SK Motels is continuous its growth in Thailand, with a handful of recent properties arising within the capital Bangkok and new locations throughout the nation set to broaden its current portfolio. Managing director Scott Walton talks with TDM in regards to the progress, and the way innovation and know-how are enjoying key roles.
Journey Each day Media (TDM): Are you able to give us an overview of the present SK Motels property portfolio, and taking into consideration your progress plans, new properties within the pipeline?
Scott Walton: SK Motels was established as a three way partnership between Siamese Asset, a publicly listed property developer primarily based in Bangkok, and Kew Inexperienced Motels within the UK, a hospitality group with a portfolio of 44 owned and 16 managed properties throughout the UK and Europe. The partnership was born from a strategic imaginative and prescient: leaders from Siamese Asset visited the UK and have been struck by how effectively Kew Inexperienced had structured its operations – not solely when it comes to resort administration, but in addition in areas like finance, human sources, and industrial assist. These capabilities have been embedded regionally in a manner that stood other than the extra inflexible company constructions sometimes seen in Thailand.
This go to sparked the formation of SK Motels in Bangkok, with a transparent mission to convey the identical type of streamlined, performance-driven working mannequin to the Siamese Asset resort portfolio. In doing so, we’ve created a nimble, centralized assist construction that has already confirmed efficient throughout a number of newly launched properties.
Since rising from the pandemic, SK Motels has opened six properties throughout Bangkok, together with the Wyndham Queen Conference Centre, Wyndham Backyard Sukhumvit 42, Ramada Plaza by Wyndham Sukhumvit 48, Ramada by Wyndham Sukhumvit 87, TRIBE Residing Bangkok Sukhumvit 39, and Cassia by Banyan Group in Rama 9. Every of those properties entered the market post-COVID and have responded effectively to the resurgence in worldwide and home journey. Some properties hit the bottom working with exceptionally sturdy efficiency, whereas others shortly discovered their footing, delivering optimistic outcomes all through 2023 and into 2024.
Trying forward, our pipeline consists of a number of high-profile openings. The Crowne Plaza Bangkok Rama 9 is scheduled to open quickly, adopted by Cassia by Banyan Group in Ram Intra, after which a Hilton Backyard Inn, additionally within the Ram Intra district. These upcoming launches mirror our ongoing confidence in Bangkok’s potential, however we’re additionally increasing our imaginative and prescient past the capital.
We’re at present in superior discussions on properties in main leisure locations corresponding to Hua Hin, Pattaya and Phuket, with promising leads rising in Koh Samui and Chiang Mai. The timing is correct: our Bangkok-based properties have stabilized, and the centralized assist infrastructure that we now have constructed throughout industrial, finance, HR, and IT now permits us to develop the portfolio with energy and agility.
With this stable basis in place, SK Motels is poised to proceed its growth throughout Thailand, bringing effectivity, innovation, and efficiency excellence to every new vacation spot.
TDM: We perceive innovation performs a key position in your operations, particularly relating to enhancing property efficiency. Are you able to broaden on this?
Scott Walton: Innovation has turn into a defining pillar of our operations. The speedy rise of AI post-COVID, alongside evolving visitor expectations and a extra advanced working surroundings, has pushed us to rethink how we work. Because of the forward-thinking nature of our three way partnership companions, we’ve embraced these modifications head-on, however with warning and intent.
At SK we don’t implement AI to exchange human roles, we use it to amplify efficiency. For instance, when revising our menus at TRIBE Residing – a course of that sometimes entails weeks of costing, sourcing, and coordination – we used AI instruments to streamline procurement knowledge, automate value comparisons, and pace up documentation. This allowed our cooks to focus totally on culinary creativity and innovation, enhancing the visitor expertise somewhat than being slowed down in admin.
Our innovation can be deeply supported by Siamese Expertise, an inner division of Siamese Asset centered on enhancing visitor expertise by environmental design and development know-how. They’ve pioneered developments in air high quality management, acoustic insulation between rooms and corridors, and energy-saving strategies all of which contribute to extra sustainable, comfy visitor environments. This partnership has helped a number of of the properties developed by Siamese Asset and managed by SK to earn EDGE certification, a globally acknowledged ESG commonplace originating from Singapore.
These improvements not solely cut back working prices but in addition make sure that we are able to meet or exceed model and sustainability requirements with confidence and consistency.
TDM: With meals & beverage and wellness additionally being cornerstones of your growth technique, what can company count on from SK Motels properties in these areas?
Scott Walton: Meals and beverage are on the coronary heart of each property we open. Our technique begins by contemplating the native market and what elements can be found, what the neighborhood craves, and the place we are able to break from the anticipated. We take inspiration from world tendencies whereas all the time remaining regionally related.
This imaginative and prescient is championed by Siamese Asset’s possession, who constantly encourage us to problem the norm. We experiment with new ideas, elements, and working fashions to stay forward of evolving shopper expectations. Whether or not it’s by centralized manufacturing kitchens that enhance consistency and effectivity, or by embracing the “Instagrammable” pattern to attraction to the visual-first buyer, our strategy is grounded in a ardour for reinvention.
