Investors see opportunity in Pattaya hotel market

Although travel restrictions are still tight, investors see potential opportunities in Pattaya’s hotel market. Many are reimagining the 2021 market by focusing on domestic demand.

Property consultancy JLL says the ongoing Eastern Economic Corridor development comes into play. U-Tapao International Airport in Rayong expanding to increase capacity by 5 million passengers and a high speed rail is in the works to connect U-Tapao and the Bangkok airports Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueang.

The amount of investors interested in Pattaya hotels is at an “unprecedented” level, according to JLL’s Asia Hotels and Hospitality Group executive vice president of Investment sales, Chakkrit Chakrabandhu Na Ayudhya.

“In recent months, we have been getting an unprecedented level of enquiries from investors who are looking for opportunities to acquire investment-grade hotels in Pattaya. We have yet to see a wide trend of deeply discounted hotels in the market, particularly institutional-grade assets. However, the situation is delicate, and the landscape could potentially shift swiftly.”

Pattaya’s hotel inventory is ranked second in Thailand, following Bangkok. The city is slightly ahead of Phuket. Phuket has been in what many have deemed a “crisis” from the lack of international tourists over the past 7 months. Pattaya has been also been hit by the lockdown and travel restrictions., but due to the Pattaya’s proximity to Bangkok, the city has been able to attract domestic tourists during weekends and holidays. More domestic investors are also interested in Pattaya hotels.

“Due to border restrictions, we are naturally seeing more engagement from domestic investors compared to what we saw in almost 40 hospitality deals (over 40 billion baht in volume) that we brokered in Thailand since 2010. We also see more enquiries from corporates with diverse income streams and private equity funds since the pandemic started.”

SOURCE: TTR Weekly