Interview with Jay Sudhakaran, General Manager of Mövenpick Hotel Sukhumvit 15 Bangkok

Suat Töre representing Turizmcinin Gazetesi talked with Jay Sudhakaran, General Manager of Mövenpick Hotel Sukhumvit 15 Bangkok during his last visit to Bangkok, Thailand.

Could you please introduce us to your background in Tourism and Hotel Industry?

This is my 21^st year in the hospitality industry and I feel myself fortunate to have developed colleagues who are friends from varied walks of this journey.

Post my education ( Master in Business Administration) I worked with the Taj Hotels in India and then continued my journey in operations and sales and marketing in varied brands including the Inter Continental, Radisson, Hyatt Hotels and now with Accor. Having had a Sales and Marketing Experience it gave me the exposure to varied geographies and markets, resorts and business hotel locations and ofcourse to inbound tourism especially to South Asia from the European and Euroasian markets.

What are your thoughts on the future of hotel industry in Thailand?

Thailand’s strong tourism potential puts in the top 05 Asian countries must visit list. Hotel industry in Thailand currently is restricted to the Tier 1 list which is primarily Bangkok, Phuket, Krabi and the likes.

The unexplored potential due to awareness of equally beautiful gems of Thailand such as Huahin, Khao lak, Chiang mai etc. I believe is yet not reached its full potential of exposure or is limited to a certain geographic market. The hotel industry will continue to be in a growth trajectory for the next 20 years easily for the following factors:

Thailand is a repeat destination for many and especially the growing population of Gen X , Gen Y Gen Z.
Blessed with serene beaches, plethora of wildlife, shopping, night-life and heritage tourism etc.
Known for its hospitality Thailand always scores high on value for money when it comes to Hotel pricing and is conceived as a reasonably priced option with high quality products.

Could you tell us about Movenpick Sukhumvvit 15?

Movenpick Bangkok Sukhumvit 15, an Accor Hotel is a 363 rooms hotel in a Boutique style ambience in the heart of the city at Sukhumvit. Inspired by Thai architecture with a European tinge to compliment the best of both worlds. The hotel offers accommodation in 6 varied categories that the guest can choose from include Executive and Suite categories with a Lounge access.

The Lelawadee restaurant serves breakfast Buffets on all days and Alacarte and set meal options for lunch and dinner and on weekends there is a buffet.

The Rainforest Rooftop is hidden Gem in this Soi which serves hand picked cocktails and a wide selection of finger foods and spirits. Being attached to the pool and the private cabanas and a game zone there are varied activities one can do when at the Rooftop.

The hotel caters to most worldwide markets and the European, American and middle eastern market tops the list from October to March while Asian markets also have a great buoyancy through out the year.

Being close to Nana BTS and to Asok BTS and Sukhumvit MRT, the hotel is one of the best options when you are on a 3 days visit to Bangkok and yet would like to cover the whole city.

The Soi 11, Soi3 which are famous for its vibrant night life are also about a 200-400 meters walk.

Over all it is undeniably the best location this side and being a part of Accor hotels, our guests could freely enroll for Accor Live Limitless program to enjoy the innumerable benefits of the loyalty program Accor offers.

The contribution of direct business from online channels have been growing worldwide due to advancement in technology and the generation of guests we are catering to. We see this touching 65 to 70 percent easily and will stabilize there. While this is a growing segment we sternly believe that our offline travel partners will be still significant as guests may also opt in for packaged options for travel solutions and for itinerary planning.

Over all we foresee a great recovery post Covid and now even more stronger come back and some great years ahead.