Dusit International
Dusit Thani Public Company Limited, branded as Dusit International, is a Thai multinational hospitality company headquartered in Bangkok, Thailand. Dusit International has 36 hotels and resorts in 12 countries. Founded by Thanpuying Chanut Piyaoui in 1948, the company is now led by Suphajee Suthumpun.[4][5]
Type | Public |
---|---|
SET: DTC | |
Industry | Hospitality |
Founded | 1948 |
Founder | Thanpuying Chanut Piyaoui |
Headquarters | Bangkok, Thailand |
Number of locations | 29 |
Key people | Suphajee Suthumpun, Group Chief Executive Officer[1]:6 |
Services | Dusit Thani College Le Cordon Bleu Devarana Spa |
Revenue | 5,570 million baht (2017)[2] |
332 million baht (2017)[2][1]:8 | |
Number of employees | 3,703[3] |
Divisions | Dusit Thani Hotels Dusit Princess Hotels dusit D2 Hotels Dusit Residence Serviced Apartments Dusit Devarana Hotels |
Website | www |
Financials
Dusit International's FY2017 revenues were 5,570 million baht, up from 2016's 5,425 million. Net profits in FY2017 doubled from 2016: from 152 million baht to 332 million. Total assets rose to 9,978 million baht. Total liabilities rose to 4,098 million baht.[2][1]:8
The top seven Dusit International executives' remuneration in FY2016 was 57.13 million baht in salary and benefits, up from 32.51 million baht paid to eight executives in 2015.[1]:57
Dusit Thani PCL has been listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) since 1975. Its shares are not actively traded.[6]
History
The group's origin dates back to 1948 when Thanpuying Chanut Piyaoui, opened her first hotel, the "Princess" in Bangkok.[7] It had only 30 rooms but had the distinction of being the first modern hotel in Bangkok with a swimming pool.
The company takes its name and much of its character from the ideas of King Rama VI, whose thoughts on the modern state blended Western and Thai influences.[8] In 1918, he created a utopian miniature city near Lumpini Park and named it Dusit Thani meaning "town in heaven". In Thai, Dusit is the mythological name for the fourth of the seven levels of heaven.[9]
In 1970, the 23 storey Dusit Thani Bangkok became the company's first flagship hotel.[10] The 510-room hotel was the first luxury hotel and the tallest building in Bangkok for several years.[8] In 2017 it was announced that the hotel would be demolished in April 2018.[6] That date has been postponed for eight months: final checkout at the Dusit Thani will be at 14:00, 5 January 2019. The rebuilt hotel will open as part of a 36.7 billion baht mixed-use project to be built in partnership with Central Pattana PLC.[11] When an entirely new Dusit Thani reopens its doors after a three-four year construction period, it will be taller but with fewer rooms — about 300 compared with the current 510.[6]
In 1987, Dusit acquired its first resort property, Dusit Thani Pattaya, followed by another beach resort in Phuket Province, the Dusit Thani Laguna Phuket.[12] In 1989, Dusit Thani Hua Hin, formerly known as the Dusit Resort and Polo Club, opened.[12] Royal Princess Chiang Mai was opened in Chiang Mai in 1991, followed by the Dusit Island Resort Chiang Rai.
In 1995, Dusit International acquired the Hotel Nikko Manila[13] by purchasing shares in the holding company, Philippine Hoteliers, Inc. (PHI), from Japan Airlines Development Company Limited and JAL Trading Inc. After the acquisition, the Hotel Nikko Manila came under the management of Dusit Thani Hotels and Resorts, and was renamed the Dusit Hotel Nikko, Manila.[14] The Manila hotel underwent a major renovation programme and became Dusit Thani Manila in April 2008.[15] It is known for the Supreme Court ruling on "Illegal Strike" which considered the shaving of heads by the employees of Dusit Hotel as tantamount to committing strike. The issue has been protested widely in the Philippines especially with the International Labour Organization's findings that the Philippine government and the Supreme Court violated the workers' right to freedom of expression and association and redefined the meaning of strike.[16]
In November 2006, Dusit Thani added a brand extension, the Dusit Lifestyle Collection with dusitD2 hotels and resorts. dusitD2 is the second generation brand of Dusit Thani Hotels and Resorts.[17][18] The first property in the dusitD2 collection opened in November 2006 in Chiang Mai.[19] The second dusitD2 hotel, dusitD2 Baraquda Pattaya, was opened in February 2009.
Dusit International's portfolio includes Dusit Princess Hotels and Resorts. The rebirth of the original Princess hotel came with the 1989 opening of the Royal Princess Larn Luang, Bangkok,.[20] There are seven Dusit Princess properties in Thailand.[21] The first Dusit Princess outside Thailand, Dusit Princess City Centre, Dubai, opened in December 2009.[22]
Dusit Thani Dongtai was the first Dusit Thani to launch in China.[23][24] Dusit Thani Fudu Qingfeng and dusitD2 Fudu Binhu Hotel also opened in 2016 followed by Dusit Thani Dongtai.
