The put up SK Hotels’ Scott Walton talks new hotels and destinations coming up in Thailand, innovation and technology appeared first on TD (Journey Every day Media) Travel Daily Media.
SK Lodges is constant its growth in Thailand, with a handful of recent properties developing 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 Every day Media (TDM): Are you able to give us an overview of the present SK Lodges property portfolio, and bearing in mind your progress plans, new properties within the pipeline?
Scott Walton: SK Lodges was established as a three way partnership between Siamese Asset, a publicly listed property developer based mostly in Bangkok, and Kew Inexperienced Lodges 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 by way of lodge administration, but in addition in areas like finance, human assets, and business help. These features have been embedded regionally in a approach that stood other than the extra inflexible company constructions sometimes seen in Thailand.
This go to sparked the formation of SK Lodges in Bangkok, with a transparent mission to deliver the identical type of streamlined, performance-driven working mannequin to the Siamese Asset lodge portfolio. In doing so, we’ve created a nimble, centralized help construction that has already confirmed efficient throughout a number of newly launched properties.
Since rising from the pandemic, SK Lodges 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 properly to the resurgence in worldwide and home journey. Some properties hit the bottom working with exceptionally robust efficiency, whereas others rapidly discovered their footing, delivering constructive outcomes all through 2023 and into 2024.
Wanting forward, our pipeline contains 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 replicate our ongoing confidence in Bangkok’s potential, however we’re additionally increasing our imaginative and prescient past the capital.
We’re presently in superior discussions on properties in main leisure locations similar to Hua Hin, Pattaya and Phuket, with promising leads rising in Koh Samui and Chiang Mai. The timing is true: our Bangkok-based properties have stabilized, and the centralized help infrastructure that we’ve got constructed throughout business, finance, HR, and IT now permits us to develop the portfolio with energy and agility.
With this strong basis in place, SK Lodges 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, specifically in terms of enhancing property efficiency. Are you able to develop on this?
Scott Walton: Innovation has develop into a defining pillar of our operations. The fast rise of AI post-COVID, alongside evolving visitor expectations and a extra advanced working atmosphere, has pushed us to rethink how we work. Because of the forward-thinking nature of our three way partnership companions, we’ve embraced these adjustments 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 information, automate price comparisons, and velocity up documentation. This allowed our cooks to focus absolutely on culinary creativity and innovation, enhancing the visitor expertise slightly than being slowed down in admin.
Our innovation can also be deeply supported by Siamese Expertise, an inner division of Siamese Asset centered on enhancing visitor expertise by environmental design and building 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, snug 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 friends count on from SK Lodges 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 components can be found, what the group craves, and the place we are able to break from the anticipated. We take inspiration from international tendencies whereas all the time remaining regionally related.
This imaginative and prescient is championed by Siamese Asset’s possession, who persistently encourage us to problem the norm. We experiment with new ideas, components, 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” development to attraction to the visual-first buyer, our method is grounded in a ardour for reinvention.
I’m a agency believer that consistency, nevertheless, is simply as vital 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 rapidly. We apply this precept at each property, making certain that strong-performing objects or companies are refined and delivered flawlessly, whereas underperforming ideas are reimagined.
Wellness is a key element of our growth technique and continues to develop in significance as fashionable vacationers place better emphasis on steadiness, mindfulness, and self-care. At SK Lodges, we method 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 cloth 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 enable us to tailor every providing to the distinctive character of the vacation spot, whereas nonetheless reflecting international tendencies in holistic wellbeing. For native residents, our wellness centres present an city sanctuary, a spot to unwind and rejuvenate near house. For worldwide vacationers, they provide a welcome second of calm amid a busy itinerary, with remedies starting from conventional therapies to fashionable spa rituals and health options.
Every house is designed with intention, permitting friends to both reconnect with themselves by restorative practices or to utterly disconnect from the stresses of on a regular basis life. We acknowledge that wellness right now means various things to completely different individuals, and we intention to fulfill these wants in methods which are considerate, regionally related, and persistently uplifting.
Alongside wellness, we’re additionally responding to a rising demand for versatile, practical workspaces as extra friends search to mix enterprise and leisure of their journey routines. Our inns are being thoughtfully tailored to help this hybrid life-style, with communal areas reimagined as fashionable, productive environments that help work with out sacrificing consolation or hospitality.
By means of partnerships with coworking platforms similar to Reef Rocks, an app that connects distant employees with welcoming areas, we’ve reworked 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 friends 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 friends and locals alike can work, meet, and chill out, 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 help how individuals dwell, work, and join each on the highway and near house.
TDM: Inform us in regards to the Thailand centre of studying, monetary companies, recruitment, income, digital spine and operations help that SK Lodges has established?
