The new Centara Reserve Samui, which is scheduled to open on Dec 1, wants 60% of bookings to be local guests in 2022, and aims to start seeing steady growth from the long-haul market from the second quarter.
Centara Reserve Samui is the company's first property to be completely rebranded into a luxury hotel, with a budget of 1.1 billion baht, as Koh Samui is considered to be a luxury destination which is more peaceful than Phuket, said Pimpisa Chirathivat, corporate director of design and technical services at Centara Hotels and Resorts.
The company's bookings during the first month of Thailand's reopening are higher than anticipated, particularly prior to Christmas.
At present, all of Centara's premium categories are fully booked, mainly driven by the country's reopening and the domestic stimulus campaign called We Travel Together, which helps subsidise hotel rooms for local travellers.
Ms Pimpisa said the hotel offers an introductory rate to attract more guests in the early stage, from the normal rate of more than 8,000 baht per night, while the price of 80,000 baht per night for villas has been reduced to 55,000 baht.
The 184-room Centara Reserve Samui has already received forward bookings from long-haul markets such as the UK and Germany for the second quarter of next year with an average stay of 7-14 room nights per person.
She said local travellers will be important sources that account for 60% of bookings because the global virus situation might be unstable despite mass vaccination, as well as the lack of a Chinese market.
Ms Pimpisa said competition in the luxury segment for Koh Samui is not different from Phuket, but the property has the advantage of being near Samui airport and the longest beachfront of 260 metres at Chaweng Beach.
"Most people perceive Centara as a Thai hotel brand which focus on family guests, but the move towards the luxury segment is an opportunity to expand our hotel portfolio," Ms Pimpisa said.
There are many potential destinations in Thailand to expand with Centara's Reserve brand. The company is currently working on possible development plans.
Besides Centara Reserve Samui, Ms Pimpisa is also responsible for the design process at other projects including the Centara Grand Hotel Osaka, the third Centara property in the Maldives, and hotel renovations in Thailand.
She said design, marketing and hotel operations have to be more collaborative in order to strengthen the hotel brand and create effective communications to guests.
