Face-to-Face: Indra Budiman, CEO, Hansar Hotels & Resorts
Travel Daily chats with Indra Budiman, chief executive officer of Hansar Hotels & Resorts…
Q) Hansar currently operates two hotels, in Bangkok and Samui. How well have the hotels performed this year?
Both hotels are performing very, very well. We are able to position ourselves to be on par with the big “well-known” players in the market. Hansar has been recognised as a new brand and has been able to deliver unique service and quality of product to our client. Hansar Hotels Group currently operates and manages two boutique properties in Thailand (in Bangkok and Koh Samui). In the two short years that Hansar Hotels Group has been open, its hotels have won a series of awards, with titles including ‘Best Beach Hotel in The World’ and ‘Best Hotel Thailand’.
Q) What are your main guest source markets, and do you find the Hansar brand is more well-known in the domestic Thai market?
We have a good market mix in term of clientele. Most of our clients are coming from Europe, and we see the European, Australian and American markets to be our main source markets. However the Hansar brand is also quite strong in Asia, and we are popular amongst Singaporean expats or ‘Generation X’ in Hong Kong. This can be seen with positive result in our YTD figures for both hotels. Our current strategies in promoting Hansar as a niche hotel product, as well as showcasing our epicurean experience, have been very successful for the brand.
Q) Are you seeing any rise in interest from Asia’s emerging markets, such as China and India?
I see both China and India to be predominant and promising markets in the coming years. China contributed almost 9% of the total 26.5% of arrivals from the East Asia region in 2011, while India is contributing 4.8% of the total, but 98% of the overall South Asian arrivals. This number will increase markedly in 2013. The China market in particular has contributed quite significantly to arrivals, for instance, in Phuket – strong Western European segments were displaced by travellers from Mainland China in Q1 2012 as compared to in Q1 2011. More and more mid 30s to early 40s travellers from China spend their vacation in Thailand. The Indian wedding market is one of the fastest growing markets for island resorts in Thailand.
Q) What further plans do you have to expand the Hansar brand, and are you looking at the international market?
We are planning to expand our brand in Southeast Asia, however at this moment we are focusing on strengthening our position in Thailand by opening a few more new properties in all strategic areas. Both myself and the Board see Southeast Asia to be promising and the right region for our new flagship properties in the coming years.
Q) How is Hansar coping with the large number of new hotels currently opening in Bangkok and Samui?
To exist in the Thailand hotel industry requires lot of strategies and innovation to be ahead of our competitors. I believe the way we manage the hotel is quite different where we strongly position each one of our team members as the key success of our brand. Each one of them will represent our brand as an ambassador to deliver the Hansar concept, philosophy and experience for the connoisseur that continually delights – inviting a constant rediscovery of the finer things in life.
The concept and philosophy of Hansar Hotels and Resorts is to deliver an experience to each guest that is happy, memorable yet enjoyable. Our properties have a maximum of 100 keys as we really want to go into detail with our daily operations and service concept, delivering a genuine boutique experience. We also combine our culinary and spa experiences as the essence of our brand.
Comments are closed.