Cape & Kantary to invest Bt7 bn on nine new hotels

The group this year will open four hotels, with a total of 483 rooms. They are Somewhere Koh Sichang in Chon Buri province, Kantary Korat in Nakhon Ratchasima, Kameo Amata Nakorn in Bang Pakong, Chon Buri, and one on Koh Yao Noi in Phang Nga province.
The group is investing Bt2 billion in the four projects.
Five more hotel projects with a total of 400 rooms are in the pipeline and scheduled to open by 2020. Three will be located in Pattaya and two on Koh Samui.
Poomiphat Navanukroh, the group’s director for travel industry, said yesterday that 2016 would see the biggest expansion for the company, with the opening of four hotels as well as creation of a new brand – Somewhere.
He said the company currently operated 18 hotels with 3,178 rooms. The number of rooms will increase to 3,611 by the end of this year after the opening of the four new hotels and will reach 4,000 rooms by 2020.
Part of Kasemkij Group, Cape & Kantary Hotels is eyeing more investment in hotels and related businesses such as cafes and bakery shops as well as negotiating with foreign investors for future development.
Poomiphat said a highlight of this year would be the launch of its Somewhere brand on Koh Sichang. The hotel will feature 20 accommodations, and will open to guests in early May.
“I am confident in Somewhere Koh Sichang because it different from other islands as it is unique and lovely, while our brand is well known among Thai and foreign tourists with almost 20 properties,” he said.
“We are not using the brand names Cape, Kantary or Kameo as we have before because we want to position this hotel as a special and lovely hotel, with its own character and location.”
Koh Sichang is a simple community. It is an old town on a small island, not a big island like Samui, Phuket or Koh Chang, where most people earn their living based on only the travel industry. Koh Sichang offers visitors many historic places to visit and many activities to enjoy.
According to the Department of Tourism, 8.94 million tourists came to Thailand in the first quarter of this year, 14.3 per cent more than in the same three months last year. So it is possible that the Thai travel industry could earn about Bt2.3 trillion this year from more than 32.5 million tourists.
“Given that Chon Buri is already a tourist destination in Thailand’s Eastern region, Cape & Kantary Hotels’ new resort on Koh Sichang will be able to welcome and accommodate more visitors, both Thai and foreign,” Poomiphat said.
Cape & Kantary owns 18 hotels in Thailand in total, under three separate brands. The Cape Hotel Collection offers luxurious hotels such as Cape Panwa Phuket and Cape Nidhra Hua Hin in important tourist locations.
The Kantary Collection provides high-standard rooms and serviced apartments for short- and long-stay guests in Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Kabin Buri district of Prachin Buri, Khao Lak, Phuket, Rayong and Sri Racha. These include Kantary Hills in Chiang Mai, Kantary Bay in Phuket, and Kantary Beach in Khao Lak.
The Kameo Collection offers hotel rooms and serviced apartments at affordable prices for short and long stays in Sri Racha, Rayong and Ayutthaya, including the Classic Kameo Hotels in Ayutthaya and Rayong.