Economy

Resort manager to double business

By Wang Zhuoqiong (China Daily)
Updated: 2011-05-16 10:49

In Phuket, the company acquired an old and abandoned tin mine, cleaned up the site and converted it into the now-flourishing and renowned Laguna Phuket, the first integrated resort development on the Thai island.

"We are looking at locations that are not fully discovered where we can be at the best location," said Deplano.

In addition to the growth in terms of property numbers, the group is looking to expand its VIP membership club in China, where the number of billionaires and millionaires has soared in recent years.

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Banyan Tree Private Collection, offering perpetual and transferable membership, is designed for "really top customers", said Deplano. "The member will be able to enjoy one week at any villa that is part of this program, with extreme flexibility of when and where to go and enjoy his stay."

With a one-off joining fee from $150,000 and annual subscriptions from $3,150, the membership provides access to a portfolio of luxury villas and apartments for seven nights a year. A two-week stay in a two-bed villa on a yearly basis has a joining fee of $220,000 and annual dues of $6,300.

Deplano said the type of villas in this program are of the highest category, with two-room villas that can host families rather than the smaller type of villas found at hotels.

Deplano sees the product as an investment in a lifelong lifestyle.

"It is a convenient way to travel to a variety of top destinations without purchasing and maintaining the entire villa," he said.

About 20 percent of its total membership is from China.

"They are young entrepreneurs, aged between 35 and 45, married, mostly with children," he said. "They are at this stage of their lives where they are ready to settle and want holiday destinations that can accommodate themselves and their families and that they can pass on later to their children as well."