Scott Walton: Once we launched SK Lodges within the aftermath of COVID, we have been met with the identical challenges dealing with the worldwide hospitality trade. 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 solely. To rebuild, we knew we needed to take a recent method, not simply to recruitment however to the long-term growth of our individuals and the techniques that help them.
The institution of a decentralized Centre for Studying marked a turning level. Slightly than chase the identical restricted pool of expertise, we selected to spend money on people who might 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 help wanted to succeed. In simply three years, many of those people have develop into integral to our operations and are already progressing into management roles.
In parallel, our method to recruitment has continued to evolve. With conventional channels yielding diminishing returns, we’re presently 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 based mostly on potential slightly than simply prior expertise. We’re searching for mindset and angle people who find themselves hungry to develop inside a fast-paced, agile atmosphere.
Alongside expertise growth, we’ve constructed a monetary companies platform that goes past the usual GOP focus typical of lodge administration firms. Our finance workforce operates with a transparent mandate: to prioritize investor returns and long-term worth. That is achieved by robust inner controls, audit-centric reporting, and streamlined processes designed for transparency and accountability. Our finance management, beneath 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 lodge groups readability.
Within the space of income technique, we’ve taken a hybrid method. Every of our inns is provided with instruments similar 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 techniques introduced in from Kew Inexperienced Lodges, whose affect has helped form our business path and method to demand optimization. Supported by a centralized business workforce beneath Mrs. Tassanee Mangkala-apinun (Khun Pait), this hybrid mannequin permits every lodge to reply regionally whereas being backed by broader market intelligence and strategic oversight.
Our digital and advertising operate has additionally develop into an important progress engine. By means of a mix of structured digital technique and untapped artistic expertise – a few of whom we jokingly name “diamonds within the tough” – our advertising division has developed robust, narrative-led campaigns for every property. These are usually not generic lodge 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 carried out strong techniques throughout all properties, making certain not solely performance however scalability as we develop. Each lodge beneath SK Lodges is provided with standardized {hardware} and software program from PMS and back-office techniques to firewalls and IPTV options making certain operational effectivity and information safety. The IT workforce additionally performs a proactive position in property help, 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 – are usually not working in silos. They’re built-in and aligned to help SK Lodges’ 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, making certain that as we develop, we achieve this sustainably and with confidence.
TDM: Clarify to us the position that know-how is taking within the ongoing progress of SK Lodges’ main proprietor Siamese Asset’s portfolio?
Scott Walton: Expertise sits on the core of SK Lodges’ 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 building strategies. Likewise with Kew Inexperienced’s ever evolving distribution, analytics and visitor satisfaction initiatives – a mix that’s uncommon within the trade.
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 invaluable through the annual burn-off season, when air high quality in Bangkok and surrounding areas can deteriorate considerably. Company are in a position to monitor each indoor and out of doors air high quality in actual time by a devoted app, whereas every room additionally includes a dwell show of present air high quality readings. This stage of transparency and environmental management has not solely reassured friends, however has additionally develop 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 Lodges sooner or later?
We’re coming 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 circumstances, these properties might require robust model partnerships; in others, the vacation spot itself is perhaps the draw, permitting us to launch distinctive, impartial lodge ideas.
We’re additionally persevering with to develop strategic partnerships much like the one we’ve got with Siamese Asset. These alliances enable us to leverage our shared infrastructure – centralized finance, HR, IT, and business experience – lowering 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 ends in sooner decision-making, stronger workforce help, 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 give attention to 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 price that usually will get misplaced in over-complicated enterprise processes however one which persistently solves issues, enhances experiences, and strengthens relationships with friends, stakeholders, and our groups alike.
I’d prefer to share a latest instance that highlights the type of sensible intelligence and calm management we worth throughout our groups. It occurred through the rapid aftermath of the March 28, 2025 Myanmar earthquake, a day of widespread disruption, uncertainty, and logistical chaos throughout Bangkok.
Amid the aftermath, certainly one of our engineering workforce members seen 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 house to maneuver items with out supervision or correct clearance.
Whereas it might have been simple to miss or deprioritize given the broader disaster at hand, the workforce dealt with it discreetly and decisively. Entry controls have been instantly strengthened, distributors have been re-briefed, and the breach was resolved with out disruption to friends or compromise to the property.
What stands out on this situation is the usage of situational consciousness, widespread sense, and initiative, within the chaos of a real-world disaster. These are precisely the qualities we nurture at SK Lodges: a tradition the place workforce members are empowered to behave, to suppose past checklists, and to guard each our friends and our model popularity within the moments that matter most.
As we develop, this core perception in sensible intelligence and human connection will proceed to information each determination we make. At SK Lodges, the longer term isn’t nearly growth it’s about evolving neatly, sustainably, and with goal.
The put up SK Hotels’ Scott Walton talks new hotels and destinations coming up in Thailand, innovation and technology appeared first on Travel Daily Media.
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