I’m a agency believer that consistency, nonetheless, is simply as necessary as innovation. One of many earliest classes I discovered in hospitality, working in Auckland’s restaurant scene, was that if one thing works, make it constant. If it doesn’t, change shortly. We apply this precept at each property, guaranteeing that strong-performing gadgets or providers are refined and delivered flawlessly, whereas underperforming ideas are reimagined.
Wellness is a key part of our growth technique and continues to develop in significance as trendy vacationers place better emphasis on steadiness, mindfulness, and self-care. At SK Motels, we strategy wellness as an integral a part of the visitor expertise and as one thing that ought to really feel purposeful, accessible, and woven into the very material of every property.
To ship on this imaginative and prescient, our properties have partnered with Pravinia Wellness and Magnificence Middle, Sense Cera Spa, and Yumoto, bringing a various vary of wellness experiences to our inns. These partnerships permit us to tailor every providing to the distinctive character of the vacation spot, whereas nonetheless reflecting world tendencies in holistic wellbeing. For native residents, our wellness centres present an city sanctuary, a spot to unwind and rejuvenate near dwelling. For worldwide vacationers, they provide a welcome second of calm amid a busy itinerary, with therapies starting from conventional therapies to trendy spa rituals and health options.
Every area is designed with intention, permitting company to both reconnect with themselves by restorative practices or to fully disconnect from the stresses of on a regular basis life. We acknowledge that wellness at this time means various things to completely different individuals, and we intention to satisfy these wants in methods which are considerate, regionally related, and constantly uplifting.
Alongside wellness, we’re additionally responding to a rising demand for versatile, useful workspaces as extra company search to mix enterprise and leisure of their journey routines. Our inns are being thoughtfully tailored to assist this hybrid life-style, with communal areas reimagined as trendy, productive environments that assist work with out sacrificing consolation or hospitality.
Via partnerships with coworking platforms corresponding to Reef Rocks, an app that connects distant staff with welcoming areas, we’ve remodeled our lobbies and lounges into vibrant, related work hubs. These areas are outfitted with dependable high-speed web, ergonomic furnishings, accessible charging factors, and ambient design that encourages company to remain so long as they want.
This evolution not solely enhances the visitor expertise but in addition permits us to activate areas which are historically underutilized throughout sure elements of the day. By creating environments the place company and locals alike can work, meet, and loosen up, we’re constructing inns that stay related in a world the place work now not matches a nine-to-five mannequin. Extra than simply locations to remain, our properties have gotten dynamic, multifunctional areas that assist how individuals reside, work, and join each on the highway and near dwelling.
TDM: Inform us in regards to the Thailand centre of studying, monetary providers, recruitment, income, digital spine and operations assist that SK Motels has established?
Scott Walton: After we launched SK Motels within the aftermath of COVID, we have been met with the identical challenges dealing with the worldwide hospitality business. Chief amongst these was a dramatic lack of expertise. Many expert professionals had left the sector altogether, some beginning small companies, others returning to their hometowns or pursuing new industries totally. To rebuild, we knew we needed to take a recent strategy, not simply to recruitment however to the long-term growth of our individuals and the methods that assist them.
The institution of a decentralized Centre for Studying marked a turning level. Fairly than chase the identical restricted pool of expertise, we selected to put money into people who could not have beforehand thought-about hospitality. Faculty leavers, latest graduates, and profession switchers have been introduced into the enterprise and given the construction, mentoring, and assist wanted to succeed. In simply three years, many of those people have turn into integral to our operations and are already progressing into management roles.
In parallel, our strategy to recruitment has continued to evolve. With conventional channels yielding diminishing returns, we’re at present constructing an intuitive, user-friendly careers platform inside our web site. This new system will make it simpler for candidates to discover alternatives, perceive our tradition, and apply primarily based on potential somewhat than simply prior expertise. We’re in search of mindset and angle people who find themselves hungry to develop inside a fast-paced, agile surroundings.
Alongside expertise growth, we’ve constructed a monetary providers platform that goes past the usual GOP focus typical of resort administration firms. Our finance staff operates with a transparent mandate: to prioritize investor returns and long-term worth. That is achieved by sturdy inner controls, audit-centric reporting, and streamlined processes designed for transparency and accountability. Our finance management, below Ms. Rapeepan Banyen (Khun Jay), has embedded a tradition of fiscal self-discipline whereas enabling operational flexibility. It’s this steadiness that offers our traders confidence and our resort groups readability.
Within the space of income technique, we’ve taken a hybrid strategy. Every of our inns is provided with instruments corresponding to IDeaS and Avalon, giving them dynamic pricing and forecasting capabilities tailor-made to their particular markets. These instruments are additional enhanced by the legacy information and methods introduced in from Kew Inexperienced Motels, whose affect has helped form our industrial path and strategy to demand optimization. Supported by a centralized industrial staff below Mrs. Tassanee Mangkala-apinun (Khun Pait), this hybrid mannequin permits every resort to reply regionally whereas being backed by broader market intelligence and strategic oversight.
