What are hotels doing in the face of ongoing street protests in Bangkok?
The political turmoil in Bangkok has sent room occupancies in the city on a nosedive, but hotel operators have devised various ways to soften the impact creating opportunity out of crisis.
โขChris Bailey, senior vice president for sales & marketing at Centara Hotels & Resorts, said in a recent interview in TTG that many MICE events postponed and leisure booking cancelled but noted: โCentara Grand at Central Plaza Ladprao actually sees much better figures (perhaps due to) its location slightly outside the city and also corporate clients who continue business as usual.โ
โขDusit Thani Bangkokโs general manager, James Wilson, also shared that month-to-date occupancy has dipped 40 per cent from last year. โWe do have one large international group in house at present and some small overseas groups arriving throughout the week, as well as FIT bookings. Our corporate accounts are still booking, although in reduced numbers,โ he said. Dusit Thani Bangkok is receiving more lunch business from local offices, including โmarginal business from rally-goersโ, Wilson revealed.
โขDebrah Pascoe, Onyx Hospitality Groupโs senior vice president sales and marketing, commented that while occupancy is lower than usual for this time of the year, the hotel is not lowering rates. โOptimistically, our properties in resort locations are so far unaffected and a number of them are picking up last-minute bookings from guests diverting their travel from Bangkok, especially those within driving distance from the capital, namely Pattaya, Hua Hin and Koh Chang,โ she added.
โขHotels located near the demonstration sites have rolled out discounts targeting local residents. Centara Hotels & Resorts has launched a Bangkok Shutdown package across its five Bangkok properties for this week, while Grande Centre Point Hotel Terminal 21 has a Thai Resident Special.
โขโThis (Bangkok Shutdown) promotion is not generating a huge volume increase, as most rally-goers still prefer to go home. However, weโre seeing more rally-goers coming for meals and spa treatments for breaks or relaxation, particularly at Centara Grand,โ Centara Hotels & Resorts reported.
โขSame-day booking app HotelQuickly appears to be an unexpected winner amid the crisis, recording a surge in bookings in Bangkok. Said COO Christian Mischler: โNew member sign-ups in Thailand have more than tripled over the past few days; members using their phones in Thai language have increased dramatically since (last) weekend.โ