Dusit Thani has introduced Asai Bangkok Chinatown, the first hotel in the lifestyle segment under the Asai brand, to its portfolio.
Besides safety and hygiene, sustainability, wellness and local experiences will become even more important for tourists, and Asai can serve these purposes, said Suphajee Suthumpun, group chief executive of Dusit International.
While Dusit Thani is well known for its full-service brand, it's diversifying to attract other potential markets -- particularly millennials, the age group born between 1981 and 1996.
The Asai brand will be the experimental model for the group to explore new operations and service components using technology and a data-driven approach. Features will include self-check-in kiosks and a streamlined organisational structure so staff can multi-task.
Asai Holdings Co, a subsidiary wholly owned by Dusit International, was founded in 2017.
"Asai is the way we disrupt ourselves before being disrupted," Mrs Suphajee said. "The workable ideas can be used with Dusit Thani in the future."
Siradej Donavanik, managing director of Asai Holdings Co, said Asai is an affordable lifestyle hospitality platform that collaborate with communities, as the new generation of travellers focuses on experiences.
The 224-room Asai Bangkok Chinatown, worth 1.1 billion baht, is located in a strategic area near Wat Mangkon MRT station.
Within the first two weeks of operation in September, the hotel is expected to achieve about 20% occupancy.
The hotel still has to build brand awareness and highlight food and drink service, including dinner activities with famed chefs.
"As people cannot travel freely due to the outbreak, we have to offer new and exciting experiences and create spaces to attract guests," Mr Siradej said.
Besides Asai Bangkok Chinatown, the company plans to open a second Asai property in Sathon Soi 12 with 106 rooms during the second quarter of 2021, then a third in Yangon, Myanmar under a hotel management agreement by the end of 2021.
Another 111-room Asai hotel in Kyoto, Japan is scheduled to open within the next two years.
Mr Siradej said three Asai hotels under management contracts in Cebu, Philippines may be delayed for a year as the local population wrestles with Covid-19.
The company is also eyeing expansion into Vietnam, which boasts cultural centres at both the northern and southern ends of the country.