Asian hospitality brands giving Western hotel chains run for their money

When Ho Kwon Ping, a young Stanford drop-out, saw an abandoned tin mine in Thailand’s Bang Tao Bay in Laguna Phuket area in 1984, he didn’t know what to do with it as the land that was dimmed ‘useless’ by its former occupiers. It was a patch of a waste land with no activities then.
In his Stanford days, he was a firebrand social activist. He was thrown out the university for protesting along with Black Student Union against a Nobel Laureate who had very negative views on the Black community.
Ho Kwon Ping was then 32 in 1984 when he along his wife Claire Chiang visited the abandoned tin mine in the place on the Bang Tao Bay that is now popularly known as Laguna Phuket, wondering around the place. The only plus point was its location – next to a patch of a pristine beach on the Andaman Sea, part of the Indian Ocean. Although unsure what to do, he nevertheless decided to buy the entire patch of land that currently measures up to 1,000 acres, perhaps at a throwaway price. Undecided about its future, he then decided to plant trees on the abandoned tin mine and left it there for a good decade.
Ten years later, the landscape had changed and turned into a green oasis. Ho Kwon Ping then decided to start a resort project and aptly named it Banyan Tree. Instead of hotel rooms that generate rent per square metre per night, he developed a line-up of luxury villas with private swimming pool, separate bath tub in the open while having separate shower rooms – something that was unheard of – at least till then.
This is how Banyan Tree was established in 1994 as a premium resort in the Laguna Beach area of Phuket province in Thailand. It was the first resort to introduce the private pool villa concept in the hospitality industry. Through Banyan Tree, Ho Kwon Ping had re-designed and perhaps re-invented the leisure tourism industry long dominated by the global hospitality chains developed by the Western world.
Banyan Tree Laguna consists of 218 villas that commands US$500 average daily rate (ADR) with 78 per cent average occupancy throughout the year. Since then, Banyan Tree remained the flagship development of the group’s business with more than 10 hospitality brands evolving across the world in the last three decades with about 100 hotels and resorts currently under the management of the group that has recently been rebranded as Banyan Group.
“Over the years, our pioneering spirit has driven us to define and refine our design-led experiences. Meanwhile, our multi-branded approach has allowed us to enter new markets, catering to diverse guest segments while consistently delivering on our core pillars of sustainability and wellbeing,” Ho Kwon Ping, Founder and Chairman of Banyan Group, says
“Re-introducing ourselves as Banyan Group in 2024, we embraced the diversity of our portfolio and our multi-brand identity, planting seeds for progress in the years to come.
“In 2024, we opened a record 17 new hotels, including our first Banyan Tree in Japan, Banyan Tree Higashiyama Kyoto. We now operate eight hotels across five brands in Japan and are expecting more multi-brand openings in the pipeline.
“In China, we continued to maintain a strong pipeline, innovating to capture the rebounding domestic market. By establishing multi-brand complexes like Banyan Tree and Garrya Yangcheng Lake in Suzhou, and Banyan Tree and Angsana Tengchong in Yunnan, we are catering to a range of travellers seeking varied experiences within a single destination.
“We also signed new agreements to launch branded residences in Madrid and Dubai. This enables us to leverage branded residences as a significant driver of growth and market expansion, broaden our customer base, unlock additional revenue streams, and build brand equity for Banyan Group within untapped market segments.”
Banyan Group is the first Thailand property developer listed on the stock exchange of Thailand and Singapore.
The group’s overall revenue increased by 16 per cent year on year to S$380.6 million (US$295.24 million), with Residences setting yet another new record of S$328.8 million (US$255.05 million) in new sales. Core operating profit also increased to S$69 million (US$53.52 million), up 43 per cent compared to 2023.
Stuart Reading, Managing Director of Banyan Group Residences, says, “Banyan Tree resort is part of a greater vision by our founder Mr Ho Kwon Ping, to transform not only the 1,000 acquired land on the Laguna Phuket beach area, but to change the face of the global hospitality business with new ideas emerging from oriental Thai hospitality..
“With success, he continued to build hotels and resorts and went on to add more through management contracts and franchisee agreements. Today, with around 100 hotels and resorts operated by 12 hospitality brands, 66 spas and three golf courses across 25 countries in the world, Banyan Group has definitely made its mark in the global tourism industry.”
Ho Kwon Ping went on launch Angsana Hotels and Resorts – another fine example of Thai hospitality.
Banyan Group’s hotels globally operate under different brands – Banyan Tree, Angsana, Laguna, Cassia, Dhawa, Garrya, Homm, Baynan Tree Escape, Banyan Tree Veya, and Folio. This makes Banyan Group one of the most versatile hospitality group’s in the world offering a wide array of hospitality solutions – especially the contemporary Thai spas that brings the ancient healing and wellbeing concepts to the tourists in the most effective manner.
Ho Kwon Ping says, “With the increased focus on our core pillars of wellbeing and sustainability, we are ramping up efforts to weave our wellbeing philosophy into the guest experience as well as our associates’ experience.”
