Bill Barnett

Bill Barnett

Bill Barnett has over 30 years of experience in the Asian hospitality and property markets. He is considered to be a leading authority on real estate trends across Asia, and has sat at almost every seat around the hospitality and real estate table. Bill promotes industry insight through regular conference speaking engagements and is continually gathering market intelligence. Over the past few years he has released four books on Asian property topics.
  • Property News

    Accor partners with Tytans Properties Development to unveil world’s largest Pullman in Cebu

    Accor, one of the world’s leading hospitality groups, continues its rapid expansion in the Philippines with the signing of Pullman Mactan Cebu Hotel & Residences, which is set to become the world’s largest Pullman property. The signing of the beachfront destination represents a milestone for mixed-use lifestyle real estate in the Philippines, as a new generation of integrated resorts emerges…

  • Thailand Hotels

    Banyan Tree Founder developing USD2 billion international commmunity in Bangtao Phuket’s emerging Thonglor Lifestyle District

    The resort island of Phuket which once was highly tourism dependent, has quickly evolved into a global hotspot as an international community for a rising tide of global citizens. Taking flight is a migration megatrend that is being driven not only by geopolitical events worldwide but a series of other emerging segments. Those highlighted in C9 Hotelworks latest research include…

  • Property

    A record is set with a groundbreaking 11 billion baht investment for Gardens of Eden

    In a strategic move that underscores the burgeoning maturity of Phuket as a sought-after multicultural lifestyle destination, Amal Group of Companies has introduced Gardens of Eden on Bangtao Beach. This sprawling 73-rai luxury wellness residential and hospitality community is set to redefine large-scale developments on super prime locations on the island, with an investment capital of THB11 billion (US$315 million).…

  • Events

    Thailand tourism forum 2024: AI and lifestyle hotels spotlight

    Bangkok will once again play host to the upcoming Thailand Tourism Forum 2024. Topping the event whose theme is ‘Time for Growth’ will be Aditip Panupong from Google giving insight into how AI is changing the country’s tourism sector. Featuring the leading stakeholders and speakers from across the industry, including Patrick Both, Area General Manager, Luxury & Lifestyle Thailand, IHG…

  • Press Room

    As Phuket tourism market recovers, a potential “carmageddon” infrastructure crisis looms

    Phuket hotels experienced promising momentum for the first half of 2023, which has set an optimistic path for the remainder of the year. At the mid-year juncture, international and domestic flight volume was already up 75% over total flights in 2022. Russia and China led the way as the two top tourism source markets in the first six months of…

  • Tourism News

    South East Asian hotels and resorts urged to grasp the “Green Premium”

    Hotels and resorts around Southeast Asia are failing to understand the “green premium” and how to leverage it to attract quality guests, according to leading figures in the region’s hospitality industry. The message that hotels and resorts are falling behind counterparts in other parts of the globe when it comes to capitalizing on the benefits associated with sustainable tourism was…

  • Events

    Farm-to-table movement takes centre stage at PHIST 2023

    The flourishing farm-to-fork movement will take centre stage at PHIST 2023 (Phuket Hotels for Islands Sustaining Tourism), as a group of leading chefs demonstrate how Michelin ratings can raise the bar for sustainability and social responsibility in Thailand. PHIST 2023, Southeast Asia’s biggest sustainability event for the travel and hospitality sectors, returns to Phuket on 4th September with an energizing full-day…

  • Travel

    Exploring Niseko’s outdoor adventures: A sizzling summer getaway for Thai travelers

    Amidst the bustling expanse of Bangkok’s mega-malls, an ever-present trend captures the attention of passersby’s, Hokkaido culinary treats. Thais have long had an insatiable appetite for Japanese cuisine, but a closer look reveals a burgeoning fascination with Hokkaido, Japan’s northernmost island. This growing attraction owes much to the favorable Thai baht to Japanese yen exchange rate and the increasing airlift…

  • Press Room

    Industry pioneers KP HO and Bill Bensley to headline PHIST 6, Southeast Asia’s largest sustainability event

    Press Release PHIST (Phuket Hotels for Islands Sustaining Tourism), Southeast Asia’s biggest sustainability event for the travel and hospitality industries, is back with a bang this September with an energizing full-day forum headlined by one of the region’s most inspiring leaders: KP Ho, the founder of Banyan Tree Group and pioneer of Laguna Phuket. He will be joined in a…

  • Press Room

    Family and folklore define pioneering hotel design at South Palms Resort Panglao Bohol – MGallery

    With craft, community and a deeply held intrinsic value for the cultural mores and history of the island, South Palms Resort Panglao Bohol – MGallery is shaping up to be anything but a cookie-cutter hotel. Six world-class innovation and sustainability leaders in architecture, interior design and green development have gathered to create a hotel like no other – weaving the…

  • Thailand Travel

    How can Thailand’s super-aged solve the hotel staff crisis?

