AccorHotels from France will continue to increase its presence in Thailand. Local newspapers are reporting that the company will bring its mid-scale, lifestyle hotel brand, Mama Shelter, to the country. Accor is also looking for opportunities to manage luxury residential projects for Thai developers.
Patrick Basset, Chief Operating Officer for upper Southeast and Northeast Asia at Accor, reports that the trend of hotel-branded residences keeps expanding in Asia-Pacific and Thai real estate developers are now interested in taking advantage of this growing trend. No names were mentioned, but it is believed that some homebuilders want to have professional hotel chains managing their high-end residential projects.
One reason hotel-branded residences are popular is because they offer a mix of prestigious hospitality and urban real estate space that typical resonates with foreigners and locals alike. Hotel chains that have managed residences in Thailand include Sofitel So Residences, M Gallery by Sofitel, Pullman, Swissotel, Grand Mercure and Novotel.
Accor will likely put their first hotel-branded residence in Thailand somewhere in the Sukhumvit area. In addition to building in Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Hua Hin, Pattaya, Samui and Phuket could also house Accor branded residential projects in the future.
The hotel company is also planning to launch its mid-range hotel brand, Mama Shelter, in Bangkok during the next year or two. The unique brand has 677 hotel rooms in six cities including Paris, Los Angeles and Rio de Janeiro.
“We believe Bangkok has the highest tourism potential in Asia-Pacific because it is the world’s most-visited city according to a poll by MasterCard Global Destination Cities Index 2016. Almost every Accor brand is successful in Thailand,” Basset states.
Accor is picking Thailand for an expansion because the tourism industry in the country is booming. Basset claims 33.8 million foreign visitors will come to the country this year making it ideal for Mama Shelter.
