Established in 1982, Seafresh Industry Plc is one of the largest manufacturers and distributors of frozen raw shrimp in Thailand, earning annual revenue of around 7 billion baht.
The family company now aims to start a new chapter in its business story. The Chia-Apar family decided to venture into the hospitality business three years ago, setting out to build a 5.3-billion-baht luxury hotel on a 38-rai plot on Tawanron Beach in Chon Buri, which the owner acquired 20 years ago.
FOCUS ON THE EAST
Narit Chia-Apar, Seafresh's founder and chief executive of Chartered Square Holding, which is the developer of Andaz Pattaya Jomtien Beach, said the land served as a private asset for 20 years.
Mr Narit said it is difficult to find a plot spanning 170 metres of beachfront in Pattaya, as this location does.
He said the emergence of the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) led the family to realise the potential of the tourism business, especially from high-end guests who want luxury living while conducting business involving EEC projects, or for those seeking leisure trips to Pattaya.
"Land prices have surged by 4-5 times in the past two decades, but we don't intend to sell for profit. Five years ago, we started thinking of a resort as a very long-term investment," said Mr Narit, age 64.
"This project could be a better choice than leaving the plot undeveloped or building private houses for our family."
Andaz Pattaya Jomtien Beach is managed by Hyatt and will be the first property under this luxury brand in Thailand when it opens in the first quarter of this year, he said.
Mr Narit said the entire plot is fully utilised, offering 204 rooms in addition to a 70-year-old Thai teakwood heritage house.
Another key feature is the green area, which accounts for 70% of the resort. Most of the native fully-grown trees, featuring almost 100 species, are undisturbed.
"Some of them are more than 80 years old and are enormous," he said.
Mr Narit said the resort prioritised the retention of these plants, making its design a challenge. The family chose the award-winning architecture firm A49 to design the project.
INEVITABLE SLOWDOWN
The family also owns the Chee Chan Golf Resort, an international-standard 18-hole golf course in Chon Buri. The course has been open for four years, with foreign guests making up 80% of the patrons, mostly Japanese and Korean businessmen who work in the nearby industrial zone.
When global economies slumped during the pandemic, the golf resort was also affected. However, the number of golfers gradually recovered last year, as the Pattaya tourism market grew, he said.
"The pandemic stifled our key businesses. Frozen raw shrimp exports were affected by logistics disruptions because of lockdowns in many countries, as well as the war in Ukraine, which made shipping 3-4 times more expensive," said Mr Narit.
However, the construction of the Andaz Pattaya resort escaped the impact of surging material costs as the construction contracts were signed before the pandemic, he said.
The average cost of each room was capped at around 10 million baht, with sizes starting at 50 square metres.
Mr Narit said once opened, the resort is expected to set a new per-night room price record in Pattaya at around 500,000 baht if guests opt to occupy the whole six-bedroom heritage house.
The average room rate across the resort is around 15,000 baht, he said.
"I'm eager to see Pattaya included on the world tourism map by having a super-luxury hotel and a premium golf course to offer guests, not only nightlife entertainment," said Mr Narit.
Average occupancy during the first year of operations will be difficult to predict as the tourism industry has only gradually recovered, and is likely to take a long time to return to 2019 levels, he said.
BANKING ON LUXURY
Mr Narit said he is confident the super-luxury segment will continue to grow as he and his son Chintat Chia-Apar, who is in charge of hospitality business, already saw demand from foreign guests at its golf resort.
He said Thailand already has plenty of standard golf courses that attract professional athletes and well-known golfers from around the world.
The new resort offers a golf course in addition to the heritage house, which will have a usable area of around 1,000 sq m with a private pool that can accommodate a large group or family, said Mr Narit.
"I still believe when fears over the pandemic subside, those with high purchasing power will spend even more than before Covid-19. Food and travel will be priorities as people have learned how unpredictable our future can be, particularly when they had to stay at home for years," he said.
"Post-pandemic, we will see consumers become more selective about quality, no matter how high the price."
Mr Narit, who started the company at age 18, said he learned from experience at Seafresh the effectiveness of high-end market positioning.
The business grew after shifting to quality products, with 90% of revenue coming from exports.
He said growing demand in the Thai food business, driven by brighter tourism prospects, will create an opportunity for Seafresh to expand its domestic market share to 30%, up from 10%.
"With a high investment in our first hotel, the return-on-investment period might be 30 years. However, I am happy with the outcome as of today," said Mr Narit.