Flight Centre to manage first hotel in Phuket
Flight Centre’s fledgling hotel and resort management business BHMA has struck a deal to manage its first hotel in Phuket, but it is keen to expand into other popular leisure tourist destinations such as Bali, Fiji, Queensland and the Maldives.
Australia’s biggest travel agency, Flight Centre, has amassed 15 separate major hotels and resorts to manage since it acquired the BHMA group one year ago in the first foray into accommodation management for the diversified ASX-listed group.
“At the present time we are scaling up the enterprise from smaller boutique hotels to larger-sized properties,” BHMA managing director Kent Davidson says.
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Davidson says the agreement to manage the X2 Vibe Phuket Patong Hotel marks the company’s first foray into the popular resort island.
“Phuket is an extremely popular travel destination and one of the main growth destinations for FCTG’s expansion strategy. This property is a natural fit for the X2 Vibe brand and for BHMA group,” Davidson says.
Metres from Patong Beach, the hotel features 131 rooms and five villas, restaurant and bar, spa, pool and fitness centre.
The new Phuket hotel brings BHMA’s X2 Vibe hotel portfolio to 27 total locations across the X2 Resorts, X2 Vibe Hotels and Away Resorts brands, which range from major hotels and resorts to one-bedroom apartments. It follows the launch of BHMA’s first Vietnam property, X2 Vibe Viet Tri Hotel, last month.
Davidson says the new management agreement fulfils the company’s stated objective of entering the Phuket market.
“We are delighted to have now established a presence in Phuket, one of Flight Centre Travel Group’s most popular leisure markets,” he says.
BHMA chief executive Peter Lucas says he is excited to see BHMA expanding into new destinations.
This article originally appeared on www.theaustralian.com.au/property.
