Dusit Thani Plc, a leading hotel and property development company in Thailand, has expanded into the high-end vacation rental market through the full acquisition of Elite Havens, the leading provider of high-end vacation rentals in Asia, with an investment of US $15 million.
Dusit made the acquisition through its wholly-owned Hong Kong-incorporated subsidiary, Dusit Overseas Co Ltd, which has bought all shares in LVM Holdings Pte Ltd., a Singapore-incorporated company and the ultimate holding company of Elite Havens. Established in 1998, Elite Havens features a hand selected and personally inspected portfolio of more than 200 villas in Bali, Lombok, Phuket, Koh Samui, Sri Lanka and the Maldives.
“Our investment in Elite Havens marks another important milestone in our strategic journey, particularly our two-pronged plan for expansion, which includes doubling our number of hotels in operation, and providing broadened experiences for our customers.” said Suphajee Suthumpun, Group CEO, Dusit.
“Our current brand line up covers the mid-scale through to luxury hotel segments. Now, with the addition of Elite Havens, we are delighted to cover the luxury villa rental segment too. While the integrated luxury villa management business is new to us, Elite Havens has an impressive track record in this segment, successfully expanding from a small enterprise to the leading company of its kind in Asia", she added.
Following its strategy for balance, diversification and expansion, Dusit has been actively enhancing its operations with investments in new market segments. The company made moves into the shared economy last year with an investment in Favstay, a Thai hospitality startup offering condos and villas for rent in Thailand's top destinations, and in April this year Dusit announced it would also enter the affordable lifestyle segment with the launch of Asai Hotels. A distinctive new brand designed to link curious, millennial-minded travellers with authentic local experiences in vibrant cities and resort destinations worldwide, Asai Hotels now has five properties in the pipeline across Thailand, Myanmar and the Philippines.
US $1 = 33.0259 Baht