In the field of serviced apartments in Thailand, few names are today as exciting as Ascott, which in a few short years has earned a reputation for innovation in a highly competitive industry.

Nowhere else but in Asia, and in particular Thailand, would one find the quality of serviced apartments so constantly scrutinised and evaluated by guests and industry professionals.

Amid the current climate of political change, Ascott has managed to up the ante by providing a network of critical services that its customers will not fail to appreciate. At Ascott Sathorn, Bangkok-based marketing chief Daniel Tan said they now provided medical services for all guests under a special arrangement with Bangkok Nursing Home. English-speaking doctors have been assigned for its guests.

"When a visitor comes to Bangkok, he has no idea where to go for a check-up. To save time and discomfort, we provide them with this option," said Tan.

For banking, Ascott now provides services from UOB, a global chain that recently bought the Bank of Asia. UOB also provides links to financial and securities trading services. "If a visitor wants to buy a condominium, they can obtain professional advice from a reputable bank," he said.

Ascott has also tied up with Hertz car rental. Its guests need not journey to pick up a car. Instead, the vehicle is delivered to the front of the lobby.

After decades of stagnant growth among Thai hotels, guests now see something new apart from inflated billings and charges.

Indeed, what's new after business centres, spas and fine dining were included in hotel repertoires 20 years ago?

Ascott's direct medical, banking and transportation links are special in that they go beyond the boundaries most hotels have imposed on themselves. General managers are too often worried about cutting costs to beef up dividends for shareholders, forgetting the essential side of hotels: namely, to make guests feel they are staying somewhere special.

Probably without realising it, Ascott has taken up the very mantle that makes Asian hotels a special breed in the global order.

The Mandarin Oriental and Regent chains during the Seventies and Eighties revolutionised how business hotels were run. They set benchmarks others would soon follow.

Global chains such as Sheraton and Marriott picked up the pace in the Nineties. But since then, hotels have been generally become more obsessed with filing quarterly reports.

Ascott is already the largest serviced-apartment operator in the Asia-Pacific, with properties in Hanoi, Kuala Lumpur, Tokyo, Shanghai and Beijing. It has two other brands, the Somerset and Citadines.

Its Thai operation, however, is not without problems. Its management contract for a 630-unit serviced residence in Pattaya now faces delay, said indystry sources.

Tentatively called Somerset Nusasiri Pattaya and located on Jomtien Beach, the property was supposed to open this quarter.

But its many Citadines properties will open as planned, said Tan. A 79-unit serviced apartment will open next month.

As for the coup, the initial reaction was cancellations by big groups. "Today, people are returning. Bangkok remains a great destinatiuon," he added.

Itthi C Tan

The Nation