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No hotel reservations
Mark Bowling is senior sales manager with Colliers International’s Pattaya office on Second Road opposite Central Festival. The branch office was recently voted Best Agent (Eastern Seaboard) in the 2010 Thailand Property Awards. He joined Colliers International in early 2009 having been sales manager with a local property development firm since 2006. Mark has had a successful career in international sales and marketing spanning more than 20 years both in Thailand and the UK. He can be contacted at mark.bowling@colliers.com
By mark bowling
Y
ou treat this place like a hotel! was what my dear mum said to me as a teenager. In hindsight I probably did treat home like a hotel at the time, but who didn’t in their mis-spent youth? I remember some 21 years ago when I first came to Pattaya on holiday, there was a small hotel on Jomtien beach with very little around it except for some corrugated steel shacks and Thappraya Road was a dirt track ... so not much has changed! But it was great. Hotels are great and we all enjoy the services and facilities they provide and our memories to return home with. Carefree stay Let’s face it, the majority of visitors to Pattaya stay in hotels and there are very good reasons for it, convenience, facilities, services and location. Visitors want a carefree stay, they work hard all year to pay for their holiday, so the last thing they want is hassle when they arrive after a long flight. 60•REm•Issue 124•09/2011
Back on the map – the Park Plaza Waterfront.
In recent months we have seen a new trend entering into the property arena in Pattaya and, in my opinion, it’s the best thing to happen for several years. Condominiums with brand name hotel management are being introduced on a grand scale. Nova Group earlier this year launched The Legend on Cosy Beach and we had been quite successful in selling multiple units for them. Around about May it was confirmed that Amari the wellknown Thai hotel chain would now be operating serviced apartments on the lower floors, with floors 16-33 remaining residential and the entire building under Amari management. Upon hearing this I instantly called around some of my existing clients and informed them of the news. It went down particularly well, with some clients buying an additional unit or two for investment purposes. I must admit I had also bought into the (then) Legend in the very early stages and was delighted when the Amari
news came out as the prices rose overnight. My good friend and owner of this magazine, Dave Buckley, sent me an email at the time, asking for my thoughts on the matter as he had his reservations. More to follow I said I thought it was a great idea, explained how the news had generated more sales and said, “watch this space, there’ll be more to follow” and there are. About six weeks ago we saw the introduction of Centara Avenue Residence & Suites Pattaya (CARS) located behind the Avenue shopping mall. Sales have been brisk with 61 units being sold in the first three weeks and no doubt many more by the time you read this. CARS is to be developed by local firm Tulip Group but to be managed by Thailand’s largest hotel chain Centara, part of the Central Group (CPN), who you’ll probably be aware operate the spectacular Central Festival Shopping Mall
and Centara Grand Mirage on Wong-Amat Beach. What better advertising do you need? So what is it that makes these properties so attractive to owner occupiers and investors? From what I understand owners like the convenience of having all the facilities you’d expect from a brand name hotel operator. If you can’t be bothered to cook or go out – call Room Service. Planning a trip somewhere? Call the travel desk. Need laundry or your room cleaning? Dial housekeeping. It’s as simple as that. These developments will offer separate facilities such as lobby and fitness areas. You don’t necessarily want to rub shoulders with the tourists, but you do want to enjoy the same facilities. Investors like the idea that rental yields will be higher than average, based on the fact that brand name properties usually attract a premium due to the higher level of management.
‘‘ I had also bought into the (then) Legend in the very early stages and was delighted when the Amari news came out as the prices rose overnight.
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As an investor you would set your rental price slightly lower than that of the operator and comfortably expect to see a yield of around 10 per cent. The fact that many buildings in Pattaya can look pretty neglected after just a few years has also been mentioned to me several times. You would expect a property managed by Amari or Centara to be well maintained for the duration of the management deal, most likely for 10 years at least. Reasons why Why are some developers now introducing their condos with hotel management? There are a couple of reasons that spring to mind. Firstly, if a hotel operator takes a percentage of the building to operate their own rooms, these rooms will fall under the Thai ownership quota, meaning the developer can often sell the remaining units in foreign ownership with maybe just a small amount of Thai quota.
Secondly for reasons mentioned it adds value to the development and a certain amount of prestige for the owners, making the job of selling easier. Most recently in the news is the Park Plaza Waterfront (PPW), which has recently been reintroduced also by local developer Tulip Group and their JV partner Park Plaza hotels. Originating in London, where Colliers International sold them their first site, the forward-thinking Park Plaza group now spans the globe having more than 40 hotels, with many more scheduled for the coming years. PPW will be an iconic development consisting of 315 super luxury condominiums rising to 52 storeys, located close to Bali Hai pier and towering above the Holywoodstyle ‘PATTAYA’ sign, providing the very best views of the bay even from the lower floors and just a minute’s stroll from Walking Street. If I was to live there I can hear my mum now - “you treat this place like a hotel!” And I probably would, wouldn’t you? 09/2011•Issue 124•REm•61