InterContinental Hotels Group Asia Pacific plans to manage four new hotels in Thailand by 2008, as well as introducing its "convenience-segment" brand "Express by Holiday Inn".

Anthony K South, senior vice president for development and asset management, said the group currently managed a portfolio of five hotels in Bangkok and Phuket for a total of more than 1,900 rooms.

 "With a well-established presence, having opened the Siam InterContinental Hotel in the early 1960s, we have been managing hotels in Thailand for over 40 years," said South.

He said the upcoming hotels would be InterContinental Resorts in Pattaya, Koh Samui and Koh Phi Phi. All three properties will be small and luxurious.

Construction has already started. The InterContinental Samui will open in 2007, the InterContinental Phi Phi and InterContinental Pattaya in 2008.

Moreover, the Crowne Plaza Sukhumvit - currently under construction - is scheduled to open next year. The hotel will focus on business travel and conventions, with 342 rooms in contemporary Thai design.

South said the group wanted to add more hotels in Bangkok under the Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn brands, while Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai provinces would be for InterContinental and Holiday Inn.

The group is also interested in expanding in Phuket, where tsunami recovery is on track.

South added that the group would also introduce to the Kingdom its Express by Holiday Inn, a convenience-segment brand operating in Hong Kong, China and Japan.

The group will manage the InterContinental Hanoi, scheduled to open next year.

It is also exploring opportunities in Ho Chi Minh City as well as resorts in other parts of Vietnam.

In Pakistan, the InterContinental Islamabad will open in 2008.

Suchat Sritama

The Nation