    While Thailand’s hotel and tourism recovery is moving forward at a faster-than-expected pace, the country’s acute hospitality staff shortage continues to worsen by the day. In what can best be termed a ‘people business’, hotel owners and operators and wondering where have all the people gone. It’s a worrisome trend and is only going to get worse as mass tourism…

  • Tourism News

    Koh Samui: The secret island gem of Southeast Asia’s hospitality scene

    Over the past week, we have been compiling our latest hospitality, tourism, and hotel research on Thailand’s second-largest island, Koh Samui. The island remains a bit of a ‘little-big’ anomaly in Southeast Asia’s massive resort island arsenal. Despite hosting famed global hotel brands such as Four Seasons, Ritz-Carlton, W, InterContinental, and Banyan Tree, its smallish private airport capacity has somehow…

  • Phuket News

    Phuket hotels association reaffirms commitment to the island’s recovery with election of senior leadership team

    Press Release The Phuket Hotels Association, a non-profit organisation representing 80 of the island’s top hotels and resorts, has reaffirmed its deep commitment to the future of Phuket’s hospitality sector by announcing the reappointment of its senior leadership team, including President Bjorn Courage who has been instrumental in the association’s success. Following a recent election, Mr. Courage, who also serves…

  • Events

    Thailand tourism forum pushes innovation centerstage as industry leaders debate the future of hospitality

    Press Release Thailand’s largest annual tourism and hospitality event brings 800 delegates together for a fast-paced single-day show at Conrad Bangkok BANGKOK, THAILAND: As Thailand’s tourism industry powers its way into an accelerated period of recovery, with international arrivals pouring in and China poised to create the next big wave, what’s the ensuing step for the Kingdom? The world has…

  • Travel

    Could Thailand’s Southeast Coastal Gem Khanom Be the Next Koh Samui?

    The search for the next big resort destination in Thailand is an absolutely big ask. An expansive country with 77 provinces and an amazing array of diverse geographical locations, Instagram-worthy aspects, and distinctly different nuances. Out of this brazen travel chaos, the endearing term ‘same same, but different’ was born and remains highly relevant. Yet, one of the simple truths…

  • Home Services

    Digital Homecare Platform SAIJAI Unveils “Hospitality Staffing” Solution for Hotels as Industry Grapples with Severe Manpower Crisis

    Thai hospitality industry struggles to find workers to fill 1.45 million jobs lost during the pandemic with many unwilling to return to the industry BANGKOK The pandemic changed everything. It has been an accelerator but also a major change-maker for Thai service workers retrenched or “paused” during the three-years Covid crippled Thailand’s hospitality industry. Many who left the sector are…

  • Things To Do

    Eat, pray, sleep Bali-Style- how I escaped the box

    It’s been nearly thirty years since luxury hospitality innovator KP Ho and Banyan Tree took hotel guests out of the box and into their own private villa with a swimming pool in Phuket, Thailand. At the time, the idea was radical, captivating, and edged over the boundary of hospitality norms. Fast forward to 2022 and KP’s daughter Renyung Ho has…

  • Property News

    Thailand’s monsoon baht debacle lights fire to Phuket real estate sector

    As Thailand’s monsoon season continues with what seems to be an endless line-up of thunderstorms and massive rain showers, the real story in Thai real estate is the baht. The Thai currency is precariously sitting at a 16-year low against the US dollar and has depreciated by nearly twelve per cent this year. As the exchange rate hovers near the…

  • Property News

    Phuket real estate shifts tide in wake of urban flight

    Urban flight and a continuous stream of incoming lifestyle residents to Phuket are dramatically shifting Southeast Asia’s leading resort real estate market landscape. The new island property mantra is dominated by surging demand for single-family homes and larger condominiums. Phuket has witnessed a sharp change from 2019 when over 9 million tourists sought a place in the sun, highlighted by…

