Located an hour’s drive north of Phuket International Airport, JW Marriott Khao Lak Resort & Spa in Thailand is shifting its focus away from weddings and choosing to prioritise corporate events and meetings instead.
Several reasons behind this shift include the property’s expanded inventory of 420 keys, as well as its refreshed Grand Ballroom, part of the resort’s 18-month-long renovation and expansion of the resort. Aside from the 758m2 JW Grand Ballroom, the JW Marriott Khao Lak Resort & Spa features over 9,300m2 of indoor and outdoor event meeting space, including seven function rooms, and outdoor spaces like the Infinity Lawn and the beach.
“All this new hardware gives us a lot of impetus, putting us in a great position to attract medium-sized corporate groups of about 300 pax. MICE guests can also coexist quite happily with our leisure guests, and we want to rewrite the script on what a luxury property can offer.
“For example, one area of the resort, with around 160 rooms, can also be privatised for corporate groups,” Abhimanyu Singh, general manager, JW Marriott Khao Lak Resort Spa, told TTGmice.
For smaller groups of 20 to 30 people, the property’s brand-new two-bedroom villa can be hired for intimate events. Other property enhancements include the extension of the pool, now at 2.4km long, and the addition of a water slide, water trampoline, and wave pool.
Singh added: “I think the real key for us is the size of the hotel and the different venues people can enjoy. Corporates don’t have to be stuck in the ballroom all the time – we can arrange for floating coffee breaks in the pool, live cooking stations next to the ballroom for a gala dinner, and teambuilding exercises on the beach. Every night, delegates can also try a different restaurant – there are 11 restaurants and bars on-site – ranging from rustic Italian to a Japanese teppanyaki.”
The hotel also has several concrete plans in the pipeline, such as a Bamboo Shark nursery. Created in partnership with Oceans For All, the nursery will come online in 1Q2023. It will have trained conservationists onsite, as well as shark eggs, and tanks with adolescent sharks that will be eventually released into the ocean.
Also in the pipeline is the creation of a JW Garden in a plot of land behind the conference centre by 1Q2023. The aim for this garden is to grow as much produce as possible for the hotel’s use, and specialise in southern Thai crops such as rosella, Thai basil, and lemongrass. Singh’s plan is to eventually evolve it to a farm where chickens can be raised for eggs, and bees for honey.
Singh noted: “Such activities would appeal to corporate groups, especially since one of the top priorities of MICE groups now is to be working with hotels which have a heavy focus on sustainability. With more than 90 per cent of MICE groups coming from big cities, I believe both the nursery and garden would resonate.”
“Moreover, MICE groups these days are looking for unique and meaningful experiences, which is something that we have.”
Outside of the hotel, activities that can be arranged include a culinary tour or amazing race in Takua Pa Town, visits to the Khao Lak-Lam Ru National Park and its surrounding waterfalls, and a day snorkelling trip to Similan Islands.
When asked what international markets they are targeting, Singh shared that the property is casting their net as wide as possible for the time being and targeting Singapore, Australia, Hong Kong, the US, the UK, Germany, India, and China when it opens.
Aside from marketing and investments through its own channels, Singh shared that the property is also working closely with the Tourism Authority of Thailand to promote Khao Lak as a business events destination.
Armed with his skills in accounting and cash-flow management, Aebi looks forward to working with the local team and suppliers to offer unrivalled service and facilities, as well as maintain the high standards of the hotel.
China’s resumption of travel is lifting spirits across Hong Kong’s tourism sector, but players are urging China for more details to help them better plan their operations.
Fanny Yeung, executive director of the Travel Industry Council (TIC), told TTGmice that the announcement this week took the industry by surprise.
“It’s vital that we are able to cope with inbound traffic (from China). With more details from the Central Government, such as daily arrival quota, we can better plan ahead,” she said, adding that Hong Kong has a severe manpower obstacle to overcome due to a talent bleed-out over the past three disrupted years.
She said businesses would need to “offer competitive salaries” to lure people back.
“I reckon it may take us three to four months to ramp up manpower to meet the needs (of returning Chinese travellers),” said Yeung.
However, if all goes well, Yeung expects Hong Kong tourism business to return to pre-pandemic levels in 3Q2023.
TIC’s chairman Gianna Hsu is less worried about the immediate future, as China’s travel resumption will coincide with the Chinese New Year holidays starting January 22, 2023. This is typically a low travel season for group tours from China, and that buys Hong Kong some time to prepare for the market’s return.
Luc Bollen, general manager of The Park Lane Hong Kong – A Pullman Hotel, is upbeat. “According to recent studies (by Trip.com), Hong Kong remains the top-three most popular destination for all Chinese tourists,” he said.
Bollen said his team is well prepared to welcome guests from China. Together with Accor’s regional office, the hotel launched in late-December several room packages aimed at the Chinese.
He expects Chinese guests to combine business and leisure when they return to Hong Kong for their first trip in three years.
Industry players have expressed concerns about the return of sufficient air capacity to support China’s reopening.
Yeung hopes that China’s latest announcement will motivate airlines to accelerate their plans to return to service.
A spokesman with homegrown Greater Bay Airlines said the company would “keep monitoring the market situation and work closely with respective stakeholders to get prepared as appropriate”.
Greater Bay Airlines is current serving only Bangkok and Taipei.
Cathay Pacific has also shed little details on service plans following the December 27 announcement, only saying it would “continue to communicate with relevant authorities and to increase our passenger capacity to and from the Chinese Mainland as much as possible”.
Cathay Pacific is operating at about 30 per cent of its pre-pandemic capacity and has some weekly services between Hong Kong and select Chinese cities, like Beijing and Chengdu, scheduled for January.
In order to keep pace with China’s reopening, Hong Kong will also remove all mandatory PCR test requirements for inbound travellers, quarantine orders and the use of the Vaccine Pass from December 29.