What Makes Banyan Tree Grow - Investment Outlook - September 2007
A holistic mix of corporate responsibility, marketing muscle, high style and K.P. Ho's knack for the numbers will see Banyan Tree nearly triple within three years.
By Mary Scoviak -- Hotels, 8/31/2007 11:00:00 PM
 Ho Kwon Ping |
Banyan Tree Hotels & Resorts didn't start as a business decision. It started as a passion for Ho Kwon Ping and his wife, Claire Chiang. "I still remember the day in the 1980s when Claire and I first came across a stretch of land by Bang Tao Bay (Thailand). It was a disused tin mine and not very attractive to many people. We purchased it on a whim. We only found out later that it had been declared unreclaimable by a UN development report because of pollution from the mine," Ho says.
Struck by the tranquility of the area, the young couple decided to tackle the challenge of healing the scarred, postapocalyptic landscape and replacing it with a lush resort paradise. They started as they meant to go on, with respect for sense of place and for the environment and a commitment to develop a project that would "transform a part of Asia." Ho's brother worked with the couple to design the hotel that would become the Dusit Laguna Resort Hotel three years later. "We did a second resort, then a third. By the fourth hotel, I knew that we had found a convergence of luck and passion and that we should develop our own hotel brand. Thus, Banyan Tree was born," says Ho, who
BIG PLANS FOR NICHE PLAYER
These early projects set the tone and direction for each of the 20 resorts in 19 countries that have followed. The goal never was to build just a hotel company. Ho, the economist, and his wife, the sociologist, were laying the foundation for an innovative, integrated hospitality company with the capacity to deliver multi-faceted experiences to people passionate about traveling and immersing themselves in other cultures-in other words, people like them.
Ho worked as a broadcast and financial journalist, including a stint as the economics editor of the Far East Economic Review, before joining the family's "mini conglomerate," Wah Chang Group, in 1981. While learning what makes businesses thrive, Ho clearly saw the need to create a brand he could make proprietary. "One of the reasons for our success is that we have stayed in our niche," Ho says. "Now we are working to become the dominant player in that niche. Larger chains such as Shangri-La and Ritz-Carlton have on average more than 300 keys. There is a window of opportunity for us to become the leading player in the niche under 300 keys."
 This treatment room at the Element Spa by Banyan Tree Kuwait signals the company's appetite for growth in the Middle East. |
Banyan Tree's development team is focusing on seven broad regions: Latin America, the Caribbean, Europe, the Middle East (where Ho says he needs to develop a sales network and build brand awareness) and North Africa (Morocco, says Ho, is the hottest new destination for Europeans), Central Asia and Russia, China and Southeast Asia. Deals that are currently in the pipeline will see the group's portfolio reach or exceed 59 hotels by the close of 2010.
At least 19 hotels will come online in areas where Banyan Tree feels best able to leverage tourism growth: China, the Middle East and Mexico. China, in particular, provides "unprecedented growth opportunities for us," Ho says. The group's existing Chinese resort portfolio already accounts for more than 30% of the total business-and that is just the beginning. Plans for a US$500 million China Fund will accelerate the pace for more deals such as a recently signed five-resort deal and a management deal for a hotel and residential project in Beijing.
| Banyan Tree Group At A Glance |
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Headquarters: Singapore Portfolio: Manages and/or has ownership in 22 resorts and hotels, 58 spas, 70 retail galleries and two golf courses. Brands: Banyan Tree Hotels & Resorts (nine hotels, resorts); Angsana Resorts & Spas (five resorts); Colours of Angsana (three resorts); Laguna Resorts & Hotels (five resorts); Banyan Tree Spas (11); Angsana Spas (32); and 70 shops operating under the Banyan Tree Gallery, Angsana Gallery and Laguna Phuket Shops flags. Pipeline: Hotels opening this year in China, the Maldives, Dubai and Morocco; eight slated for 2008; 18 more in 2009; and at least seven in 2010; and building its presence from Asia to the Middle East, Europe and North America. 2007 turnover: DBS Vickers Securities estimates US$231 million (S$351 million) |
 The Sheraton Grande Laguna Phuket is operated by Banyan Tree subsidiary Laguna Resorts & Hotels Public Co. Ltd. |
NEW SOLUTIONS, MARKETS Ho foresees changes in who travels and what they want, and is editing his development scheme accordingly."Asian-led growth in travel will be the defining feature of the industry," Ho predicts. "I also see a rise in what I call post-modern tourism-the proliferation of niche tourism sectors made possible by technology and the maturing of mass tourism over the past half century." Banyan Tree will be looking more closely at these new niches: edu-tourism; eco-tourism; agri-tourism; cultural tourism; medical tourism and community tourism. "I've recently come across a new term, bespoke tourism-customized travel for small groups who may want to charter a private jet or yacht or take a camel or elephant trek," Ho says. "Travel in itself is not luxury enough; exclusive travel is the new treat." Banyan Tree will join its target market in seeking a road less traveled, such as exotic, exclusive destinations in Bahrain, Greece, Kuwait, Morocco, Barbados and Mexico. The first to offer a premium all-villa resort (launched a decade ago in the Maldives), Banyan Tree will complement resorts with villa complexes-both transient and owned-and Banyan Tree Private Collection, a luxury destination club product unveiled last year. Banyan Tree Residences' portfolio also continues to expand, with properties in Seychelles, Bangkok, Lijiang, China and Bintan Island going on sale this year. "Our hotel investment and property sales segments saw the strongest combined revenue growth, up 46% from first quarter 2006 to 2007," Ho adds. "The new properties will boost our revenue and profitability further from the property sales segment." Restless and curious, Ho does not allow the consistency of Banyan Tree's fundamentals to limit his strategy. He is setting his sights on urban markets because, "We believe we have to be in the cities to be a sustainable hotel chain in the long run." In addition to Banyan Tree Beijing, the group will be rolling out an Angsana in the China capital and an Angsana Hotel & Suites in Dubai.
