Standard Hotels of the U.S. will manage four Thai properties

Standard International, the United States-based hospitality group, said last week it plans to manage four new hotels in Thailand as the first move in adding 15 hotels to its overseas management network with all of them in Asia and Europe.

Amar Lalvani, the CEO of Standard International, told the Nation newspaper last week, that the four new hotels in Thailand to come under The Standard brand will be located in Bangkok, Phuket, Pattaya, and Hua Hin.

“We will take 5 percent of the new hotels’ total revenue as the manager but not be owners of the properties,” Lalvani said.

The management agreement is another vote of confidence in Thailand as a tourist and business destination. Thailand welcomed a record of 38.27 million tourists in 2018 and is expected to host over 41 million this year. The Kingdom is also climbing the ranks of preferred global destinations for business travelers, especially for MICE, or meeting, incentives, conventions, and exhibitions, many of which take place at hotels.

Sansiri Plc., a Thai real estate developer, will be the owner of three of the four properties. The company will build a residential development in Phuket that will not be managed by Standard. Sansiri owns a 35 percent stake in Standard International, Lalvani told the Nation.

“At the moment, we cannot say how much we will invest in the hotel and residential projects in Hua Hin, Bangkok, Pattaya, and Phuket. We have yet to finalize the overall plan, aimed at generating recurring income to our business under a new model,” Sansiri President Srettha Thavisin told the Nation.

Lalvani said that Standard Internationals is also pursuing opportunities in China, Japan, India, and Australia. “If ongoing negotiations succeed in the four countries, the company could have more than 15 new hotels under its management by 2030,” he said.