Our heritage inspires our future

Dear shareholders and stakeholders,

Mr. Arsa Sarasin
Chairman

The year 2018 served as a significant milestone in our company’s history as we bid farewell to our flagship Dusit Thani Bangkok hotel in its current form and prepared for new developments to come.

From strategically investing in adjacent industries to launching new brands and entering new markets, in 2018 we continued to lay the groundwork for sustainable and profitable growth following the same principles Dusit’s founder, Thanpuying Chanut Piyaoui, had when she first established the company almost 70 years ago – to be bold and do great things, to create things that never existed before, and to always pursue perfection.

That our heritage inspires our future is something we are very proud of. In fact, the distinctive, personalised service pioneered at Dusit Thani Bangkok forms the basis for the Thai-inspired gracious hospitality delivered at all of our hotels and resorts – and across all of our business units – worldwide. Our Thai heritage makes us unique. And in an increasingly crowded business environment, it remains our distinct competitive advantage.

This is why one of our major campaigns in 2018 involved partnering with experts from Silpakorn University in Thailand to preserve various artistic and architectural elements of Dusit Thani Bangkok for use in the new version of the hotel, which is expected to open in 2023 as a new beacon of gracious hospitality to the world.

‘That our heritage inspires our future is something we are very proud of. In fact, the distinctive, personalised service pioneered at Dusit Thani Bangkok forms the basis for the Thai-inspired gracious hospitality delivered at all of our hotels and resorts – and across all of our business units – worldwide.’

It is also the reason why we invested heavily in our people, and continued to explore business models and investments which would allow us to fulfill our no lay-off policy at the hotel during its redevelopment.

Our people are the heart of our business, and by investing in the team at Dusit Thani Bangkok, and recognising their commitment, we are now poised to add even greater value to the company through new business units that will leverage their collective expertise and experience to achieve revenue while the hotel is temporarily closed. These projects will be announced in 2019.

As a company, Dusit has constantly evolved to meet the needs of stakeholders. From our first asset-light expansion overseas in the 1980s to the formation of Dusit Hospitality Education in the 1990s to the introduction of new hotel brands in the 2000s, our history features several chapters of positive change driven by a vision for growth that recognises, embraces, and builds on the value of our past.

Now we are three years into our latest chapter – the pursuit of expansion, balance, and diversification. The aim is to enhance value creation, support the development of new hotels and colleges, and position the company for success in an era of rapid change and disruption.

In pursuing these goals, we will never lose sight of what makes us unique. The distinctive Thai character and heritage created at Dusit Thani Bangkok have always been central to our growth, and through our operations, our people, and our vision to uniquely deliver gracious hospitality to the world, they will always remain at the heart of our business.

On behalf of the Board of Directors, I would like to thank all our shareholders, customers, guests, business partners and all other stakeholders for your much-appreciated support for our company. We are delighted to have you with us on our journey, and we look forward to creating enduring value for you all as we continue to evolve and embrace new paradigms while championing the heritage at our core.



Graciously yours,

Mr. Arsa Sarasin
Chairman