Meliá Hotels International has decided to enter Thailand according to a report from TTG Asia. The hotel group signed an agreement with TCC Land Asset World, one of the country’s most prominent real estate developers. Meliá believes this move can help them build 3,000 to 5,000 rooms in the medium term.
The initial agreement between TCC Land Asset World, part of the TCC Group, and Meliá will cover three hotels during the first phase. The two already have experience working together having recently launched their first project. Located in the Vietnamese capital, the Meliá Hanoi is part of the Spanish chain’s aggressive expansion plans into Southeast Asia. Plans call for 40 percent of the company’s upcoming projects to be located in Asia, TTG Asia reported.
Sol Beach House in Koh Samui will be Meliá’s first project in Thailand. The development will see the Imperial Boat Koh Samui rebranded. The reopening is targeted for 2017 and when finished the new property will boast 209 rooms including 33 boat suites.
Meliá has yet to determine the location or size of the other two hotels under the agreement. According to TTG Asia, one will be situated in Bangkok and be a luxury lifestyle hotel under the ME label while the other will be in a beach location under the upmarket, all-inclusive Paradisus brand.
The developer is already targeting Phuket and Pattaya for future expansion plans and will also give consideration to placing more hotels in Bangkok and Koh Samui as well.
“We have always gone for an expansion accompanied by leading local partners. Entering a destination of such extraordinary potential as Thailand hand in hand with TCC Land Asset World fulfills all our expectations,” Gabriel Escarrer, vice president and CEO of Meliá, proclaimed. “The incorporation of our first hotels in Thailand – a star destination for markets such as Germany, Russia and Eastern Europe – is a transcendental step in the expansion of our holiday brands.”
