Banyan Tree floats new brand

Ho Kwon Ping, founder and executive chairman of the hotel chain, which originated in Thailand, listed in Singapore and has a growing presence globally, believes the new brand will speed up the expansion of its global footprint as the company enters its third decade of operations.
“We will operate in the multi-brand platform like Starwood. Now, we are like an ant against an elephant, though we are a greatly respected company for professional management,” Ho said in a recent interview.
He described Dhawa as the son of the Banyan Tree brand, which targets luxury travellers. Launched in line with demographic changes, Dhawa is for the rising number of middle-class travellers, who constitute a sizeable portion of today’s globetrotters.
For the new brand, desks and bathtubs are things of the past. Replacing the former is a sliding desk on the bed, allowing guests to use tablets conveniently while watching TV. As to the latter, though small, the shower room can change colours while allowing guests to sync their own songs.
On every floor, a common beverage and snack bar is on offer, where guests can pick whatever they like to fill their refrigerators, free of charge.
“The demographics are changing and we are taking advantage of the change. The most exciting thing in the global tourism industry is the rise of the emerging middle class. For these people, we have designed the Dhawa product,” said Ho.
Originating in Asia, Banyan Tree’s footprint remains large in the continent. Among its 36 properties, seven are in Thailand.
Ho stressed that Thailand remained in focus thanks to the fundamental attractiveness of the country, which helps it resurrect fast after unexpected events like SARS, the 2004 tsunami – and even the recent Erawan Shrine bombing.
A Dhawa property will be introduced in Phuket soon, while the company is also looking for a suitable location in Bangkok.
Opportunities are rife, Ho said, as the company is reaching out to small hotel owners who want to convert their three-star hotels into a property of the group.
Agreements have been signed for the opening of Dhawa in several cities in China, such as Luoyang and Leishan, after the opening of the first property in Bo’ao next year.
In recent years, the company has embraced properties in faraway lands like Mexico and Cuba, to appeal to travellers in the Spanish-speaking world, as well as North America.
“The Spanish-speaking world [with a combined population of more than 1 billion] is as big as China. It has its own culture and language. We’re entering the US eventually, but if we revealed two hotels in the US, they would be lost in the noise with the large number of six-star hotels in the country,” he said.
The Banyan Tree Mayakoba competes well against more than 1,000 hotels in Mexico, and 85 per cent of its guests are from the United States, he added.
Ho learnt that success did not necessarily come from establishing a property in a large city when the group first entered China.
Instead of penetrating big cities like Shanghai and Beijing, Banyan Tree went to Lijiang, which is a World Heritage Site.
The lesson will also be applied when the group expands into Cuba. In a pending deal, Banyan Tree will establish its presence in the Caribbean archipelago with four new properties.
The first, a Dhawa, will be opened next year as the only hotel on the stunning island key of Cayo Las Brujas. One Banyan Tree-branded hotel and two Angsana-branded hotels will be unveiled later on. At present, the company owns 30 per cent of each of its 36 properties, with another 20 per cent co-invested. Ho foresees a smaller slice of the company’s own investment as it expands further.
Though a larger brand portfolio helps in sales and marketing, he realises that the biggest challenge lies in the consistency of maintaining the quality and service that is in line with the Banyan Tree culture. Filling the gap is the company’s management academy in Phuket for middle-level employees, who constitute about 2,000 of its 15,000 employees.
They are groomed in the company’s service culture, which makes people remember its hotels. These employees then pass on the knowledge to others in their home country.
About 5 per cent of the company’s annual payroll is allocated for human-resource development. Uniting them all are also social-responsibility programmes, which are rolled out globally.
“The success factor is that no matter where we are, Thailand or Mexico, the culture is still unique,” said Ho.
This uniqueness reflects how Banyan Tree brands its products. All four brands are the names of trees, with each of their first letters also being the first four letters of the English alphabet.
More brands are to be created, Ho hinted, and the next one must start with an ‘E’. And whatever it is, the name will be something that supports the company’s global footprint.
“There are thousands of names to choose from, but we have to be disciplined,” he said. “We try to use the ones that do not have a clear Anglo-Saxon meaning. Or, they could be familiar in one place, but alien to others.”