Centara will make its Middle East and North Africa debut this year, with expansion plans across the region in the offing.
Wilson adds: “We are a quality product but we also want to make sure guests get value for money. We will hence be carefully looking as to how we are positioning our pricing structure within our competitor set and within our product offering.”
But dropping prices does not cross Wilson’s mind. “We are not in the business to lower our rates because as soon as you do that you are earmarked. We are not a mid-range property, The Centara Grand is a five-star luxury quality product. We need to engage with our client base and make aware of what’s available at the property.”
Citing examples of adding value, Wilson says guest’s rooms can be upgraded from a lower category to a higher one, “just like airlines do”. He adds: “Meanwhile, a range of activities to bring in local and overseas guests are being looked at as well, for which we will consider utilising different media platforms. It is also important to give attention to online booking channels and OTAs,” Wilson adds.
Supply has outpaced demand in the Doha market for the last few months and sources from the industry claimed as much as 27% of new supply was introduced on Doha’s West Bay district alone during the first half of 2016.
Wilson says: “I have heard from colleagues in the hospitality industry that revenue is down 20% from last year (in 2016 compared to 2015). I am not sure about this particular figure because I do not have all the stats in front of me at this moment. But QTA has made it clear that they are working hard to improve the situation, and we have been told that the visa on arrival option for citizens of different nationalities — Chinese, Russian and Indian — will be in effect from 2017.
“In addition, they are also going to issue visa on arrival to passengers travelling on cruise liners in to Doha. It’s great they are opening several opportunities and it’s quite positive to be honest.”
Wilson remains cautiously optimistic of the hotel and the city’s future, but is quick to point out that most of the cities around the world are grappling with “tough times”. “From our perspective it’s just another challenge that we need to overcome and that is why we are here as professionals to address these issues.”
The Centara Grand West Bay Doha will make a push to attract Qatar’s tried and tested source markets. “According to QTA, the biggest source market for Qatar is Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, UAE followed by elements of Europe – Italy, Germany and UK.” But Wilson says people from these countries travel to Thailand and are hence, aware of the Centara brand name. “These are markets we can easily approach as we already have awareness to stand for.”
With an April 2017 opening pencilled in, Wilson feels the company is making its Middle East debut at the right time.
“We have not left it too late. Centara offers more of a contemporary style of service as compared to the other Thai brands. Anantara has beautiful properties but don’t always tend to infuse Thai-ness into them. They tend to adopt the location they are in more than playing on its roots. Don’t get me wrong, they are beautiful in their own rights and great properties. Ours is more a 21st century brand and we are going to infuse Thai culture for sure, but in a very different way,” Wilson concludes.
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