Distressed Hotel Asset Sales in Thailand May Turn Into a Gold Mine for International Chains
Photo Credit: Pictured is the Bangkok skyline. Developers are looking to buy hotel assets going out of business because of the pandemic. Skift / Raini Hamdi
Skift Take
Covid-19 unearthed hotel vulnerabilities, but Thai asset owners are not retreating. That means more branding opportunities for chains, but how they handle the pandemic will be closely watched.
On the website of S Hotels & Resorts, an offshoot of Singha Estate, a note says: “We wish to purchase hospitality projects in Thailand. Interested in selling? Contact us.”
Thai real estate developers with hospitality ventures are on the prowl for opportunities in the country as expectations mount that distressed hotel assets will start to appear in the third or fourth quarter as strains of more months without revenue bear down on some players.
Companies with dry powder such as S Hotels & Resorts and Asset World Corp., which were listed in the fourth quarter of last year, believe this could mean an acceleration of their expansion plans.
Asset World, the hospitality and property firm of Thai billionaire Charoen Sirivadhanabhakd, in particular, has deep pockets for strategic acquisitions. Its stock market listing was one of the largest corporate initial public offerings ever recorded in Thailand, raising $1.6 billion (48 billion baht).
“We are in a strong financi
