The expansion plan is largely dictated by geography, with Thailand and its bordering countries forming one key market, along with China, the Indian Ocean and Singapore down to western Australia.

But the Middle East, according to Henley, is a “specific location strategy”. He explains: “The fastest growing segments into our hotels in Thailand are from China, India and Middle East.

“We felt it was going to help our inbound business by having greater awareness, properties in the countries they’re coming from. We also wanted to be within a six-to-seven hour flight rate of Bangkok so we could manage these, be there in a day if necessary.”

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Although Onyx Hospitality does have a five-star brand, Saffron, Henley is hoping to make his mark in this region through the core Amari brand, the three-star Ozo brand and the serviced apartment brand, Shama — a strategy that aligns well with that of Le Mirage Hospitality.

Henley identifies “Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Muscat, Doha, Bahrain, Amman” as the Middle Eastern cities in which to begin development, with the right partner and right location being the deciding factors when it comes to growth.

“We’re not a five-star hotel company. We have a five-star brand but our core is four / four-and-a-half star Amari. You really have to have owners who understand that who don’t really want to build a five-star hotel," he observes.

“We like to create relationships so we’ve hopefully got partners who want to do more than one hotel with us. And who understand that hotel business is a long play. Hotels are profitable but you have to stick with it,” says Henley.

“Equally important is where it is. Location is so important,” continues Henley. “And the brand has got to be specifically appropriate for that location. So those are the two things we really look at — half the emphasis is on finding the right property and a very, very important factor is finding the right person to own that,” he concludes.

Fast facts
 Le Mirage Hospitality
Owned by: Gulf Trading Group, Qatar
Business: Hotel owner and operator
Brands: Le Mirage Village, Le Mirage Executive Apartments, Le Mirage Suites and Le Mirage Residence
Hotel portfolio: Four properties in Doha under the above brands, plus upcoming Amari Doha
Onyx Hospitality
Owned by: Italthai Group
Business: Hotel management company, also owns some of its hotels in Thailand
Brands: Saffron (five-star) Amari (four-star); Ozo (three-star); Shama (serviced apartments); plus spa brands Breeze and Maai Spa
Hotel portfolio: 34 hotels in operation in Asia; 11 hotels in pipeline, including Amari Doha.