Thailand’s leading hotel chain, Central Plaza Group, which operates hotels and resorts under the Centara Grand and Centara brands, has expressed confidence in achieving its sales target of THB19 billion this year. This represents a 12 percent growth over last year’s sales — despite the political demonstrations and their negative effect on the group’s Bangkok properties.
This success is largely attributed to Central Plaza’s diversification strategy, with solid performance from its international hotels, especially in the Maldives. Also, outside of Bangkok, the group’s hotels have performed well this season, with Hua Hin, Pattaya and Phuket enjoying occupancies of 80 to 100 percent.
Ronnachit Mahattanapreut, Senior VP for Finance and Administration at Central Plaza Group, told The Nation that the opening of two hotels in the Maldives would be a key driver in the company’s growth in 2014. The group’s overall sales in the Maldives are expected to reach THB 1.5 billion this year, or 20 percent of the company’s total hotel sales. A third resort is in the development pipeline.
The company currently operates 18 international resorts in the Maldives, Bali, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Shanghai, Sri Lanka, Ethiopia and Mauritius.
Besides its hospitality business, Central Plaza Group owns fast food franchises, including KFP, Auntie Anne’s and Mister Donut, which account for over 50 percent of the group’s total sales. These businesses are not expected to grow, however, as the market is relatively mature and consumers have growing choices within the industry.