Phuket Resort Club Co Ltd will merge with its two affiliates to form a holding company and raise its registered capital from Bt70 million to Bt200 million, in order to fund the cost of two new projects, one in Phuket and another in Nakhon Ratchasima.

Phuket Resort Club managing director Lily Udomkunnatum said the process would be completed by August. The two affiliates it will merge with are Shanghai Inn Co Ltd, which runs the Shanghai Inn boutique hotel in the Yaowarat area, and Siam Chaisri Co Ltd, a hotel-management chain.

The holding company will oversee room rentals and services at all hotels currently operated by the three firms.

The two new projects are a hotel on Prao Island, Phuket and a two-zone project in Nakhon Ratchasima's Khao Yai that will comprise a hotel and 60 to 80 residences that will each include an office.

Lily said construction of the hotel phase of the project had already started. When it opens next year it will have 150 rooms. With meeting facilities for up to 500 people, its main target will be corporate clients, but it will pursue the adventure niche by offering skydiving and horseback riding, she said.

Construction of the home offices will begin once the hotel is completed. The company is still working on their design, but there will be 60-80 units starting at Bt8 million each, Lily said. Another company will be set up after the home-office zone is completed to sell the units and provide services to the buyers, she said.

Construction of the hotel project on Prao Island will start next year. It will have rooms styled after ancient Thai houses.

Lily said the historic ambience would spread to the grounds around the hotel.

Guests will get a picture of what former-day Thai society was like. When they look out their windows they will see staff dressed up as peasants caring for cattle and farming the land, she explained.

The company will spend Bt3.2 million on each unit.

Prao Island already has one successful hotel, and its potential as a tourist draw is high, she said, adding that the island's location made it safe from tsunamis.

Phuket Resort Club is also expanding its four-star Burasari Resort on Patong Beach by adding the 98-room Lagoon Wing. The new wing will open on September 19, raising the resort's room count to 188.

The cost of the new wing is Bt360 million, with land accounting for half of the price.

Lily said about 80 per cent of the resort's guests were foreigners - mainly Western Europeans and East Asians - and its occupancy rate was 88 per cent.

It is targeting new markets - Russian, Middle East, Brazilian and Argentinean tourists, she said.

Its marketing strategies include adding online sales, better managing its relationship with customers and offering more value-added services. Its marketing budget for the next 12 months is Bt45 million, up from Bt30 million in the previous year.

Nitida Asawanipont

The Nation