THAILAND A number of high-profile hotels in Thailand are in the process of swapping major brand affiliations this year.
The Langham Place Samui this month will join Dusit International Group and be rebranded as Dusit Samui. Sheraton Grande Laguna, Phuket, will join Singapore-based Banyan Tree Hotels & Resorts’ Angsana brand in July.
Radisson Hotel Bangkok is ending its management contract with Carlson and will join Minor International under its luxury brand Anantara. The nearby Radisson Hotel Bangkok Sathorn is also dropping Carlson in favor of the Golden Tulip brand. Pan Pacific Bangkok plans to rebrand as Crowne Plaza at Lumpini.
Away Suansuwan in Chiang Mai, previously managed by Atsudo Group, is now under the management of Centara Hotels and Resorts. And The Garden Cliff Pattaya will soon be renamed the Radisson Pattaya.
“A big change is taking place in the Thai hotel industry,” Bill Barnett, managing director of hospitality consultancy C9 Hotelworks tells regional publication The Nation. “Many hotel owners have been working with international chains for over 10 years, and it is now time to revise contracts, or rebrand or reposition themselves. Both long-term partners and new individual players want the right partners.”