Wyndham has faith in tourism resilience

Wyndham Garden Irin Bangsaray Pattaya will be located on two rai with a total of 235 units worth 1 billion baht.

American hotel chain Wyndham Hotels Resorts is confident about the growth of the Thai tourism industry and overall economy, planning to sign eight new hotel management deals in major tourist destinations this year.

David Wray, vice-president of development and acquisitions for Southeast Asia and the Pacific Rim, said the Thai tourism sector always bounces back after crises such as bombings or political chaos.

“Despite the crises, tourist arrivals resume and they always return in higher numbers,” he said. “Huge growth in the tourism industry will continue no matter who makes up the new government. Projects like the high-speed trains will also continue.”

This year Wyndham plans to agree to manage eight new hotels in Bangkok, Pattaya, Phuket, Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai with a total 2,000 rooms. In the next two years, Wyndham expects to have a total of 25 hotels with 5,470 rooms opened in Thailand.

Last month, the company signed with new property developer Irin Property to manage the latter’s new condo project, Irin De Sea Bangsaray Luxury Condominium, which was renamed as Wyndham Garden Irin Bangsaray Pattaya.

The project will be located on two rai in Bang Saray, Chon Buri, 250 metres from the beach. It will comprise two eight-storey towers with a total of 235 units sized between 27-47 square m and priced 120,000 baht per sq m on average, or 2.6-7.3 million baht.

Irinraya Pattanawiranon, executive director of Irin Property, said the company believes there is a gap in the market to develop guaranteed-return condo projects via hotel management in Bang Saray as there are a limited number of such projects.

“The majority of the guaranteed-return condo projects are in Pattaya and Jomtien,” she said. “Units in Bang Saray are easy to rent out because there are fewer competitors. There are only two standard hotels in the location, with the majority either too small or substandard.”

She said the company‘s project was launched for sale in mid-2018 and recorded sales of 30% before the company signed with Wyndham. Most of the buyers were Thai investors.

With hotel management, the company expects to have 80% of units sold by the end of the year, 60% to Thai investors and 40% to foreign buyers as the project will be promoted in Shanghai on April 2 and is part of a roadshow in Singapore and Taiwan.

The project offers a guaranteed return of 6% per year for five years and profit-sharing at 60% per year in years six to 30. Unitholders will also be given 7-40 nights per year at any of the 8,145 Wyndham hotels.