Our digital and advertising perform has additionally turn into an important progress engine. Via a mix of structured digital technique and untapped inventive expertise – a few of whom we jokingly name “diamonds within the tough” – our advertising division has developed sturdy, narrative-led campaigns for every property. These will not be generic resort advertisements, however model tales that resonate with their goal audiences, crafted by the sensible use of AI, viewers analytics, and localized storytelling. The work has helped our properties stand out in a crowded digital market and has pushed measurable will increase in consciousness, conversion, and direct bookings.
Lastly, our IT infrastructure has been a foundational pillar from day one. The IT division has applied strong methods throughout all properties, guaranteeing not solely performance however scalability as we develop. Each resort below SK Motels is provided with standardized {hardware} and software program from PMS and back-office methods to firewalls and IPTV options guaranteeing operational effectivity and knowledge safety. The IT staff additionally performs a proactive position in property assist, rolling out centralized updates, troubleshooting points remotely, and sustaining the cyber integrity of each guest-facing and inner platforms.
These departments – Studying, Finance, Income, Digital, and IT – will not be working in silos. They’re built-in and aligned to assist SK Motels’ mission: to function effectively, innovate responsibly, and empower our individuals to create distinctive visitor experiences. It’s a construction that places individuals first, however does so on a spine of course of and precision, guaranteeing that as we develop, we accomplish that sustainably and with confidence.
TDM: Clarify to us the position that know-how is taking within the ongoing progress of SK Motels’ main proprietor Siamese Asset’s portfolio?
Scott Walton: Expertise sits on the core of SK Motels’ progress and is deeply built-in into each Kew Inexperienced and Siamese Asset’s broader technique. From the outset, I used to be impressed by the entrepreneurial spirit of Siamese Asset’s management, particularly their early embrace of sensible constructing applied sciences, AI, and sustainable development strategies. Likewise with Kew Inexperienced’s ever evolving distribution, analytics and visitor satisfaction initiatives – a mix that’s uncommon within the business.
One standout instance of our dedication to know-how and wellbeing is the deployment of Siamese Air of Life, a proprietary air filtration system now put in in all visitor rooms throughout our new properties. This method has confirmed particularly priceless through the annual burn-off season, when air high quality in Bangkok and surrounding areas can deteriorate considerably. Company are capable of monitor each indoor and outside air high quality in actual time by a devoted app, whereas every room additionally encompasses a reside show of present air high quality readings. This stage of transparency and environmental management has not solely reassured company, however has additionally turn into a compelling differentiator for our model companions and ESG-focused traders. It speaks to our dedication to visitor consolation, operational innovation, and sustainability in equal measure.
TDM: What thrilling issues can we count on from SK Motels sooner or later?
We’re getting into an thrilling new section of progress. Along with increasing our city footprint, we’re exploring alternatives in additional distant locations throughout Thailand. In some instances, these properties could require sturdy model partnerships; in others, the vacation spot itself is likely to be the draw, permitting us to launch distinctive, impartial resort ideas.
We’re additionally persevering with to develop strategic partnerships much like the one we now have with Siamese Asset. These alliances permit us to leverage our shared infrastructure – centralized finance, HR, IT, and industrial experience – decreasing prices and enhancing efficiency on the property stage. In contrast to extra inflexible company constructions, our management works contained in the inns, for the inns. This leads to sooner decision-making, stronger staff assist, and finally, higher visitor experiences.
On the coronary heart of our philosophy is a straightforward however highly effective mission: to function inns with a relentless deal with effectivity and excellence, empowering our individuals to create distinctive visitor experiences. We emphasize transparency, sustainable progress, and partnerships grounded in operational brilliance.
Above all, we consider in widespread sense. It’s a worth that always will get misplaced in over-complicated enterprise processes however one which constantly solves issues, enhances experiences, and strengthens relationships with company, stakeholders, and our groups alike.
I’d wish to share a latest instance that highlights the type of sensible intelligence and calm management we worth throughout our groups. It passed off through the quick aftermath of the March 28, 2025 Myanmar earthquake, a day of widespread disruption, uncertainty, and logistical chaos throughout Bangkok.
Amid the aftermath, one in every of our engineering staff members observed uncommon foot visitors close to a little-used emergency exit that led right into a service hall, an space sometimes quiet and safe. Regardless of the calls for of the day and the overwhelming distractions dealing with each division, they selected to behave on intuition. They flagged the priority to administration, reviewed the CCTV footage, and found that an unauthorized third-party vendor had been utilizing the area to maneuver items with out supervision or correct clearance.
Whereas it might have been straightforward to miss or deprioritize given the broader disaster at hand, the staff dealt with it discreetly and decisively. Entry controls have been instantly bolstered, distributors have been re-briefed, and the breach was resolved with out disruption to company or compromise to the property.
What stands out on this situation is using situational consciousness, widespread sense, and initiative, within the chaos of a real-world disaster. These are precisely the qualities we nurture at SK Motels: a tradition the place staff members are empowered to behave, to suppose past checklists, and to guard each our company and our model fame within the moments that matter most.
As we develop, this core perception in sensible intelligence and human connection will proceed to information each choice we make. At SK Motels, the longer term isn’t nearly growth it’s about evolving well, sustainably, and with objective.
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