Best Western on a roll in Asia, Middle East

Glenn de Souza, Best Western International’s vice president for international operations, Asia and the Middle East, said his region had shown the highest growth in terms of revenue and hotel expansion. Besides this, it still has room for growth, especially in emerging markets such as Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Vietnam and Cambodia, as well as Saudi Arabia and Iraq.
The company plans to reorganise its structure over the next 18 months by dividing the business operation, which is responsible for running properties under management contracts, into two. One will look after Asia and the other the Middle East. Its Mideast office will be in Dubai.
Currently, a single office in Bangkok takes care of both markets. The new business model will allow the company to work more effectively and reduce overlaps. After the restructuring, the existing Bangkok office will oversee the Asia market
Best Western is one of the fastest-expanding chains in Asia and the Middle East. In 2001, it operated six hotels in five Asian nations, namely Thailand, the Philippines, Japan, China and Bangladesh. This year, it operates 205 hotels in 27 nations in Asia and the Middle East, claiming to have market share in the region of 16 per cent. In this region, the company manages the most of its properties in Malaysia, Bangladesh, South Korea and the Philippines, followed by Japan.
New markets in Asia are promising. For example, beachfront hotels in Bangladesh cost US$500 (Bt15,700) per night and have 100-per-cent occupancy rates during the high season.

SCENE OF ACTIVITIES
Thailand will be the scene of much of the chain’s expansion over the next three years, with properties rising to 25 from 14 at present. In Vietnam, they will increase to 17 from nine, in the Philippines from 12 to 19, and in Bangladesh from five to eight.
Myanmar is an attractive nation for tourism. The firm has been approached by investors from South Korea, Japan and Vietnam to operate hotels in there, including in Yangon, Mandalay and Pagan. However, it is expected to take the country a while to improve its infrastructure and also to amend legislation for investment.
Bangkok faces an oversupply of hotel rooms. This situation is expected to continue for the next five years because of new openings of mid- and upscale hotels. The result will be artificially low room prices.