Bangkok—Dusit International, Bangkok, has spent more than four decades building its foundation in Southeast Asia, today with 16 upscale and luxury properties in Thailand. Now, building on a handful of successful outposts in Myanmar, the Philippines and Dubai, Dusit—with its quartet of brands—is poised to launch an aggressive expansion into the Middle East, China and India. It also plans to add more properties in Thailand and has an eye toward entering the Australia market before long.

Formerly Dusit Hotels & Resorts, the change to Dusit International comes at a time when Senior Vice President Octavio Gamarra believes the Dusit name has enough resonance with savvy travelers to gain a significant foothold in overseas markets. “We started receiving quite a lot of inquiries from developers about owning an Asian brand—that’s the main reason we started looking at the international markets,” Gamarra says.

Dusit expects to triple its number of rooms in the next three years, to 15,000, with 16 projects already signed and a pipeline worth US$1.1 billion. The company will open its first Cairo property later this year, and two others also are slated for Egypt. Six more projects are signed in India with Bird Hospitality Services; eight China projects are in various stages of development, as are three more Dubai projects. Additionally, Gamarra plans to place Dusit properties in Abu Dhabi, Bali and Phuket, with more on the horizon. “We could be reaching, easily, 50 properties,” he says. “We have a lot of discussions, including for Kuala Lumpur and Tokyo, so it looks very promising.”

For now, Gamarra is eschewing expansion into the Americas and Europe (although Dusit owned stakes in Kempinski and the Melrose Hotel in Dallas a decade ago), at least until the Dusit name becomes better known in its new venture markets. Expansion into Greece and Morocco is possible, Gamarra says, and further globalization may be on the distant horizon.

“Once we open all these properties and we get exposure in all these markets, we may end up going to Europe and North America,” he says. “You never say never to anything.”

In Dubai, which already has a Dusit Thani and two Dusit residential properties, the company is planning to put a pair of hotels and a residence on The Palm Jumeirah. That project is highlighted by Dusit Devrana, the group’s new luxury flag, aiming for the 5- to 6-star range that Gamarra says will compete directly with Banyan Tree Hotels and Resorts and One&Only Resorts. The Devrana brand, which may also launch in the Maldives, will focus on offering utmost privacy amid high couture—or, as the company calls it, “a private sanctuary of perfection”—with rates approaching US$1,000.

“People talk all the time about 5-star service,” Gamarra says, “but if you want to attract a luxury clientele, you have to offer privacy. At Devrana, people can go in and have the privacy they expect and still be pampered.”

Dusit Thani and Dusit Residence are the other two brands under development on The Palm.

With the international expansion, Dusit is relaunching its D2 lifestyle brand as dusitD2 hotels + resorts, as most guests had been unaware of its affiliation with Dusit. dusitD2 is a Thai version of the W Hotels concept, Gamarra says.

“In the dusitD2, some of the males have earrings and long hair, and we allow the ladies to be a little more expressive in their fashions,” Gamarra says. dusitD2 is open in the Thai city of Chiang Mai and will launch next year at Baraquda Pattaya. A third dusitD2, in Koh Samui, is slated for a 2009 opening.

The group’s 4-star Royal Princess brand is being re-flagged as Dusit Princess, with an emphasis on targeting road warriors and families. As with dusitD2, the idea is to further build the Dusit name and image abroad. Dusit Princess opened its first resort, in Koh Chang, in November.

Dusit’s flagship brands—the 5-star Dusit Thani and Dusit Residence Serviced Apartments—are not slated to undergo significant operational changes.

Direct comments to: adam.kirby@reedbusiness.com

Dusit Thani Bangkok is one of 16 Thailand properties for Dusit International. The lobby at dusitD2 Chiang Mai.