Bangkok – Year 2003 is shaping up to be a record year for corporate meetings in Bangkok. Meetings postponed because of SARS in the second quarter have been rescheduledfor the second half and it is now difficult for some hotels to meet the demand.

One reason is that Shanghai, which was Bangkok’s biggest competitor before SARS, has lost some ground, according to some hoteliers. Another reason is organisers have rediscovered that Thailand is simply the best value for money in Asia. This surge comes from regional and local companies, and is nationwide.

Starwood Hotels & Resorts vice-president and managing director for Thailand, Mr Peter Thompson, said Starwood’s seven properties in Thailand had experienced “a sudden burst” in bookings all round.

Demand is coming largely from multinational companies with regional headquarters in Hong Kong and Singapore, but purely regional companies are coming back as well.

JW Marriott (Thailand) director of marketing, Mr Jeff Crowe, said pent-up demand meant there were few dates left at the company’s Bangkok property and at the JW Marriott Resort & Spa in Phuket.

For Marriott, the best sectors are electronics and other high-tech corporates, but Mr Crowe said the rebound was across the board. “There’s hardly a sector that hasn’t come back.”

The Peninsula Bangkok director of sales & marketing, Mr Simon Yip, concurred, but said banking and pharmaceuticals were leading the pack. Pharmaceuticals also topped Mr Thompson’s list, but the financial sector was second.

All three hoteliers noticed increased demand for a ‘resort’ experience, but pointed out hotels did not need to be located on a beach to offer that.

“We market our property as a city resort by the river,” Mr Yip said. He added that corporate meetings are no longer just meetings. “You have to be able to offer more than just a venue. For example, we team up with destination management companies so that we can offer corporates soft-adventure and teambuilding programmes.”

Mr Crowe said he had not noticed a drift away from city to resort, but JW Marriott had been very successful with its Survivor Phuket programme. “Corporates want something with a bit of pizzazz, something more than just basic team-building. Survivor Phuket is a second generation team-building product with strong themes that appeal to corporate meeting planners,” he said.

Mr Thompson agreed there was more to corporate meetings than providing a venue, and it did not stop at providing soft adventure.

“At the Sheraton Krabi, for example, we are getting corporate clients interested in activities like rock climbing. And of course, they all want kayaking,” he said.

Mr Yip said rates had been under pressure at the Peninsula, but since it had become clear that Shanghai was not yet re-establishing its previous position, the pressure was easing.