Centara Hotels & Resorts is breaking into Qatar with the opening of Centara West Bay Residences & Suites in Doha, the nation's capital.
The Centara West Bay Residences & Suites recently opened. (Photo by Aree Thongboonrawd)
The Doha hotel opened last December, a collaboration with the hotel's owners and Al Thuraya Real Estate & Development Co, said Thirayuth Chirathivat, chief executive of Centara Hotels & Resorts.
"Al Thuraya's wisdom, goodwill and spirit of partnership guided the project to completion," Mr Thirayuth said.
This new project brings the total number of Centara hotels in operation or development to 68.
QATAR DEBUT
Centara aims to introduce its Thai-style hospitality to Qatar, highlighting the two distinct cultures and bringing together elements of Thailand with Qatar's own cultural traditions and history.
Mr Thirayuth said he is optimistic about the performance of the Doha development, saying the Qatari capital is fast growing as a regional meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (Mice) hub with an increasing number of international events such as tennis tournaments and conferences.
Qatar has also proved itself as an international destination by being chosen to host major events and sporting competitions including the 2022 Fifa World Cup.
Centara not only depends on big events in Doha but also sees the potential in Qatar as a gateway to Asia and other international destinations, thus an opportunity for Centara to expand further, Mr Thirayuth said.
From left: Suparat Chirathivat, executive vice-president of corporate development of Centara, Mr Thirayuth, Ahmad Al Rayyan, group general manager of Al Thuraya Real Estate & Development, and Markland Blaiklock, deputy CEO of Centara.
He believes Centara's experiences and commitment to the hospitality sector are the reasons why Al Thuraya has partnered with the group.
"Centara doesn't only operate hotels, it also owns several hotel properties," said Mr Thirayuth. "We put ourselves in their shoes."
Abdul Latif Al Mana, the owner of Al Thuraya, said the company is dedicated to "showcasing the country's cultural heritage, driving tourism to Qatar and contributing to the prosperity of the economy".
"We have been dedicated to this project through its construction and will continue to give every effort to ensure its ongoing and future success," he said.
"We would like to take this opportunity to thank the whole team without whom this dream could not have come true. We would also like to express our sincere gratitude to all governmental authorities whose continuous support helped open this prestigious property."
With a soft opening in December last year, Centara West Bay has an occupancy rate as of February of 60% in terms of revenue per available rooms, 29% ahead of its competitors.
Located in the West Bay district, the 265-room property has a range of rooms and suites in various sizes from 45 square metres to 365 sq m. It caters to business travellers on short or extended stays in Doha as well as local residents and families from abroad. The hotel is also designed with a number of family-focused features and amenities, including a special pool for children.
WIDENING FOOTPRINT
Mr Thirayuth also unveiled a plan for Centara Group to open a five-star hotel, the Grand Doha, for upscale customers within the next two years, because of the high tourism potential Centara sees in Qatar.
"We've earned the reputation as a beach resort, so we continue to look for opportunities to open sea-view hotels," he said. "Doha's tourism industry is in its early stages and there is high tourism potential here and we have to look for opportunities."
With increasing competition from other international brands, Mr Thirayuth said challenges are unavoidable and they are more than welcome.
"Competition is everywhere and it's a good driving force. We have to think to stay ahead in the game. Our strength is Thai-style hospitality and our Thai staff. We've received good feedback on this," he said.
AMBITIOUS PLANS
Mr Thirayuth said Centara outperformed the market last year as its occupancy rate was 83%, compared with the global occupancy rate of 63%. The challenge is how to maintain the good performance.
He said in the first quarter this year, Centara will embark on a five-year plan to develop and operate 130 hotels through 2018-2022. Last year, it launched 10 hotels and invested 2.4 billion baht in Dubai.
However, the group's international expansion has been heavily influenced by external factors and major impacts on the Thai tourism industry, such as the declining Chinese tourism numbers. Its room occupancy rates have been satisfactory, but incomes have not increased as a result of a stronger baht.
Centara hopes the average occupancy rate will remain at 83% this year like last year or rise even higher.
Central also set a goal to open between 15 and 20 luxury hotels and rebrand its hotels in Hua Hin and on Koh Samui this year.
It is researching whether to build a Centara Grand hotel or a luxury hotel with a budget of 2 billion baht in Krabi. The group is also conducting studies to expand investments in Koh Samui, Cha-am district and Rayong.
Central Group, the owner of Centara, has other projects including the COSI Chiang Mai project worth 200-300 million baht, the CentralWorld renovation project worth 600-700 million baht within two years and a project to build two four-star hotels worth 1.4 billion baht each on two of five islands in Maldives for which the group acquired hotel operating licences.
Later this year, the group will launch its new website with real time data and online reservation systems that allow it to check the number of website visitors and calculate room rates based on customers' demands immediately.