U.S. hotel firm Outrigger acquires three hotels in Thailand

Hawaii-based Outrigger Hospitality Group deepened its presence in Thailand and broadened its global footprint last week by buying three Thai beach resort hotels, making a wager on the resilience and profitability of tourism in Thailand post pandemic.

Outrigger acquired the Manathai Hotels and Resorts brand. The brand has three properties in three of the most popular beach destinations in southern Thailand: Manathai Koh Samui, Manathai Khao Lak and Manathai Surin Phuket.

The U.S. firm said that it would renovate and refurbish the resorts before reopening them at the end of this year as Outrigger Koh Samui Beach Resort, Outrigger Khao Lak Beach Resort and Phuket Manathai by Outrigger.

The investments represent a bold move on the part of Outrigger, public health measures have been eased for visitors to enter the Kingdom since the beginning of this month.

Under a “sandbox” scheme, fully vaccinated tourists started arriving in Phuket and Koh Samui without having to quarantine.

It will take some time for the number of tourists to reach pre-pandemic levels, so hopefully Thailand’s resilience through global economic crashes and natural disasters for several decades would fasten the case. The Kingdom always bounces back and tourism has reliably been one of the most profitable sectors.

“This acquisition trio demonstrates our confidence in Thailand’s tourism industry and commitment to the global expansion of Outrigger’s leisure resort portfolio,” said Jeff Wagoner, President and CEO of Outrigger Hospitality Group.

“Our past success in Thailand stemmed from celebrating unique cultural aspects of the destination — which is something that we plan to continue at all three of the new properties,” he said.

Photo courtesy of: https://www.outrigger.com/hotels-resorts/thailand/phuket-manathai-by-outrigger