Thailand hotel transactions are expected to continue at a brisk pace with JLL estimating volume to grow to THB12 billion in 2023, up from THB11 billion last year. This year’s figure, if achieved, would be close to what was recorded pre-pandemic and another sign investors are confident in the country’s rebounding tourism sector.
“Looking ahead, we expect 2023 to be a bullish year for hotel investment activities in Thailand. Continued investor interest and a strong pipeline of ongoing hotel investment deals are likely to push hotel investment volume this year to THB12 billion, the pre-COVID annual average volume witnessed between 2010 and 2019,” Khun Chakkrit Chakrabandhu Na Ayudhya, Executive Vice President, Investment Sales, Asia Pacific, JLL Hotels & Hospitality Group, said.
While Thailand hotel transactions declined last year when compared to 2021, JLL believes it was still a positive 12-month period all things considered. In fact, it could have been even bigger but a few deals in the works weren’t able to close before the end of 2022.
“Despite a 10.6 percent decline, 2022 represents another strong year in terms of hotel investment activity post-COVID, with the total transaction volume seeing a nearly fivefold increase from just THB1.9 billion in 2020 when Thailand’s tourism market started feeling a severe impact of the pandemic,” Khun Chakkrit noted.
Thailand hotel transactions took place in Bangkok, Phuket, Koh Samui, Koh Pha Ngan, Krabi, Hua Hin and Chiang Mai over the course of 2022. JLL added Bangkok, Phuket and Koh Samui accounted for nearly 70 percent of volume recorded in the Kingdom last year.
Domestic investors were the most active in 2022 with Asset World Corporation leading the way. The real estate group acquired Grand Mercure Bangkok Windsor, Westin Siray Bay in Phuket and dusitD2 Chiang Mai.
“While all of the hotels sold in 2022 belonged to Thai corporations or families, 80 percent of the investment capital was from domestic investors. This marks a major shift from 2021 when foreign capital accounted for 60 percent of the total hotel investment volume in Thailand,” Chakkrit concluded.
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