Centara Hotels and Resorts Co is set to launch three new hotels in the second quarter of 2018 to cash in on the growing tourism industry.
"Centara is about to expand its portfolio with more brands because we are not competing in some hotel segments, especially luxury," deputy chief executive Markland Blaiklock said last week. "Though the hotel business is fiercely competitive, additional brands will help boost yield and help us break into new market segments."
Two brands are being tabbed for the top of the market, positioned higher than the group's current top brand, Centara Grand.
Another new brand will most likely be in the mid-scale segment, which is the most popular among international tourists.
Centara operates 38 hotels in Thailand and overseas with a total of 7,500 rooms under five brands: Centara Grand, Centara Residences and Suites, Centra, Cosi and Centara Boutique Collection.
Mr Blaiklock said the first new luxury brand will debut in the Middle East before entering the Thai market.
"We are working on the marketing for that first luxury project now," he said.
Last week, Centara signed an agreement with Dhanarak Asset Development Co to manage Centra Hotel and a convention centre at the Government Complex Hotel & Convention Centre Chaeng Watthana for 20 years.
The group is also developing two hotels in the Maldives and a joint-venture hotel in Dubai that will have a themed family resort.
Earlier this month, the group debuted a new hotel brand called Cosi in Koh Samui. The aim is to open 5-7 more Cosi hotels in the next three years.
In terms of renovating existing properties, the group plans a major room renovation of Centara Grand at CentralWorld, with completion scheduled for 2019. It also wants a makeover of The World restaurant in 2018.
A major renovation and revenue optimisation of the Centara Grand Beach Resort Samui will follow.
Centara Grand Beach Resort & Villas Hua Hin is to be expanded in conjunction with a lease extension, which is under discussion with the State Railway of Thailand.
Centara's operating results for the first 10 months this year showed hotels upcountry with revenue per available room growing 6% year-on-year, mainly driven by room rate growth.
For hotels in Bangkok, the second half of this year showed better trends than the first half, except for a muted October because of the cremation ceremony for the late King.
This has been a challenging year for Centara's hotels in the Maldives, as the group has seen a big increase in supply, significantly outpacing demand. As a result, Centara was unable to increase prices, though it saw better trends in the final quarter of 2017.