The new hotel at Hua Hin will open in January under Starwood's Sheraton brand; three hotels in Chiang Mai, Pattaya and Bangkok will operate under its Le Meridien brand in 2008; and another in Krabi will be the first hotel in Bangkok to launch its new St Regis  brand.

The group, however, did not divulge its total investment.

Tan Jee Hoong, director of sales and marketing of Sheraton Krabi Beach Resorts, a part of the Star-wood Group, said the St Regis hotel is a luxury, high-end hotel decorated in traditional European style.

The group is already operating St Regis hotels in Beijing and Shanghai in China.

He said the five hotels would bring to 16 the number of Starwood hotels and resorts in Thailand.

Tan said the group was likely to open 30 new hotels across Thailand within five years.

Starwood already ranks as the second largest luxury hotel and resort operator here, behind the Accor Group.

Tan said the group was unfazed by the present political uncertainty and economic downturn, as its target clientele is willing to gloss over these negative situations and travel here.

He said Thailand has proved its resilience in the past by tiding over even a huge tragedy like the tsunami.

At present, Thailand is the group's biggest market in the Asian region.

Tan said the Sheraton Krabi Beach Resort has witnessed advance room bookings during

the high-season from October to November equivalent to 45 per cent of total rooms.

For the peak season from October 21 to January 10, it has 66 per cent advance booking of the total rooms available. A majority of the tourists are from Germany, the UK and Scandinavian countries.

The hotel expects to achieve an average occupancy rate of 57 per cent this year. Currently, 60 per cent of its visitors are leisure travellers, 30 per cent are MICE travellers and the rest are local corporate and film crew.

The hotel is expanding its room capacity. It is constructing four new villas, besides swimming pools which will be three times the size of its current pool, and a 220-seat Thai restaurant that allows customers to pick vegetables from the hotel's garden and cook for themselves.

Tan said the four villas are being decorated in four different styles

to test the market before the hotel constructs 40 more villas due to open in 2008.

The tariff for the four villas

will be higher than the current room rate. The most expensive rooms at present are priced at $390++ (Bt14,600) for suites, while the villas will be priced at $400 to $450++.

Nitida Asawanipont

The Nation

Krabi