BANGKOK—Chris Bailey has a lot on his plate.
The COO of Centara Hotels & Resorts recently oversaw an organizational overhaul to better serve the needs of stakeholders in key markets in the Asia/Pacific and is readying a significant upgrade to the company’s mobile app—all while managing the day-to-day operations of Thailand’s largest hotel group.
Oh, and there’s still the groundwork needed to absorb the 26 new projects percolating in the pipeline.
“It is an exciting time. The industry is so dynamic, and the customers are hungry for change. Our focus on change-management and strengthening the leadership team all go toward winning the race,” Bailey told Hotel News Now via email.
Priority No. 1?
“Ensure we deliver value to all our stakeholders—be they guests, associates or owners. We need to do so efficiently and effectively in our fast-moving industry. This is why we undertook the change-management program of corporate office as we firmly believe change needs to start at the top to be credible and effective.”
Those changes, announced in October 2015, saw a restructuring with four group directors of operations tasked with specific brands and properties:
- Austin Robinson, group director of operations for East Thailand and Vietnam;
- Harry Thaliwal, group director of operations for South Thailand, Sri Lanka, Bali and Cosi brand;
- Robert Maurer-Loeffler, group director of operations for Bangkok and City Hotels; and
- Kamal Chaoui, group director of operations for Premium Resorts.
Centara counts 48 hotels in its portfolio in Thailand. The group has an additional 24 hotels and resorts in the Maldives, Vietnam, Bali, Sri Lanka, Qatar, Laos, Oman, Turkey and China. The company has five brands:
- 5-star Centara Grand, which includes landmark properties in prime resort and beachfront locations, and key city areas;
- core 4-star brand Centara;
- Centara Boutique Collection, consisting of resorts designed for “independently minded travelers”;
- focused-service brand Centra; and
- value brand Cosi Hotel.
The latter brand, Cosi, was announced in 2013 but counts no properties to date.
“We continue to evolve our Cosi brand,” Bailey said. “We have a few projects in the pipeline and some at advance discussion levels, which we hope to announce in due course. Cosi still remains an important ingredient in the overall offerings from Centara. Further, it satisfies a need within the industry for an affordable hotel brand that prides on innovation.”
Engine of growth
In Thailand, Centara has leaned too heavily on inbound demand from Chinese travelers, Bailey admitted. Executives recognize it’s best not to leave all those eggs in one basket.
“Within Thailand, the China market has driven all the destination’s growth. However, we feel following this path may be a risky strategy. As such, we continue to look to grow all our mature service markets, even though some show a total overall decline,” he said.
The company’s network of 32 sales offices provides another key lever, Bailey said. Asset growth comes in a variety of forms, he added.
“We operate a policy of ‘asset right,’ which means we are open to invest exclusively or as a joint venture in the right project,” he said. “We are also happy to manage an owned property if we feel we can deliver and if the product is right for our portfolio and related brands.”
Of the 26 hotels in the pipeline, four are scheduled to open between now and the middle of 2016, Bailey said. First on the docket is the Centra Maris Resort Jomtien, Thailand, followed by the Centara Muscat Hotel, Oman.
“Our portfolio comprises more Centara Hotels & Resorts than any of our other brands. We have seen a significant increase in our Centara Grand brand,” Bailey said.
Shifting consumers
When asked to name the biggest shift in consumer behavior in the past year, Bailey pointed to booking habits.
“Booking habits have to be the biggest shift in our industry. This covers their way of booking and their timeline in the booking process. They want ‘entertaining’ information at their fingertips, easily consumed via a mobile device. They want instant access to a reservation regardless of the lead time.
“This is the new reality, and our activities must ensure we deliver accordingly,” the COO said.
Centara is planning a “major upgrade” to the company’s mobile app in 2016 “in an effort to deliver a valuable one-step tool that will allow for information finder to booking engine, in-house guest concierge to reward and recognition,” Bailey said.