  • Tourism News

    Bridge over troubled waters for Thailand-bound Russian snowbird tourists

    Russian travellers have ritually sought out islands in the tropical sun since the demolition of the Berlin Wall in 1989. Hellbent on escaping bitterly cold winters, these snowbirds in the lead-up years to the pandemic became the second largest international source market for Phuket’s mass market tourism surge. Now, coming out of the pandemic in the age of a return…

  • Thailand News

    Breaking the glass ceiling: Thai hotels push for gender equality at women’s hospitality event

    As a study reveals that 90% of general managers in Thai hotels are men, an important event in Phuket aims to understand why women still encounter barriers to career progression. Gender equality is high on the agenda for Thai hotels as a hospitality event held recently in Phuket addressed the imbalance in the industry in leadership positions for highly qualified…

  • Visa Information

    The Zoom Boom. Work from anywhere culture lures expats to Thailand

    Over the past two years, the impact of lockdowns across the globe propelled a massive influx of incoming expatriates to Thailand. The reality of COVID-19 is that it has become an accelerator of trends that had been long in the works over the past decade. With advancements in technology, cross-border trade, and the sharing economy, a new zoom workforce generation…

  • Home Services

    How can parents keep kids busy during Bangkok summer holidays

    Summer holidays for Bangkok international schools are nearly here. For working parents who are trying to balance work, and family, and will be spending at least some of the summer in the city, the question is how to keep their children busy and engaged? One of the best online resources for expat parents looking for activities is BKK Kids. With…

  • Home Services

    How Thailand is shifting to aged care in the home

    Thailand’s ageing society is growing rapidly, with a quarter of Thais who are 60 years and older forecasted to account for one-third of the population by 2040. Despite expectations that the country would see a rapid escalation of assisted living and nursing homes being developed, COVID-19 became a game-changer. While traditionally many Thais have lived and grown up in multigenerational…

  • Ask an Agent

    Top 10 Best Ways To Avoid Condo Hotel Property Rip-Offs

    One recent topic of discussion in Thailand’s real estate circles has been about how possible defaults in the condo hotel or investment sector can have a negative impact on the industry. Based on my own two decades of experience with C9 Hotelworks in branded residences in Thailand and throughout Asia Pacific, I thought it might be helpful to give some…

  • Thailand News

    Phuket’s THB4.5 Billion Andamanda Project Set to Open

    Thailand’s newest integrated resort, the Andamanda Phuket will soft open next week on 21st May 2022. Styled as a leisure and entertainment offering, a water park debut will be the first phase of a larger development by Thailand’s Proud Group with a total investment of THB4.5 billion (USD134 million). Andamanda will bring a world-class attraction to the resort island featuring…

  • Property News

    How living the dream became a nightmare for Phuket property buyers

    Dreams die hard, even in a pandemic. But for thousands of Phuket property buyers who invested in the promise of a tropical dream with endless sunsets, the stone-cold reality of failure is just starting to hit home. Amidst a backdrop of rusting steel, decaying concrete, and empty construction sites lays the dark side of the island’s real estate trade. To…

  • Property News

    Rental demand soars, as Phuket real estate returns to fundamentals

    Urban flight has driven Phuket’s once investment-focused property market in an entirely new direction. This seismic shift has resulted in a dramatic return to real estate basics. Focusing on the pandemic era of the past two years, a constant flow of new incoming residents from both abroad and Bangkok has seen the scales tip, as rental demand has vastly exceeded…

  • Thailand News

    Pandemic economic impact hits Phuket hotels as 73% of new projects put on hold

    Island’s transaction market heats up as owners face liquidity issues, while broad tourism sentiment wanes PHUKET, THAILAND: Thailand’s battered hotel sector is showing increased signs of fatigue as the global pandemic enters its third year. Nowhere is this more apparent than the resort island of Phuket, where over 73% per cent of new hotel developments either lay dormant or have…

  • Travel

    Bangkok is back – Thailand’s capital roars back to life

    OPINION Before the pandemic, Bangkok was the most-visited city on the planet – a thriving hive of energy and activity which attracted over 22 million international visitors per year. Then, without warning, it all went quiet. Now, following the reboot of the Test & Go re-entry into Thailand on February 1, 2022, Bangkok is back. The city is welcoming the…