| The Numbers Man |
| Banyan Tree Holdings' (BTH) Executive Chairman Ho Kwon Ping is showing the Singapore Exchange Ltd. that he is as good at growing EBITDA and share price as he is at nurturing his brands, his staff and the environment. Ho has parlayed property sales, the potential of major new ventures in China and Vietnam and higher earnings for the hotel investment division into the kind of numbers that have earned BTH a "buy" rating from DBS Vickers Securities and others. A two-fold increase in operating profits on the back of record revenues announced in May certainly won't hurt the cause. Wallace Chu, analyst with DBS Vickers Securities, Singapore, offers a positive view and has increased the target share price from US$1.66 (S$2.52) to US$1.84 (S$2.80) based on these aspects of BTH's strategy: Property sales. Ho's 2002 decision to buy a substantial stake in Laguna Resorts & Hotels is paying dividends now. The sale of 39 Laguna townhomes and bungalows in the first quarter of this year helped to power up BTH's EBITDA by 113% and increased property segment sales 180%. Two-bedroom, double pool villas (DPV) sold out in 2006. The single bedroom DPVs converted into doubles entered the sales in the second quarter and should contribute to a strong finish for 2007. Future developments should keep the property engine pumping out profit. Future vision. Ho is thinking global and acting local to grow BTH. His marketing partnership with Okura opens up Japan and provides a foothold in Europe. But what has analysts such as Chu excited is BTH's plan to create a China Fund. BTH will contribute 20% to the US$500 million fund, which will support expansion in what needs to be a key region for BTH. Receipt of an investment certificate to develop what will be Vietnam's largest integrated resort and the signing of joint ventures that will double BTH's presence in Mexico open up new ways to play internationally. It is a growth story anchored with "done deals" and/or equity. Brand power. Chu likes the sum of BTH's parts and bases a 20% premium "on their branding reputation as a premium play in the global leisure market." |
 Two-bedroom suite at a resort in Bintan Island is part of Banyan Tree's Angsana brand collection. |
WHY INVESTORS BUY IN
Since Banyan Tree will grow equally through management, hotel ownership and property sales, it has to get buy-in from international owners. That means outcompeting in areas from marketing and customer delivery to development expertise and operational premiums. It also necessitates parlaying Banyan Tree's marketing muscle and clear brand image into the kind of visibility that earns it a spot on more developers' and owners' short list of investment partners or operators.
"One of Banyan Tree's key strengths is the strong, unique position the brand has achieved with just a handful of properties," says Robert Hecker, managing director, Horwath Asia Pacific, Singapore. "Much of that stems from positioning itself early on as a standout with its pool villa product and its dedicated spa facilities."
Banyan Tree should benefit from rising demand for Asian operators throughout the world. "The challenge will be to create an identity that is more associated with the quality of the product and guest experience than the group's Asian origins so that the properties can sit comfortably within overseas cultures," Hecker says, advice that has already informed decisions from providing separate men's and women's spas in Middle Eastern hotels to following traditional riad (inn) styling in Morocco.
Hecker believes Banyan Tree's overseas emphasis should remain on its luxury brand except in cases in which luxury and upscale properties could be developed in tandem. Asia presents deeper opportunities for Banyan Tree to reap the rewards of segmentation. "Management should be looking to open at least two Banyan Tree properties per year for the next several years to create excitement on a regular basis and build cash flow and momentum for faster-paced growth thereafter," Hecker says. His only caveat is an obvious one: Expanding faster than the ability to deliver.
 Banyan Tree Spa academies in Phuket, Thailand, and Lijiang, China, enrich career, educational and lifestyle opportunities for staff. |
"We are mindful of the risk of diluting and overstretching our brand," Ho says. That realization was part of the rationale for creating the fresh and contemporary Angsana brand, and the cultural tourism/ soft adventure tourism Colours of Angsana brand to complement the romance and intimacy of the luxury Banyan Tree flag. "There are many projects that cannot be a Banyan Tree in terms of market, price, design or scale but are, nevertheless, profitable business opportunities," Ho says. The Angsana Dubai is a good example. Strategically located in the central business district, this upscale hotel will add more than 800 keys to Banyan Tree's Middle Eastern presence. Banyan Tree's record as a marketer and operator should certainly win some developers' attention. "Certainly, the group can command fees on par with or in excess of major international players because of its unique position and the particular developer demand it creates," Hecker says. Ho says the mix of management and real estate capabilities is equally compelling, especially for developers in more mature property markets. "Developers in these markets are seeking to differentiate themselves by offering purchasers more than just a physical asset but also the promise of involvement that a lifestyle brand brings," Ho says. "It's all about being the best in breed, not only in our backyard, but wherever our customers want to go.
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Can you tell me when the Barbados complex will open?
Robin Norman - 2008-22-7 11:31:00 PDT
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