Thai hotel chain Dusit Thani is entering the luxury villa rental sector with the $15 million takeover of the owner of Singapore-based Elite Havens.
LVM Holdings performs integrated marketing, reservations, concierge and management services for luxury villas across Asia.
The company maintains a network of more than 200 fully staffed properties in Indonesia, Thailand, Sri Lanka and the Maldives.
LVM Holdings directly and indirectly holds shares in nine companies in south-east Asian countries.
The acquisition is part of Dusit Thani’s strategy for sustainable and profitable growth, which includes balance, diversification and expansion into new market segments.
The company made moves into the shared economy last year with an investment in Favstay, a Thai hospitality start-up offering condos and villas for rent in Thailand’s top destinations.
Dusit Thani announced in April plans to enter the “affordable lifestyle” segment with the launch of ASAI Hotels with five properties in the pipeline across Thailand, Myanmar and the Philippines.
Group CEO Suphajee Suthumpun said: “Our investment in Elite Havens marks another important milestone in our strategic journey, particularly our two-pronged plan for expansion, which includes doubling our number of hotels in operation, and providing broadened experiences for our customers.
“Our current brand line-up covers the midscale through to luxury hotel segments. Now, with the addition of Elite Havens, we are delighted to cover the luxury villa rental segment too.
“While the integrated luxury villa management business is new to us, Elite Havens has an impressive track record in this segment, successfully expanding from a small enterprise to the leading company of its kind in Asia.
“We are confident that our 70 years of experience in operating upper-upscale and luxury hotels will only enhance these operations further, allowing the dynamic Elite Havens team to leverage our own capabilities to continue providing exceptional services for luxury consumers, while simultaneously expanding the brand’s reach in more dream destinations throughout Asia and other key regions.”
Elita Havens CEO Jon Stonham added: “With our strong focus on people and exceeding expectations with our services, Elite Havens shares the same values as Dusit, so there is already a strong synergy for us to build on.
“We look forward to a very bright future of sustainable and profitable growth as we expand our operations as part of the Dusit family.”