Pullman Khao Lak has become the 1st Robinson Club in Asia after Vitya Holding Co and German travel company TUI AG agreed to invest THB350 million to transform the project, reports local media. The new resort opened earlier this month and the company believes the property will have higher occupancy rates than at the previous hotel.
“I consider this resort almost a flagship. In terms of size and surroundings, we have only two comparable properties, one in Turkey and one in Spain. Next year, we look forward to calling it a flagship on the profit side too,” says Bernd Maser, Managing Director at Robinson Club GmbH, to the Phuket News.
The new resort has 320 rooms and is the biggest Robinson Club to date. The new resort will target German and northern European tourists who are already familiar with Khao Lak. The site was deemed to be a good fit for Robinson’s 1st property in Asia. More than 60 per cent of guests staying at Pullman Khao Lak were German and this number could increase after the move.
“We decided to grow strategically in Asia, that’s why we chose Thailand, where Germans have many ties. We would like to concentrate on building our business in Khao Lak first,” says Maser.
German customers account for nearly 70 per cent of Robinson’s business and the company had focused on European markets up until recently when it began targeting destinations such as the Maldives and Thailand. The company does not have any plans to open more resorts in Thailand but is considering a project in Malaysia.
While Robinson Khao Lak’s customers are mostly German, the company does plan on targeting Asian customers and local expats. At the moment most marketing activities are targeting Germany, but it will soon open these up in the coming months in order to bring in a more diverse range of guests.
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