Page 28 - ELITE PLUS MAGAZINE Vol 3

HOTEL MANAGMENT | general manager of the Centara GrandMirage Beach Resort in Pattaya. With over 30 years of experience – 17 as a hotel general manager – Mr Brown has been general manager of Chatrium Hotel Riverside Bangkoksince 2011.Known as Chatrium SuitesBangkok when it first opened in 2008, it is the city’s first all-suites hotel on the Chao Phraya River, featuring 396 suites perfect for business and leisure. Last year the hotel was given a 2013 Certificate of Excellence by TripAdvisor.In an exclusive interview, Mr Brown spoke to Elite+ about the brand’s success.Why did you change the name of the property in 2010?We changed the name from Chatrium Suites to Chatrium Hotel Riverside Bangkok because when we first developed people knew us as “the residential complex on the river”. We actually have three towers; one is of condominiums that you can own, one is serviced residences for long-term stays and one is a hotel. For the serviced residential tower, we tailor the service to the guests’ preferences. If they want the service of a five-star26 Elite+hotel, we can certainly provide that.How do you position yourself in the industry?We position Chatrium as a property that provides a level of service that breaks the more traditional, formal crutch. We all come from that formal five-star background wishing to create a home away from home. We develop a service that is far more user-friendly with a more casual approach. And we found that our guests much prefer it that way. We’re certainly not the cheapest and we’re not obviously the most expensive, but we’re perhaps known as the best value for money in Bangkok now.How many properties does the brand have?We have two hotels; one is the Chatrium Hotel Riverside Bangkok and under Chatrium management we also have the Emporium Suites. We also have two residential properties – the Chatrium Residence Riverside and Chatrium Residence Sathon. We also have a property in Yangon, and recently we launched the mid-range brand, Maitria Hotel, on Sukhumvit Soi 18. We are looking to expand toprobably three new properties near Siam Paragon, Bang Na and Phuket.What are the unique features of the Chatrium Hotel?Chatrium actually moves a little bit away from the traditional hotel-style room. In our hotel rooms we have kitchenettes, so it’s more like a blend between an apartment and a hotel room. We also offer bigger space, starting from 60 square metres, whereas most traditional five-star hotels would start from 40. Every room has a sizeable balcony that you can fully enjoy. It’s got a bit of an apartment feel to it, but of a standard that one would expect from a five-star property.How many room types do you offer?We have three core room types: grand room, one-bedroom suite and two-bedroom suite. Our room size starts at 60 square metres which is very spacious. Each room has a river view and floor-to-ceiling windows letting in lots of natural light. Every room has a proper balcony where you can sit back and relax, or smoke. For families, we have designated two-bedroom suites with lounge area, kitchenette and dining area, not like