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Whilst we are waiting – The current hotel dilemma

by | Jun 23, 2020

Dear Investor,

With the world coming to a stop for several months, we are now seeing a domestic easing of restrictions in several countries. This also goes for Thailand, which is the market the Group is currently mostly dependent on with its 1,300 rooms in The Pattaya Village.

In Thailand there has been no new cases of infections for several weeks. The curfew has been lifted and most domestic businesses are allowed to resume their operations. The international travel ban, however, remains.

This means that hotels can open, but that they have to rely on the domestic market. The local purchasing power has, however, been weakened substantially also in Thailand as a result of the lockdown. With the expectation that Thailand will open travel “bubbles” to neighboring countries through bilateral agreements in the autumn and that restrictions on travel from other regions of the world will be restricted until the end of the year, several hotels are reluctant to open at this time. With the opening of the borders, expectations are that the tourist arrivals will not “bounce back” to the pre-COVID19 levels due to change in travel patterns and the work-cycle of travel agencies pre-booking trips up to 6 months ahead of the stay. The expectation is that COVID-19 will have long-lasting effects that will last up to two years.

At the Pattaya Village, some rooms will be opened to cater to the Thai market. Our occupancy, however, has historically mostly been sustained by international travelers. We are therefore reluctant to open full operations until we have enough travelers to sustain occupancy and profitable operations. This is not an easy decision in a time when we have the majority of our staff on leave and we have stopped investor payments. The decision is, however, made to ensure we protect the company and our investors to be able to withstand the long-term effects of the crisis which is in the best interest of our staff, investors, and the Group as a whole.

Thailand has faced its largest hit in tourism arrivals ever recorded. This started in January when China, the biggest source of arrivals, started to restrict outbound travel.

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