Published on August 29, 2006 - The booming resort business in Hua Hin has inspired small operators to revamp their own establishments into stylish boutique hotels. But the Kabantamor Resort's general manager has gone one step further and chosen to invest Bt50 million in a new resort project of his own.

Ever since the tsunami struck the renowned southern resorts of Phuket and Krabi nearly two years ago, tourism has thrived in the royal resort town of Hua Hin. International tourists have flocked to the Kingdom's Gulf of Thailand coastal areas, including to Hua Hin, just 200 kilometres down the peninsula from Bangkok.

Global hotel chains like Hilton, Marriott and Sofitel have sprung up around the town, with small hotel operators also jockeying for position.

Chinnaphop Pimpakorn, general manager of the Kabantamor since it opened five years ago, said he planned to build his own hotel in Prachuap Khiri Khan's Pran Buri district.

The project is expected to cost Bt50 million and will feature 50 rooms, a spa and a "food cottage". With portraits and paintings hung in the rooms, special lighting and fabric screens and a showroom with arts and crafts on sale, Chinnaphop is calling his new project an "artistic beach resort".

"I've been in the hotel business for years and know it well. The new project will be my first property," said Chinnaphop.

He said construction would start within three years on land he had leased for 30 years.

His move differs from other small operators in the area running boutique resorts, such as Baan Talay Dao, Baan Duang Kaew, The Rock and the Supatra Resort.

Chinnaphop says modern tourists are looking for a place with a good mix of nature and distinctive features but with fewer crowds.

He believes only a small hotel can deliver this.

After graduating in journalism from Thammasat University, Chinnaphop pursued several career paths before going into the hotel business.

He was a shop owner and fitness officer before becoming involved with hotels.

Chinnaphop said 60 per cent of the Kabantamor's guests are from the West, particularly the Scandinavian countries, plus England, France and Switzerland. The rest tend to be mostly local families and couples.

Four travel agents take care of Kabantamor's foreign market, while the resort handles domestic marketing and bookings itself. However, Chinnaphop said that later this year, the resort would reduce its number of agents to two. In this way, he hopes to increase the Kabantamor's annual revenues from between Bt17 million and Bt20 million a year to Bt22 million.

The Kabantamor has an average occupancy rate of more than 80 per cent, a significant hike from the 65-per-cent occupancy before the tsunami. Prices range from Bt4,500 to Bt5,000 a night for one of the 23 cottage-style rooms and use of the resort's Smore Spa.

"We don't want to have too many marketing activities, because we have only a limited number of rooms.

"But we want to keep the hotel's name in the customer's mind," said Chinnaphop.

Each Saturday during the high season from November to May, the Kabantamor hosts "Chamber Music by the Sea" for its guests and offers daily painting classes for children.

Suchat Sritama
The Nation