Erawan Group announced its intentions to invest up to THB10 billion between now and the end of the decade to develop its lower-segment hotel brand Hop Inn in Thailand and the Philippines. The company may also look at using this money to make investment in some of its other brands as well.
“The Philippines will be the first overseas market for us. The country has high potential for tourism in the long term,” said president Kamonwan Wipulakorn.
Roughly THB5.3 billion of that total will go to developing Hop Inn in both Thailand and the Philippines while Erawan Group could decide to spend the rest for the budget on other potential hotel projects in Thailand including the building of another Novotel in Bangkok.
The company is targeting seven new Hop Inns to be built in Thailand by 2020. This would take the number of the fast-growing budget brand’s locations in the country from 18 to 25. In the Philippines, the first Hop Inn is scheduled to open in Manila this year. Eventually Erawan Group will operate 20 hotels in major cities throughout the country if everything goes according to plan.
The group is also exploring investment opportunities in other ASEAN countries throughout the region with Indonesia being the most likely location. “We aim to be a leading investor in Thailand and in Southeast Asia,” Kamonwan stated.
The group also operates luxury hotels throughout key destinations in Thailand. Some of the global brands in its portfolio include Hyatt, Marriott, Accor, IHG and Starwood.
The Erawan Group wants to have a total of 95 hotels in Thailand and Asean by 2020. The number rooms would increase to around 10,000 in 2020 up from the 5,676 the company operated in 2015.
