Set in the idyllic Thai island of Krabi, Ritz Carlton Phulay Bay Reserve is a unique luxury property that offers unparalleled luxury experiences to guests, Vidya Sagar, General Manager, Ritz Carlton Phulay Bay tells India Outbound in an interview. Sagar says that while India is in its top five source markets, it is growing rapidly and could be amongst top three by next year.

What is the USP of Ritz Carlton Phulay Bay?

There are many USPs of our property. First is that the product is not just any other product. It is the first Ritz Carlton reserve and the leading category of our rooms are 200 sqm in size, so they are huge. But beyond that everything at Ritz Carlton Phulay Bay is unique.

Right from the moment, the guests arrive at the reserve and up to the point that they depart, the entire experience is curated in a way to make their stay very unique.

At the arrival area in the reserve, called Salas Srichan there is a water body where we light up over 2,000 candles, so that when the guests arrive, they are welcomed by all the five elements of the nature, wind, fire, water, space and the earth. There is also beautiful music that is played here and a gong is struck to welcome the guests, who receive their cold towels and an organic welcome drink made from lemongrass grown by us in our own gardens.

At Ritz Carlton Phulay Bay we don’t have any concierge or check in a public area, everything is done by the butlers, or Ton Hong, who are with the guests from the moment of their arrival at the reserve. The butlers escort them to their villas where all the formalities are completed. The same butlers are with the guests right up to their departure, where once again the gong is struck and the guests are given a blessed wrist band as something for them to take back from Phulay Bay.

Plus, we have a whole host of activities at the reserve and while in other hotels these activities are chargeable, here everything is complimentary, because we want to ensure that we bring the culture and heritage of Thailand directly to the guests.

The reserve has only 54 villas and we have four restaurants, so the culinary journey is extremely extensive. We hired a Michelin 2 star chef from a restaurant called Tim Brown in Berlin to be the  Executive Chef of the reserve and apart from the culinary journey at the resort, he also oversees a new restaurant which has been renovated recently and it is called Lae Lay, which is not only focused on sustainable seafood, but also takes care of the vegetarian guests that we have.

Our Thai chef has worked with us for 19 years even before the resort opened and all her recipes are from her grandmother. So that is the culinary heritage that we offer in the resort. Our main restaurant serves French Mediterranean-inspired food and this is the restaurant for lunch and dinner. Our fourth restaurant is a pool bar.

We have our reserve experts who showcase Thai culture for our guests. They show you how to hold a lotus flower or how to make small toys from coconut palm. We also some culinary classes for our guests who learn how to make Thai snacks at the beach.

Every evening we have rituals for our guests which showcase Thai cultural experiences to our guests. One of the most famous dance forms of southern Thailand is called the Nura, so we have that twice a week and we also showcase Muay Thai, a martial art. We also organise live music shows with cocktails at the beachside, overlooking the sunset.

So we ensure that our guests get a different experience every day. In addition to that we provide daily shuttle to the Hong Island so that the guests can experience a bit of Phang Nga Bay since the resort is located in  the bay. It is an absolutely pristine, white sandy beach.

Which are your main source markets?

Our top source markets are the United States, China, UK, Germany and India. And then there are the Japanese and Korean markets and the Middle East is coming in a big way as well. Singapore seems to be a good market in future for us.

What is the average length of a stay?

We have average stays of three nights because the guests tend to discover different parts of Thailand during their visit. But we also have guests who stay for 20-30 days.

Which segment of tourists are you attracting?

Family has become an important market for us. We do have a lot of honeymooners, anniversary couples, as well as free individual travellers who come and explore Phula Bay, but our focus is a lot on expanding the family vacations, so we invested in a new kids club last year and now we have a properly manned kids club so that family experience can be taken care of and the kids club also has plenty of activities that the guests can choose from.

Which cities in India are your top markets?

Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru have always been good market for us, but I see Tier II and Tier III cities as those with the potential for future. Cities like Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Allahabad, Kanpur. These cities have immense potential to boost tourism to Thailand.

How have numbers for you been in post-pandemic era?

We have had the best year last year, from the time we opened. I think the world has moved on from pandemic and we all are doing much better in terms of revenue and occupancy. Certainly, 2019 was always the benchmark as the best year ever for the industry in Thailand. However, I think 2023 is much better than what we did in 2019, so recovery is more than 100 pc. We are at 120 pc vis a vis 2019, both in terms of occupancy and the rate.

Which were the best markets for you last year?

Our most important markets continued to be the United States and China and India was among our top 5 markets and India will continue to be a strong market as we move ahead. I think India has a potential to be the top three in the next one or two years.

Are you also targetting weddings as a segment?

We are also targetting wedding and social events. We are looking at intimate weddings as the number of guests can be around 140-200, guests. We are also targetting milestones where people can in and celebrate a family reunion and anniversary or a milestone event in their own personal lives. So that is what we are targetting in the Indian market, along with couples, honeymooners as well as family vacations, especially during the summer vacations.