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HOTELS
KRISSANA PARNSOONTHORN
Furama Hotels International (FHI), a Singapore-based hotel management chain, plans to manage between five and eight hotels and resorts in its first year in Thailand.
Jason Peck, the FHI vice-president for business development, said the company made an entry into Thailand because the Thai tourism market remained strong despite setdhbacks in recent years such as the 2004 tsunami and the 2006 military coup.
''We strongly believe that Thailand will continue to be an attractive country in Asia with sufficient diversity for us to grow our brand and management meaningfully over the next few years,'' he said.
The hotel chain, which has been expanding actively into many countries in Asia, hopes to establish its brand name and reputation of professionalism among tourists and business travellers here.
FHI now manages three boutique business hotels in Bangkok including FuramaXclusive Asoke, Sathon and Sukhumvit, which belong to Unico Group. FuramaXclusive is the boutique hotel brand under the Furama umbrella.
The 102-room FuramaXclusive Asoke is the flagship hotel under the Fura maXclusive brand in the heart of the capital. FuramaXclusive Sathon has 103 guestrooms while FuramaXclusive Sukhumvit has 98 rooms.
Mr Peck noted that the three hotels were situated in prime locations and would be used as a platform for FHI to grow its business in the near future. ''We're seeking to work closely with more partners to build a win-win relationship in both managing and/or investing in classy hotels or resorts in great locations across the kingdom,'' he said.
FHI, said Mr Peck, had strength and vast experience in the Asia Pacific market as the group, whose major shareholders are Asian hotel owners, understood the importance of relationships and would optimise interests for property owners.
It will also adopt a more flexible approach in positioning various hotels under its management based on hotel infrastructures and desires of the owners. This allows strategic decisions to be made and implemented quickly.
''For some specific properties, Furama may co-invest with hotel owners to align the interests of both management and owners,'' he said.
In his view, the Bangkok market continues to have a lot of potential and tourism is always on a high level both for business and leisure.
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