IHG® (InterContinental Hotels Group), one of the world’s leading hotel companies, has announced a strategic partnership with long-standing partner Asset World Corporate (AWC), Thailand’s leading integrated lifestyle real-estate group, to manage a portfolio of properties across Thailand. The agreement will see the development of more than 1,200 rooms across Thailand, with the first signing announced today as the 306-room InterContinental Chiang Mai Mae Ping.
Serena Lim, Vice President, Development, IHG South East Asia and Korea commented, “With plans to double our portfolio in Thailand in the next 3-5 years, this signing today between IHG and AWC is another milestone in realising this ambition. Their reputation as a lifestyle and real-estate group, and long-standing relationship with IHG gives us great confidence of this growth momentum in Thailand.”
Under the structure of the agreement, hotels in multiple popular destinations such as Chiang Mai, Bangkok and Hua Hin will be signed within three years. The first signing of the agreement announced today is the 306-room InterContinental Chiang Mai Mae Ping Hotel.
Wallapa Traisorat, CEO and President of Asset World Corp Public Company Limited (AWC), said, “With our ambition to make Thailand a truly world-class tourism destination, we are excited to be extending our partnership with IHG, which is a testament to our unique business model of collaborating with an internationally renowned operator. With our shared vision of elevating the hospitality sector in Thailand and thus building a better future for the country’s economy, we are confident that the InterContinental Chiang Mai Mae Ping will be one of the many projects to set the benchmark in Thailand.”
InterContinental Chiang Mai Mae Ping, a conversion of the prestigious Imperial Mae Ping Hotel, has long been in the forefront of Chiang Mai’s hospitality scene throughout its more than 30 years of operation. The hotel has held many high profile international events, as well as welcoming many prominent guests including royal family members, heads of state and celebrities from across the world. The hotel will portray the timeless and lavish beauty of the Lanna era with a modern luxury essence.
As the world’s first international luxury travel hotel brand, InterContinental Hotels & Resorts has been pioneering new international destinations for decades. The brand sets itself apart by delivering world-class standards of sophistication through understated service and exceptional amenities. It is famed for its devotion to the comfort and wellbeing of guests through personalised and attentive services. IHG’s loyalty programme IHG® Rewards Club of more than 100 million enrolled members also provides access to a global following of travellers. The hotel is expected to open in 2021 and will continue its extension with full operations in 2022, and aims to set new hospitality benchmark in Chiang Mai.
Located in downtown Chiangmai near the famous Chiang Mai Night Bazaar, Tha-Pae Gate, Warorot Market and other tourist attractions, InterContinental Chiang Mai Mae Ping will cater for both leisure and MICE travellers with its six food and beverage outlets, and over 3,600 sqm of outdoor and indoor convention, event and meeting spaces. Guests can also enjoy a holistic retreat at the Lanna Spa which focuses on balancing the body and mind with spa services accompanied by traditional and fusion Lanna cuisine. The Teresa Teng Museum, which is currently located on the 15th floor suite of the hotel to commemorate the famous Taiwanese singer and cultural icon will be conserved, with plans to convert it to a specialty restaurant and roof top bar, where guests can experience its original set-up, decor and furniture when Teresa Teng last stayed here over two decades ago.
Thailand continues to be a strong growth market for IHG with 29 existing hotels across 6 brands in the portfolio, with another 30 hotels in the pipeline.
