InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) is set to debut the Staybridge Suites brand in Thailand in 2019, also a first for Asia-Pacific, hoping to build on the tourism boom.

The group will manage three new hotels, with the first Staybridge Suites Bangkok Thonglor, featuring 303 rooms, expected to open in 2019. The Staybridge Suites Chonburi Siracha is slated to open in 2020 with 400 rooms, while Holiday Inn Suite Sriracha Laemchabang is expected to open later that year.

“The tourism industry in Thailand is continuing to grow, so this is the right time for us to introduce a new brand there and Asia-Pacific,” said Clarence Tan, IHG’s chief operating officer for Southeast Asia and Korea.

Mr Tan said Staybridge Suites was created to meet the needs of extended-stay guests and business travellers, with 250 such hotels across the Americas, Europe and the Middle East and another 151 in the pipeline.

IHG operates 22 properties in Thailand across five brands: InterContinental, Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express and Hotel Indigo, with a further 14 hotels on the way.

The three hotels will be developed by a joint venture between SET-listed Origin Property Plc (Ori) and Japan’s Nomura Real Estate Development, with a combined investment of 7.5 billion baht.

Peerapong Jaroon-ek, chief executive of Ori, said the company chose to work with IHG because it has a good track record of operating internationally recognized brands.

“The Staybridge Suites is the right partner for Ori as our company aims to serve long-stay and business travelers in both Bangkok and the east coast of Thailand, where the Eastern Economic Corridor is being pushed by the Thai government,” said Mr Peerapong.

Ori’s five-year plan calls for it to continue investing in and developing projects that generate recurring income, such as hotels and serviced apartments while seeking new channels that offer potential investment opportunities.

To achieve revenue sustainability by 2023, Ori has carefully determined potential developments through a quality selection process managed and operated by a professional operator, he said.

“Our 10 projects in the pipeline, including Staybridge Suite Thonglor and Holiday Inn Suite Siracha Laemchabang, will undergo construction in early January 2018,” said Mr. Peerapong.

Toshihide Tsukasaki, executive officer of residential leasing and hotel management department for Nomura Real Estate Development, said the group will invest up to 19 billion baht in properties abroad over the next five years.

That includes a joint venture project with Ori in Thailand. Nomura is planning to invest in Cambodia, Vietnam, and Myanmar.

“Some 70% of customers at our projects in Thailand will be Japanese, both long stay visitors, and tourists,” said Mr Tsukasaki.

Source: https://property.bangkokpost.com/news/1378975/staybridge-suites-to-debut-in-thailand