The Laguna Holiday Club, a subsidiary of Laguna Resorts and Hotels, will spend Bt300 million to serve strong demand from its timeshare members who love to vacation in Thailand especially in Phuket, Hua Hin, Pattaya and Chiang Mai.

The Laguna Holiday Club, part of the Laguna family of resorts in Phuket, permits members to own their holiday getaway in one of four luxury-room types, based on a point system that allows a great deal of flexibility. The first step in its expansion strategy was taken yesterday with the Bt300-million purchase of 55 units at the Boathouse Hua Hin, a luxury-condominium property worth up to Bt6 billion.

Laguna Holiday Club assistant vice president Gerard van Paasen said the club had 5,000 members, 65 per cent of whom were locals and 35 per cent foreigners from Europe and elsewhere in Asia. With plans to sign up 1,500-2,000 members this year, the company has to find more units for its time-share business.

It has only 150 residential and hotel timeshare units now, which was not enough, because that worked out to 50 members per room. "We plan to buy or take over existing projects rather than develop new ones by ourselves to save money," Paasen said. "The company also plans to enter Vietnam and China this year," he said.

Boathouse Hua Hin managing director Praphaisith Tankeyura said besides the sale to Laguna, the company was negotiating with an investor from the US to buy a big block of units in the Riviera Wing, which is part of the Boathouse complex. "We believe the deal will be closed at the end of this month," he said.

Knight Frank Thailand managing director Phanom Kanjanathiemthao said strong demand for time-sharing in Hua Hin, especially for retirement, had helped pushed land prices up from Bt50,000 a square wah two years ago to Bt140,000 this year. But residential projects continue to be launched in Hua Hin.

The first quarter saw groundbreaking on two developments - Marrakesh by Major Development and Baan Sansuk by Sansiri - with a combined 685 units worth up to Bt4 billion. Both projects are priced at Bt119,000 per square metre.

Last year, condo projects with 1,786 units were started in Hua Hin, with 939 units already sold and the rest in the selling process, he said.

Article courtesy of The Nation.