Booking pace picks up for Marriott in Thailand

The chain's area director of sales & marketing South East Asia, Brad Edman, told TTG Asia e-Daily that booking pace is "picking up three months out".

"In fact, the pace is coming back faster than it had after the Suvarnabhumi International Airport closures in the 2008 riots. It is very important to bring back corporate groups because when that is down, meeting rooms and guestrooms are sitting empty, F&B earnings are down, minibar consumption is down and Internet usage is down," Edman said.

The team secured today, through direct sales meetings, six corporate group leads out of Singapore for Thailand properties.

To further drive recovery, Marriott is offering up to 35 per cent off room rates for Thai residents and expatriates living in Thailand, as well as enhanced benefits for travel agent partners under its We Love Travel Agents and Hotel Excellence! Programmes.

(Sources: Karen Yue, Singapore, TTGAsia)