Thai hotel purchases expected to exceed 15 billion baht this year
Thai and foreign investors are expected to snap up more than 20 hotels worth over 15 billion baht this year, according to property consultant Colliers International Thailand.
As the country’s tourism outlook improves, the first half of 2022 has seen brisk demand for Thai hotels, particularly in major tourist destinations such as Bangkok, Phuket, Samui, Pattaya and Chiang Mai, said Colliers research and communication director Phattarachai Taweewong.
Most purchases involved old hotels that were later renovated, upgraded and rebranded.
This year, Colliers expects more than 20 hotels to be purchased, compared to 24 last year and seven in 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic struck.
Earlier, the number of hotels offered for sale was limited. However, with the advent of Covid, many owners were forced to put their hotels up for sale following a severe lack of liquidity and mounting operating costs.
Last year’s prices were about 30 per cent lower than market prices but are being adjusted higher this year due to the better tourism outlook, with foreigners returning to visit Thailand in droves.
An upbeat Tourism Authority of Thailand predicted tourist arrivals of more than 10 million this year.
“Investors can buy hotels at reasonable prices,” Phattarachai pointed out. “It is likely the value of purchases will exceed 15 billion baht.”
Chinese investors tend to show interest in purchasing hotels in Phuket and Chiang Mai, while those from the US, Singapore and Japan look for properties in Bangkok, according to Colliers.
Over the past decade, total purchases of Thai hotels were worth 99.6 billion baht. The value was particularly high in 2017 and 2018, when the amount was more than 20 billion baht in each of those years, Colliers records show.
