What was the opportunity for Dusit International in this partnership with SYDEL?
Gilles Cretallaz - I travel a lot in Europe, particularly in Paris. I meet a lot of people there and every time I talk to them about my Thai experience, they tell me that it would be great to have an Asian chain in France. I have a French designer and businessman friend who has lived in Thailand for a long time. It was he who introduced me to the French SYDEL group. Its directors tend to specialise in the medical sector, but have also invested in hotels in Paris. So they have experience in the hotel business, but they're not really operators. They simply invest. They were very interested in joining forces with us. We agreed on a scope: France.
Couldn't Dusit International have developed in France on its own?
Gilles Cretallaz - In fact, we realised that the French market is very special. It's a small world, where everyone knows everyone else. And, of course, you have to have an entry point, otherwise it's hard to forge links. SYDEL brings us its network and a logistics office in a prestigious location close to the Champs-Elysées. When the joint venture was signed in July, we invited a number of major potential partners to come and see which ones would be interested in working with us.
What do you think will attract French investors to Dusit International?
Gilles Cretallaz - Everyone recognises the power of the big names in the hotel industry. However, all our contacts tell us that today's customers are looking for different products. The lifestyle trend has been around for 15 years, but people want more than that. They want something exotic or a cultural experience. Or lifestyle establishments, it's more about the experience than the culture. Dusit has a very strong cultural connotation. It's what shapes our very powerful differentiation from other.
How do you see your presence in France?
Gilles Cretallaz - Above all, our aim is not to have a Thai hotel in Paris. We're not going to build a Thai palace in Paris. The aim is to create a cultural link between the world of Paris and Thailand through a hotel. This will take the form of service, a wellness area and, of course, a culinary component. It will be a Parisian hotel with a refined environment and landmarks for guests, reminding them that Dusit's DNA is Thailand.
Any targets for France?
Gilles Cretallaz - We don't like to put too many figures forward because, in the end, things never work out as advertised. First of all, we favour an interesting location with a partner who understands our positioning. This is essential for a first hotel, because that's when the brand image is built up. Within 5 years, we hope to have at least five or six hotels in France..
Which destinations would you consider for your French presence?
Gilles Cretallaz - Paris is inescapable for us. What interests us is taking on an existing hotel, because building a new hotel is complex and time-consuming. We see quite a few opportunities on the Côte d'Azur and in the south of France in general. We're also considering partnerships with châteaux conversions two hours from Paris. Our wellness experience is attracting interest from châteaux owners, who see the opportunity to develop activities there during the week. The château has become a MICE, lifestyle and wellness destination..
Which brands would be best?
Gilles Cretallaz - We are open because the French market is highly diversified. I believe that Dusit Collection would be a perfect brand in many cases because it offers greater flexibility in selection criteria. At the same time, it offers an excellent level of service. Castles, for example, are more likely to be Dusit Collection because of the diversity of the buildings. There's also our spa brand, Devarana. We're working on an independent spa concept. We have a project near Lille for example, as well as a project in Paris for a health club and spa.
Are there other possible areas of cooperation in Europe?
Gilles Cretallaz - We are in discussions with a Spanish group and a French group, but the focus is more on cooperation between the two groups. loyalty programmes. We have around sixty hotels and this year we are signing twenty more.. But in terms of loyalty, we need more hotels to offer our customers more destinations. So the best way for us is to partner with comparable chains. And who are interested in our hotels in Asia and the Middle East. This is a first step...
How is the Bangkok market performing?
Gilles Cretallaz - The Thai market remains fascinating. Hotel investors and managers are still complaining that there are too many hotels in Bangkok. They've been saying it for thirty years, and every year new hotels open. And we can see that the destination has an extraordinary capacity to absorb the additional stock of rooms. And, surprise, after the covid, Thailand had this remarkable ability to raise prices. This put the finishing touch to a very Thai problem: excellent service, very fine hotels, occupancy averaging 70 to 75%. But an average price 40% lower than Singapore or other regional destinations. Prices have risen considerably to around 25%. Despite this, the destination remains competitive, as the increase has enabled it to reinvest in hotels and offer a better service.
Are you satisfied with the Dusit Thani's performance since it reopened?
Gilles Cretallaz - We're happy with the results, even if we can always do better. In fact, we're very happy to be opposite Lumpini Park because there aren't many luxury hotels open in this area. The location is particularly attractive to tourists and business travellers because it is extremely accessible and central. Guests love our luxury establishment because of its authentic Thai identity. We are also very good at events. For weddings, however, as well as conferences, we have 6,000 m² of meeting rooms and one of the largest ballrooms in Bangkok. As for our future rooftop park, it highlights our sustainable approach. The park concept minimises energy costs and reduces pollution. Elsewhere in Thailand, we'd very much like to set up on the island of Samui. We will also be running a 10-room glamping resort, Visama Mae Chan. This is a 10-tent camp in Chiang Rai, the proceeds from which subsidise a school for underprivileged girls.
What about the rest of South-East Asia?
Gilles Cretallaz - We've signed up for the Dusit Hotel Green Hills in Manilain addition to our Dusit Thani hotel in Makati. At IndonesiaWe'll be opening in Labuan Bajo on the island of Flores next year, and we're working on projects in other parts of the world. Bali and Jakarta. We're also a big hit in Malaysia with a Dusit Princess Malacca. We're working on Penang, Kuala Lumpur and looking at Sarawak. We are present in Singapore with the Dusit Thani Laguna. But demand for luxury hotels in Singapore has been waning for 18 months. Investing in Singapore requires a lot of money. And having just invested a billion dollars in the Dusit Central Park hotel/residence/office complex, we may have to wait a little longer...
