Quality, service behind success of hospitality entrepreneur
QUALITY and service are the key factors behind the success of a small resort and restaurant, Foresta Resort Pranburi and Ley Cafe Pranburi, enabling their owner and operator - Foresta Co Ltd - to achieve double-digit annual growth, with plans to expand in
“We intend opening a fresh market at the year’s end, to boost our sales further after our Italian restaurant, Ley Cafe, has successfully doubled our business since 2013,” Foresta’s owner and director of sales and marketing, Anonwat Aeilaor, told The Nation during an interview.
Anonwat established Foresta with registered capital of Bt1 million in 2007 after resigning from Kantana Group, having seen an opportunity to set up a business in his home district of Pran Buri, in Prachuap Khiri Khan province.
He decided to locate the property on land owned by his family, in a prime location for hospitality business in a province showing strong demand from tourists, both Thai and foreign.
“I spent savings of Bt1 million and then borrowed Bt8 million from the bank by pledging the land as collateral for the construction of a nine-room resort, the Foresta Resort Pranburi, which opened in 2008,” he said.
Annual income during the first three years averaged Bt3 million, below his target of Bt5 million a year. As a result, he decided to expand the business by opening an Italian restaurant, Ley Cafe, to serve demand mainly from foreigners travelling in Pran Buri.
After opening the restaurant, the company doubled its revenue in 2012, since which it has managed to achieve growth averaging 20 per cent a year.
Buoyed by the initial success of Foresta’s restaurant venture, the company is now branching out further by opening a fresh market, which will distribute raw materials for cooking Italian food at home, a market segment in which he believes there is good demand.
“We expect revenue growth of more than 20 per cent next year when we open our new fresh market,” he said.
Anonwat explained that as the company had insufficient funds to expand the resort to compete with hotels and resorts managed by global brand chains, the way to boost business growth was to expand into related areas that required a lower investment cost, such as a restaurant and fresh market.
Despite the relatively low set-up costs, both businesses can generate a high return to the overall business, he said.
