Free rooms at the Banyan Tree

Banyan Tree Hotels and Resorts has launched a first-ever special deal for two of its hotels in Thailand, offering 1,000 free room nights from next month until April.

The free rooms are part of the "Banyan Tree Smile Again with Thailand" campaign. From today until the end of this month, complementary room nights may be redeemed online for occupancy between February 1 and April 30.

Sunee U-thaikittisup, director of sales and marketing at the Banyan Tree Bangkok, said tourists staying a minimum of one night at the Banyan Tree in Phuket or Bangkok could receive an extra night when reserving online.

Of the 1,000 room nights, the company expects 700 to be used at the Bangkok location and 300 in Phuket. The campaign is expected to raise average occupancy at both hotels by 30-40 per cent, although that would still be below the 70-80-per-cent rate recorded during the same period last year.

The average room rate per night is Bt8,000 at the Phuket location and Bt5,000 at the one in Bangkok.

The campaign is aimed to encouraging international tourists to return to Thailand. Thai hotels took a hit from last year's airport closures in Bangkok, with more than 90 per cent of booked rooms cancelled.

Moreover, the private sector predicts the Kingdom will lose more than a million tourists, or 30 per cent of the number projected for this year's first quarter.

Sunee placed the combined value of the free rooms at Bt10 million but said the campaign was necessary to maintain business at both properties.

The group has opened a special online reservation at www.banyantree.com/thaismile. It is also working with Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) to promote the offer online at www.tourismthailand.org/thailandsuperdeal.

Santichai Euachongprasit, the TAT's deputy governor for international marketing, said his agency and the private sector were working together to jump-start tourism during these tough times.

He said more than 25 hotels and resorts nationwide had joined the TAT's "Thailand Super Deal" campaign, offering rooms at up to 70 per cent off.

"We're negotiating for more alliances, such as with the Krabi Hotel Association, to offer special promotions for tourists. This additional campaign should help rebuild tourism," Santichai added.