THURSDAY, March 28, 2024
nationthailand

Lebua eyes big push in India and China

Lebua eyes big push in India and China

Hotel management firm also seeks expansion in Asean

 

Lebua Hotels and Resorts, a luxury-hotel operator, plans to manage seven new properties in India and China this year, adding more than 1,500 rooms to its network.
The company’s network currently comprises about 900 rooms.
The Bangkok-based hotel-management company is also interested in expanding into Asean countries such as Indonesia, Cambodia and Myanmar to cash in on regional economic integration in 2015.
Chief executive officer Deepak Ohri told The Nation that his company was negotiating with three Indian property owners to manage properties in New Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore. The deals are expected to be sealed this year, creating an additional 640 rooms for the Lebua network. 
The hotel in New Delhi will be a conversion from an ancient palace, while the other two properties will be newly constructed by local investors, he said. 
India is considered a market with good potential driven by strong domestic travel, particularly among high-end travellers, although overall Indian economic conditions are currently sluggish, he added.
The CEO said domestic leisure and corporate travel remained a strong market for Lebua, with positive growth. 
Lebua expanded its portfolio into India with the opening of its first luxury hotel there, the 400-room Lebua New Delhi, a couple of years ago. 
In January, it opened a further three properties with a total of more than 200 rooms, comprising 123 suites in the Lebua Resort; 40 luxury tents in the Lebua Lodge at Amer, near Jaipur, Rajasthan; and 39 suites at the Devi Garh by Lebua, in Udaipur, also in Rajasthan state.
The Chinese market is another Lebua focus this year. Ohri said the company had signed an agreement to manage four properties in Beijing, Sanya, Shanghai and Guangzhou, with a combined 900 rooms.
Asked about the benefits for Lebua if it could capitalise on the Asean Economic Community, which comes into effect in two years’ time, he stressed that Thailand would become the travel and hospitality hub for Asean. The company therefore expects more high-potential visitors to the Kingdom. 
With this firmly in mind, Lebua is studying business expansion in Asean to destinations such as the Indonesian resort island of Bali, Cambodia’s coastal city of Sihanoukville, and Myanmar.
“Though Myanmar appears to be a more exciting country at this time, I have limited information about this neighbouring country. I am, therefore, going to survey this market soon,” he added. 
Lebua is also holding talks with a leading hotel alliance in Europe that has more than 50 hotels and resorts across the continent.
Currently, the chain operates the 357-room Lebua at State Tower in Bangkok and the Lake Okareka Lodge by Lebua, a five-star ultra-luxury property in Rotorua, New Zealand. Last week, a select group of the world’s top food critics and editors at Foodies.com named the Mezzaluna Restaurant, Tower Club at Lebua’s Bangkok hotel as one of the “Top 100 Restaurants: Europe, UK and Asia-Pacific”.
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