Dusit International, Thailand’s signature hotel chain, is moving aggressively into the corporate arena after years of honing a leisure market positioning.
Simon Burgess, the chain’s global director of sales, told Business Traveller, they were “working to enhance our Club concept and Gold Card membership, ramping up offerings and rewards which we will be announcing as soon as they are confirmed”. A recent sign up with the Preferred Hotels Group, he added, also allowed access to a broader database, especially in the US which has not been a traditional client of Dusit International.
Through its 60 years of operations, the business founded by the visionary Thanpuying Chanut Piyaoui has concentrated on growing in Thailand, with sporadic forays overseas: Manila, Dubai and Cairo. That is all set to change with the ongoing rebranding and expansion initiative to be kicked off by Dusit Deverana New Delhi opening in May 2010. The launch member of the group’s new ultra luxury tier will consist of only 78 rooms.
Partnering Dusit's push into the subcontinent is Bird Hospitality Services, and futher collaborations include dusitD2 New Delhi – the first outside of the Kingdom – Dusit Devarana Jaipur, Dusit Devarana Rishikesh and a project in Goa.
Aware that besides India, China is another formidable customer driver, the chain has just announced a Dusit hotel in China with a group, whose name global sales director Burgess declined to name at press time.
Dusit Princess, the chain's mid-scale brand, has also received a boost with the recent debut of the 120-room Dusit Princess located in Dubai's Deira city centre.
But whether expanding home ground or to foreign lands, Burgess said: "Our point of difference will always be the Thai hardware and Thai way of hospitality."
For more details, visit www.dusit.com
Margie T Logarta
