Face-to-Face: Kriengkrai Sojikul
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This week we chat with Kriengkrai Sojikul, director of sales & marketing for the Grande Centre Point Hotel Ratchadamri in Bangkok…
1) How is the Bangkok hotel market performing at present (in terms of rates and occupancy), and is Grande Centre Point Ratchdamri following this trend?
As we know, Bangkok at present faces a looming oversupply of hotel accommodation, with new hotel openings on Sukhumvit Road or the CBD zone. On the upside, with our hotel average occupancy rate of 80% and average daily rate of THB3,200 (US$103), our hotel has repositioned to become a hotel that can serve both short- and long-stay markets, with international-standard service. The hotel is building a reputation as a Thai chain, and this gives guests confidence and convinces them to come back again under our motto: “Always a good time”.
2) What are you main guest source markets (in terms of country), and are you seeking strong interest from Asian markets like China?
Our key market source is still Asia – mainly Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore. We are developing the Chinese market, and are seeing a pick-up in demand. We have many attractions for these markets, including our rooms which are adorned with uniquely Thai wooden decorations, and our staff members are professionally trained to offer not only efficient, but also heartfelt services with distinctive Thai hospitality. Our hotel also has easy access to Skytrain with direct access to attractions and shopping centres.
3) Do you also see strong demand from the domestic market?
Yes we do. Our rates are approximately 15-20% lower price than international chain hotels, and our rates flex based on high season and low season, which makes it attractive for Thai travellers. We also see domestic demand for domestic in the small-size event market.
4) Your property offers a range of multi-room suites and apartments; what is your average length of stay?
After we repositioned ourselves to become a hotel, the proportion between long-stay and short-stay guests is about 30:70. We now have a lot more travellers who stay here for shorter than one month. The hotel can also provide facilities for small meetings.
5) What future developments can we expect to see over the next 12 months?
CentrePoint aims to win even more hearts as it is repositioned as a hotel, combining an offering of both short-term and long-term stays with the individual heartfelt Thai hospitality. A new Service Quality Development (SQD) unit has also been established and tasked with ensuring that all existing seven locations of Centre Point Hotels offer the same level of service excellence. The Centre Point Hotels Group aspires to be regarded as one of Thailand’s top 10 biggest hotel groups.
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