Q&A: Arnoma bragging rights; location

BANGKOK  TTR Weekly talks to Arnoma Grand’s general manager and director of operations Eric Brand about the hotel’s renovations.
Q.How do you view business prospects, this year for an independent hotel in a very competitive tourist district?
With all the new properties that have come into the market recently, and with more on the way, the business environment is very competitive, especially for independent properties that have to work that much harder to achieve marketing reach and brand identity enjoyed by chain properties.
But the old slogan “Location, Location, Location” still holds true and Arnoma Grand is in an absolutely prime location.
inside no 2With carefully researched and targeted marketing and innovative products and services, we have been able to put in place a very successful marketing strategy that has seen us achieve an excellent first two months of 2015 and some very strong forward business.
Although the political situation is still not perceived as perfect in all markets there is no doubt it is immeasurably better than a year ago and, barring any future political disruption, the future is very bright indeed.
Q.Arnoma was planning a remake of its facilities, could you update on progress and what phase you are moving into this year?
Arnoma Grand engaged in a major improvement programme, last year, that resulted in a redesigned driveway, lobby, and reception. We have renovated our ballroom – which can seat 800 in theatre style, – replaced elevators and opened a new all-day dining restaurant, Mango 99.
In addition, we have introduced an ongoing staff training programme and adopted a new property management system and improved our website to make it easier to book Arnoma Grand.
This year we are partnering with the famous Ah Yat Abalone Forum Seafood Restaurant to open a restaurant at Arnoma Grand in July.
We will start work on other dining concepts that include an Italian or Japanese restaurant and a wine and tapas bar. And then we move to the rooms. All 23 Floors will be renovated as part of a rolling programme to ensure minimal disruption for our guests.
Q.There were also plans to upgrade websites and expand booking channels?
A.Our web site and Internet business continues to grow, which is an important segment for us.
We have redesigned our website to be more user-friendly and will upgrade our booking engine, which will automatically identify the URL and adjust the size of display for maximum viewing convenience, be it a smart phone, tablet, laptop or desktop.
We have already added Chinese and Thai languages to our website, with marked success, and more languages are to come shortly.
Q.How important is the Chinese market for the hotel considering your location and what segments of that market are your priority?
It is an important market segment and the size of the market must not be underestimated in terms of spend potential and guest expectations. We have taken steps to tap the market, including adding Chinese language to our website, engaging Chinese speaking team members and ensuring that our Chinese guests can pay by using popular Chinese payment systems such as Union Pay.
Q.Are there plans to expand the Arnoma brand with acquisitions or management considering the owners’ original ambitions to build a group of hotels in Thailand and neighbouring countries?
First we must get our “mother ship” in good order and with our excellent private label reservations system we are confident that we will find the right properties to expand our existing portfolio with management contracts in Thailand and the region.
inside-no-2.1PROFILE
Eric Brand, General manager/director of operations, Arnoma Grand-Bangkok.
A Swiss national, Brand has over 40 years experience in the hospitality industry. He worked for leading hotels in Europe and started his Asian hotel career at the Peninsula Hotel Hong Kong as food & beverage manager in 1987.
He was also executive assistant manager at the Oriental Hotel for six years and has held top positions at hotels in Seoul, Australia and Singapore before returning to Bangkok as general manager of The Sukhothai Bangkok.
He is now general manager and director of operations for Arnoma Hotels with the aim of repositioning the Arnoma Hotel in Bangkok and eventually rebranding its sister hotel Felix Resort in Kanchanaburi as the Arnoma Resort prior to expanding the brand in the region.

sourced:ttrweekly.com