Bookings up as hotel group renovates
A Chiang Mai hospitality firm recently revealed some new developments at its properties in Krabi and Chiang Mai to capitalise on the resurgence of the tourism industry.
"We see significant improvement in the hotel and tourism business particularly in the South, in Krabi. We operate the Krabi La Playa Resort and The Small Krabi," said Wilai Buranupakorn, president of The Small Hotel Group.
The hotels have already received a lot more bookings ahead of this year's high season, mostly from Scandinavian countries, he said. However, reservations from other countries in Europe were still slow, as tourists continued to consider |the economic situation.
Renovation work on the Krabi La Playa Resort is to be completed at a cost of more than Bt100 million by next month. It will gain an outdoor spa featuring three treatment rooms and a health-club complex.
The garden and pool bars, kids' club, guest rooms, meeting and conference rooms, reception area and swimming pool are undergoing refurbishing.
The 120-room Small Krabi is also enjoying a wave of advance reservations.
"Business should increase in the remaining months of this year as well as next year compared with two years ago when our business was hit by political instability," Wilai said.
Besides Europe, the focus will be on Asia, especially Japan, now that people there are coming back to Thailand. That market had turned sluggish after the March natural disasters.
"We are also planning to approach new markets in 2012 such as Hong Kong, mainland China, Australia and Russia," she said.
There are no major renovation or expansion projects at her own hotel in Chiang Mai, the Ratilanna Riverside Resort and Spa.
The Buranupakorn family also has interests in key hotels in Chiang Mai - The Empress, The Park, The Small and Downtown Hotel.
The family has no future development plan for hotels, but is expanding two or three residential projects in Chiang Mai.
"No major move at hotels in Chiang Mai, but we keep touching them up to remain looking fresh for the coming high season," she said.
The key customers at the Chiang Mai properties are from both the local and overseas markets. However, the group hopes to get more domestic guests during this year's peak season thanks to the return of the Royal Flora Expo from November to February.
The Chiang Mai Convention Centre, which is scheduled to open next year, is also expected to attract more business travellers to the province.
