US hotel chain Marriott International is expanding rapidly in Thailand, adding five more hotels to its portfolio this year.
The new hotels mean Marriott will manage 20 hotels in the country by the end of this year. The chain also signed new contracts to open 15 more hotels over the next five years.
Three of the five projects this year are from a collaboration with TCC Hotel Group, which hired Marriott to manage its hotels in Bangkok, Phuket and Hua Hin. The highlight is the 1,388-room Marriott Queen's Park Sukhumvit Hotel, which is being renovated at a cost of 3.5 billion baht. It will have the most rooms for a Marriott hotel in Asia-Pacific.
Karl Hudson, Marriott International vice-president for Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines and Japan, said the Marriott-Starwood merger process should finish in early July.
Marriott and Starwood will have some 30 brands combined, forming a strong marketing network and customer base. Know-how from each chain will complement the other.
Marriott plans to use a heavy marketing campaign to increase the proportion of seminars and meetings to 25-30% of the total guests at the Marriott Queen's Park Sukhumvit. The hotel's meeting area can accommodate 1,200 participants and offers food and beverage service.
Mr Hudson said Marriott has expertise in the meetings and incentives market thanks to its long history in the field and strong global network.
When Marriott Queen's Park Sukhumvit reopens, it plans to woo tourists to the Sukhumvit area with the new Em District shopping area.
"Thailand caters to a wide range of tourists unlike Hong Kong and Macau, which depend mostly on Chinese tourists, or the Philippines, which relies mainly on tourists from Japan and South Korea," he said.
Thailand offers a big variety of tourist destinations, including nightlife venues and eco-tourism and adventure sites. Tropical weather and friendly locals should help promote quick growth in the tourism and hotel businesses, said Mr Hudson.
Marriott operates eight hotels in Bangkok, ranging from mid-market to luxury. It has completely penetrated the long-stay market, he said.
"Business expansion and tourism growth in Thailand are likely to prompt Marriott to launch new brands in the near future," Mr Hudson said.
To serve the growth of middle-class travellers in the region, Moxy -- Marriott's boutique hotel label for the budget-conscious young travellers -- has potential in Thailand, he said.
Moxy typically has small room sizes in the heart of the city where land plots are tiny. It has relatively low operating costs and is equipped with technologies meant to attract people aged 18-34.
Moxy's mid-level rates will result in high client turnover and a high occupancy rate, enabling it to reach its break-even point faster than luxury hotels, he said.
The first Moxy hotel opened in Milan, and 59 others are under development in major cities including Berlin, London and New York. Its room rate in Thailand will be 2,100-2,800 baht.
"The majority of tourists are starting to be younger than 35," Mr Hudson said. "People look for hotels that meet their lifestyles."