The Pathumwan Princess Hotel is diversifying into new market segments including children and small meetings, as many hotels in the area will soon start a price war in the wake of the political crisis.
Hotel general manager Christoph Knichel said last week that the hotel is offering kiddy and children amenities such as bathrobes, kids' beds, kids' movies as well as big sisters.
"Children are our new target group, which should help parents to choose to stay with us. We can take care of the children so that mum and dad can do business and go shopping," he said.
The hotel is also approaching small groups for meetings from local and overseas markets after it completed renovating the meeting floor, executive lounge and all 455 guestrooms.
The business centre, fitness centre and swimming pool are being refurbished. By the end of this year, the hotel is scheduled to complete the entire renovation.
Knichel said the hotel would begin a butler service on the executive floor and offer free WiFi. The pool will also be transformed into a "City Resort" concept by putting in more threes.
"Hotels in Bangkok and the Rajprasong and Siam Square areas are going on a price war. But we don't want to go in that game. We'll go for new segments," he said.
The hotel has revised down its average occupancy rate projection by 10 percentage points from last year to 60 per cent this year. However, it hopes business will bounce back to 80 per cent as in 2008.
The hotel suffered during the political demonstrations in the area in April and May, which caused many tourists to cancel their bookings during the turmoil.
"We came out of the crisis. We expect overall business will return to normal in the first quarter of next year because Thailand still remains a tourist destination with friendly people," he said.
Some markets like Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and Hong Kong are returning visitors while Malaysia is growing.
However, the hotel notices that many tourists are waiting and watching the situation, so it is offering special deals through its website and is also creating new promotions.
One is a "100-per-cent payback" campaign as part of the hotel's 14th anniversary. Guests who patronise any food and beverage outlet at the hotel will receive a cash voucher for the same amount that can be used the next time at the outlets.
This year, the hotel has expanded into a related business by managing a clubhouse at a new golf course, the Riverdale Golf Club in Patum Thani. MBK owns both the hotel and golf course.