year. Le Meridien operated two neighbouring properties in Bangkok–Le Royal Meridien, and Le Meridien President–for 20 years. The new contract was given to InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) that re-branded Le Royal as the InterContinental Bangkok. It started operating in July 2003 and, apart from staff re-training and some minor refurbishments, nothing has changed.
InterContinental Bangkok
Le Meridien President, however, operated under the name President Hotel until December 2003 when the 30-year-old property was closed for major renovations. The work is expected to be completed by year-end and the new hotel will open under the Holiday Inn tag.
IHG is also developing an additional property, which will be branded as Crown Plaza Sukhumvit Bangkok and is due to open early 2006.
In April the Meridien Group signed a management contract with Hotel Plaza Athenée Bangkok. Although it is a five-star hotel in a very favourable location, Plaza Athenée owners have been struggling with low occupancy due to intense competition with nearby well-established brands such as Four Seasons and Conrad. Another reason could well be that the Plaza Athenée in New York is a stylish boutique-hotel and guests may be disappointed in its high-rise configuration in Bangkok. There are strong rumours that it will be rebranded very soon. Stay tuned.
Westin, etc.
The Westin Bangkok has a quixotic history. Initially run by ANA, it became Delta Grand Pacific, then Grand Pacific. While none of the brands were very successful, when majority owner—Hong Kong-based developer, Lai Sun Development—recently put its shares up for sale, everyone from Starwood, Six Continents, Accor, and Marriott, to Hyatt, Shangri-La, and Raffles lined up to strengthen their position in the market.
The hotel’s excellent location in the heart of the city was the major attraction and the bidding was messy. Eventually, the Narula family, that owns the next-door Sheraton Grand Sukhumvit, won and gave the property to Starwood to manage.
Westin Grande Sukhumvit
After some renovations, the Westin Grande Sukhumvit opened in April 2003. Most of the public areas have been completed, and now that the tourist high season is over, the rest of the guest rooms are being done and by the end of this month, all of the facilities will meet five-star standards.
Metropolitan
The sister of “the world’s coolest city hotel”–The Metropolitan on Park Lane, London—has entered the Bangkok hotel scene. The Metropolitan Bangkok opened in October 2003 and encompasses sleek design, cool dining, and a refreshingly accurate attitude to service.
Apart from the exterior walls of the former YMCA, everything was gutted and rebuilt. There are 7 types of rooms and suites in contemporary, Thai style. The public areas are minimalistic.
Like its sister, it has a “members and hotel guests only” Met Bar. The Metropolitan says that this selective process is only due to the limitations of the bar, which can comfortably accommodate only 110 people. So the management has appointed a membership committee to consider applications. Qualifications? Well, the Met Bar’s target market is the 5 Ms: Movies, Music, Models, Media, and Money. Members generally fit at least one of the categories. At the moment there are close to 800, mainly Thais (and Edward Carter, of course).
However, the Met Bar is open to non-members for lunch and drinks until evening, and if you’re reading this, you’re probably hip enough not to be asked to leave after the witching hour” when it goes “members and hotel guests only.”
For the moment, it is a one-of-a-kind hotel in the Big Mango, but if the breed takes off, we may see a W appearing too. That’s the rumour anyway, although Starwood has not confirmed nor denied.
Sofitel, Kempinski, and Ritz Carlton
Among some new developments are Sofitel Sukhumvit and Siam Kempinski, both due to open in 2006. For Kempinski it will be the first property in Thailand. There are rumours that Ritz Carlton is also seeking expansion possibilities in Bangkok, but their headquarters says it’s just gossip.
Chiang Mai
Obviously Bangkok is not the only destination in Thailand but while such resort areas as Phuket and Ko Samui are well known, many up-market visitors have undeservingly left out the northern capital of Chiang Mai. Maybe it’s because of the dearth of luxury properties in the area. So far there is only one, the Four Seasons Resort and Spa, Chiang Mai (previously Regent) but this is soon to change.
Both Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group and Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts have recognised the potential of this region of unique culture and beautiful landscapes:
· In the midst of rice paddies and tropical rainforest, Mandarin Oriental Dhara Dhevi, Chiang Mai will feature villas and over-sized suites. It plans to open by the end of 2004.
· Shangri-La Hotel and Spa, Chiang Mai, on the other hand, is planning to position itself as a deluxe city resort, surrounded by lush gardens. It is due to open in 2006.
And even the forerunner has plans; Four Seasons is building a luxurious “Tented Camp” in the Golden Triangle close to the Mekong River.
As Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra is pushing Chiang Mai to become Thailand’s major northern tourism hub, even more international brands are likely to arrive.
Those are the players and this is the scorecard…this month.
Editor’s Note: I’m just back from revisiting The Four Seasons Resort and Spa, Chiang Mai and am planning a major report on the resort and on Chiang Mai—a truly wonderful place. Amazing Thailand!
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