Tourism has been a great contributor to Thai economy with 60,000 registered hotels including 1,130 five-star hotels and resorts with 700,000 hotel rooms serving more than 35 million tourists annually. There are around 12,000 hotel rooms under construction in Phuket province alone.
Last year, 35.6 million tourists visited Thailand, generating 1.8 trillion Thai Baht or US$55.11 billion that directly contributed to the Southeast Asian country’s US$526 billion GDP, representing 10.47 per cent of its economy.
Thailand is the second largest economy in Southeast Asia, with a population of 72 million people.
“This year, the projection for the tourism industry is, 40 million international arrivals,” Stuart Reading, an Australian national who has been serving Banyan Group for the last two decades, says. “Phuket, with a population of 500,000 residents remains the second most visited city in Thailand with 9.89 million international tourists, second only to Bangkok that catered to 22.78 million tourists last year.
“Tourism represents more than 50 per cent of Phuket’s GDP while real estate represents between 5 to 10 per cent. Our hotel industry has a capacity of 45,000 guest rooms and the airport’s annual passenger handling capacity is around 18 million passengers per year. The airport connects Phuket to 80 cities with direct flights. “
Global tourism industry historically has long been dominated by the popular Western hotel chains, such as Sheraton, Hilton, Marriott, Hotel Inter-Continental, Le Meridien, Hyatt, Ritz-Carlton, etc. They still dominate, although the Asians and Arabs have also started to develop international hospitality chains since the 1980s.
The hotel and resort industry market size reached US$1.5 trillion worldwide in 2023, still dominated by the Western brands.
Like Banyan Group in Thailand, Dusit Thani, Anantara Hotels and Resorts, Shangri La Hotels, Taj Hotels and Oberoi Hotels in India, Jumeirah Group, Address Hotels and Resorts in Dubai, Rotana Hotels and Resorts in Abu Dhabi are some of the Asian hospitality chains that have been giving the Western hotel chains a run for their money.
The global hotel industry is dominated by major hospitality groups that continue to expand aggressively. The fastest-growing segments include luxury, extended stay, and lifestyle brands, while emerging markets like Asia-Pacific and the Middle East are key areas for future development. Three of the world’s top ten hotel management groups belong to China, while the United States lead the overall industry.
Jin Jiang International that operates Golden Tulip, Radisson Blu and Park Plaza brands, is the world’s largest hotel chain by the number of properties, with nearly 12,000 hotels worldwide. Based in Shanghai, this state-owned hospitality giant has a significant presence in China, while also expanding into Europe, the Americas, and Asia. Through acquisitions like Louvre Hotels Group and Radisson Hotel Group, Jin Jiang strengthened its international portfolio.
Banyan Group operates a hotel in Saudi Arabia’s new tourism hotspot Al Ula region and one in Dubai. It has recently opened fully-functional sales operation in the UAE and Saudi Arabia, to sell its luxury Phuket properties to the investors in the Middle East who could benefit from 4-6 per cent annual returns and while avail free stay in their units for a period between 1-2 months a year.
Banyan Group expects to release US$1 billion worth of new luxury residential real estate in Thailand’s Phuket over the next two to three years, as demand for quality homes on the island remains high. Over the next 5-10 years this could extend to US$4.5 billion or more.
The sales team executives have been deployed in both the UAE and Saudi Arabia, amid a surge of international interest in luxury real estate in Phuket from all over the world.
“The initial response has been encouraging, and we’ve already had quite a few investors come over to view our properties,’ Stuart Reading says. “Since there’s been a noticeable increase in visitors to Phuket from the Middle East region in the past couple of years, attracted by the agreeable climate, the high-quality lifestyle, safety, and the welcoming international nature of the community, we thought the time was right now to start developing the market.”
Last year, Banyan Tree Group rebranded to Banyan Group to reflect the fact that the Group now has 12 global brands of which Banyan Tree is the flagship.
Banyan Group has also been an important driving force in the development of Phuket first as a tourism destination, and more recently as a place for second homes. Set against the stunning backdrop of the Andaman Sea, on a 5 kilometre stretch of Bang Tao’s pristine beach, Laguna Phuket has evolved to become Asia’s leading integrated resort, home to seven world-class hotels, premium facilities as well as now some 3,000 branded residences, many on or close to the beach.
Spanning over 1,000 acres of lush parkland and located just a 30-minute drive from Phuket International Airport, Laguna Phuket has an award-winning 18-hole golf course, luxury spas, exceptional dining options, and countless activities to create unforgettable experiences. Its hotels and condos are set against picturesque lagoons and are interconnected by boats.
Up to 2024, a total of around 3,000 residential units have been built in Laguna Phuket, with another 700 now under development. A further 10,000 units are eventually envisaged for Laguna Phuket and Laguna Lakelands over the next 5-10 years.
Banyan Group expects to release another 5,000 residential units for sale over the next 3-4 years at Laguna Phuket and the neighbouring Laguna Lakelands, a pioneering eco-friendly residential community set in one square kilometre of lush tropical forests and lakes adjacent to Laguna Phuket, which was launched last year. Laguna Lakelands will eventually be Phuket’s largest dedicated residential community.