The group's other business are hotel management of both Thai and overseas properties, and education, through the Dusit Thani College and a Bangkok culinary school joint venture with Le Cordon Bleu of France. In 1993, Thanpuying Chanut founded Dusit Thani College.[25] In 2009 it initiated a programme with Lyceum of the Philippines University. Additionally, the college opened its new campus in Pattaya in 2011.[25]
In August 2007, the Le Cordon Bleu Dusit Culinary School opened, making it the first of its kind in the Southeast Asian region.[26]
Besides these, The Dusit Executive Development Center (DEDC) was established in 2005 as a subsidiary of Dusit Thani Public Co., Ltd. to provide executive training and development courses to individuals and various organisations.[27]
The dusitD2 Hotel in Nairobi was the scene of the 2019 Nairobi hotel attack.[28]
In April 2018, Dusit International introduced a new mid-market brand for the millennial-minded called ASAI Hotels[29]
Hotel brands
As of 2019, Dusit International has 36 properties in Thailand, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, United States, China, Bhutan, Maldives, Philippines, Vietnam, Egypt and Kenya. Its brands include Dusit Thani Hotels and Resorts, Dusit Princess Hotels and Resorts, dusitD2 Hotels and Resorts, Dusit Devarana Hotels and Resorts and ASAI Hotels.
References
- Annual Report 2016 Dusit Thani Public Company Limited (PDF). Bangkok. 2017. Retrieved 18 August 2017.
- "Financial Highlights". Dusit International. Retrieved 27 December 2018.
- Dusit International; Annual Report 2017 (PDF). Bangkok: Dusit International. 2018. p. 64. Retrieved 27 December 2018.
- Sritama, Suchat (2 September 2017). "Taking management to another level". Bangkok Post. Retrieved 3 September 2017.
- "Thailand's First Lady of Hospitality". Tourism-Insider. 25 October 2009. Retrieved 23 April 2016.
- Janssen, Peter (18 August 2017). "End of a hospitality era in Bangkok". Asia Times. Retrieved 19 August 2017.
- "Thanpying Chanut Piyaoui—35 Most influential Thais" (PDF). The Nation. 1 July 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 October 2012. Retrieved 23 April 2016.
- "'Why shouldn't I be the one to build it?'". Arabian Business. 21 November 2007. Archived from the original on 30 May 2016. Retrieved 23 April 2016.
- "Company Background, One of Asia's Leading Hotel Brands". Dusit Thani Public Company Limited. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
- Phataranawik, Phatarawadee (22 December 2018). "Farewell to an icon". The Nation. Retrieved 22 December 2018.
- Sritama, Suchat (3 January 2018). "Final check-out at landmark Dusit Thani postponed". Bangkok Post. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
- "Company Background". Dusit International. Retrieved 23 April 2016.
- "Asian Hotel Chains". Travel Weekly Asia. 11 April 2012. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
- "The History of Dusit Hotels". Archived from the original on 9 August 2016. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
- Fischer, Joachim (30 September 2011). "Dusit International – One of Asia's Leading Hotel Brands". Tourism-Insider. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
- "Outrageous and Erroneous Supreme Court Ruling on Dusit Hotel case discussed in Church-Labor Conference congress". Labor Education and Research Network (LEARN). Manila. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
- Dayrit, Christine S (30 March 2008). "Dusit Thani: Town in Heaven". The Philippine Star. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
- "dusitD2 hotels + resorts = Dusit Lifestyle Collection". 18 January 2008. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
- "Dusit Unveils New Brand in Chiang Mai". Hotel Business Review. 30 November 2006. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
- "Dusit International - Asia's Leading Hotel Brands". 25 October 2009. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
- "Dusit Princess Hotels & Resorts". Retrieved 16 June 2016.
- "Dusit International Opens Dusit Princess City Centre". khaleejtimes.com. Khaleej Times. 2 December 2009. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
- "China's First Dusit Thani Hotel Debuts In Jiangsu Province".
- "Dusit International to open first property in China". BusinessTraveller.com. 12 November 2009. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
- "Dusit Thani College's newest Campus in Pattaya City Opens in June 2011". 8 April 2011. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
- "The Threat Underground - Will Bangkok's venerable Dusit Thani close?". CNN. 30 November 2000. Retrieved 23 April 2016.
- "Dusit establishes Training and Development Company". Hospitality Net. 21 September 2005. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
- "Nairobi DusitD2 hotel under attack as blasts and gunfire heard". BBC News. 15 January 2019. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
- Limited, Bangkok Post Public Company. "Dusit launches Asai with millennial focus". bangkokpost.com. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
- "China's First Dusit Thani Hotel Debuts In Jiangsu Province". Hospitality Net. 21 January 2016. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
- "Dusit Thani Hua Hin" (PDF). Dusit International. Retrieved 18 August 2017.
- "Dusit Thani, Krabi, Thailand". Google Maps. Retrieved 18 August 2017.
- "Authentic taste of Thai hospitality in the capital". The National. n.d. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
- "Dusit Thani Guam Resort luxury villa suites showcase". Travel Daily News. 20 May 2016. Retrieved 16 June 2016.