Understanding the future for our resort in Thailand

Understanding the future of our resort in Thailand

What does the future hold for tourism around the globe after COVID? Nobody knows really if there will be another deadly strain around the corner? So many questions and no concrete answers. How do you plan your business strategy for the future in such uncertain times?

In December 2020 we opened the doors to our resort in Thailand and after 3 months we had to shut it down in first instance to foreign tourists and then 2 months later completely shut it to all guests due to COVID restrictions. We kept the staff on for a further 3 months hoping things would change but alas they didn't.

Tourism is set to start returning to Thailand in mid-2022 but at what point will it get back to a normal level, and what is the new normal going to look like. So many businesses went bust and the economy around tourism almost collapsed. Staff moved away from the tourist areas and went home, resorts and hotels changed hands, Bars and nightlife areas were demolished and high-rise condos plus hotels started to appear in their place.

For us, it is time to build a plan for the future of the resort.

50% of our previous guests came from our YouTube channel subscribers, 40% from Thai nationals and 10% from the local area. Working out what the future holds is very difficult so it is better to try and keep a good spread of customers rather than focusing on foreign visitors.

This in itself causes a problem within a homestay environment in Thailand, mainly due to the clientele that uses homestays. The best description I can make is builders and backpackers both after a cheap room for short stays. Builders sometimes want long lets whilst on a project.

Another option is local factories want rooms for managers and visitors on a long let. The huge downside to these types of customers is the prices you can charge are much lower and will not cover the staff costs and maintenance of the resort. The positive is that you do not need a restaurant, gym, pool or staff except for a cleaner.

We built the resort as a business so the above route is not something we wish to pursue in the main area. This brings us to another possible solution. We have room next to the resort currently taken up by cow sheds where we could put more rooms in to cover the above type of customer and keep them separate from the main area. Then even charge them for use of the facilities which might work. I have always thought about using containers and stacking them 3 high, we could put between Nine and Twelve 20-foot containers in the spaces. Converted to Twenty rooms with a basic layout.

An example of containers converted to rooms

These types of rooms are very easy to maintain and clean. We have a growing need for rooms that are let out at an hourly rate better known as short-time rooms from local customers. This type of room let does come with problems due to the nature of the customers but is allowed in the local villages and fills a requirement. Without going into too much detail about local enforcement and permissions this type of business is possible.

These room types are also perfect for builders and factory managers, our local area has a lot of factories so quite easy to fill. As a secondary business, this could work even if COVID popped its head up again.

The next part of our journey is working out what sort of customer we want in the resort. We are leaning towards a 50/50 split between foreigners/Thai nationals. Currently, we have 8 Double rooms with ensuite bathrooms and 2 Bungalows that can sleep a family of Four.

The bungalows are very popular with Thai families at weekends and they like to reserve them for multiple weekends at a time. The tourists seem to stay for two nights breaking up their journeys. Another revenue stream is locals getting married like to book the whole resort for their guests. Television crews also use the area for a lot of filming and have on multiple occasions asked for the whole resort.

As you can see so many options are available to us and this brings us to the part of how to book the rooms. Previously we used websites such as Agoda and Booking.com which worked well but have terrible cancellation policies and take a month to pay for the rooms.

We have decided that this time we are going to commission a website company to build us a site that covers everything we will ever need. We have a booking management company called Smoobu in place that we have used before and can be integrated into the new site and will take care of all bookings. Add our YouTube channel, marketing, merchandise, Tours, Taxi service and wedding bookings plus any more services we decide on and you have a one-stop shop/website.

The next problem this does create is how people find your site, with companies like Agoda and Booking.com you get huge traffic. Well call me crafty but if we decide to put a load of container rooms in place then we can put those on with Agoda and Booking.com plus any other sites we can find which will then bring the traffic we need. If we decide not to build all of the containers we could get away with building just one and use that on their sites.

We will also restart our Google website and whilst in the UK I have been talking to independent travel agents and companies all very interested in deals for their customers. This shows me that a bit of hard work talking to travel agents around the globe will pay off going forward.

Our local council are going to be creating some local tourist attractions including cycling events, climbing and educational tours to local food growers near the resort and have expressed an interest in using the resort in a package deal for visitors, so that also looks good.

I have also been approached by a Thai care home company interested in working on a future build/business together so let's see how that turns out.

Overall I believe Thailand will recover in 2023 / 2024 and everything is looking good for the resort's future.

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To continue.....

Life back in the Uk compared to Thailand We have now been back in the Uk for 20 months and it got me thinking what has been the difference between the two countries now that we seem to be recovering from the Covid era. The biggest differences have to do with the seasons, climate and vibe. When you live in Thailand it takes about two years to get used to the heat and humidity, Our house is South of Bangkok and averages 31 degrees over the year. In summer it rises to 45 degrees and in the rainy season, it drops to about 28 degrees. Living in that heat wears you down and changes the way you spend your days, going out early in the morning and dodging into air-con rooms mid-afternoon. Here in the Uk, it's totally different as the temperatures are completely different and range from -5 degrees in the Winter to 30 degrees in the Summer. This leads me to the seasons and if I am honest whilst living in Thailand, I really missed the four seasons in the Uk. Thailand really only has two, th

Waterglider99@comcast.net2 April 2022 at 12:35
Simon, I would HIGHLY suggest outsourcing your marketing and booking to third party websites like Airbnb, etc. You don't want to get into the business of SEO (search engine optimization) unless you have deep pockets and have a reliable person who can dedicate time. There are countless companies who have lost their businesses because they trusted their future to a website build.

As for me, as soon as you are open, I will be there. Good luck.

Simon Los

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