Banyan Tree Holdings Prepares for Disruption to Steer New Directions

SINGAPORE -�Media OutReach – 16
December 2019 – Known as an
innovative disruptor with responsible entrepreneurship at its heart, Banyan
Tree Holdings strengthens its founding competitive edge in people to future
proof its mission of sustainable value creation for all stakeholders.

 

L-R: Banyan Tree Group’s big family celebrating its 25^th
Anniversary; Founder and Executive Chairman of Banyan Tree Holdings Mr Ho Kwon
Ping receiving the HICAP Lifetime Achievement Award from The BHN Group
President Mr Jeff Higley; Annual Talent Development Programme.

Celebrating its
25^th Anniversary this year, Banyan Tree Holdings continues to stand
tall as one of the few steadfastly independent hospitality companies in a rapidly
consolidating industry. “Set against an increasingly competitive and uncertain
landscape, we are now in the middle of the river of change. We have left the
home bank but not reached the safety of the farshore. And we need to be aware
that we are in this zone. Being an independent company is to our advantage for timely
business decisions and expansions. We have the conviction and the game plan of
using our Group’s size to play to our strengths – being nimble and responsive
to change. With an emphasis on integration, process redesign and strengthening
of our digital infrastructure, we are confident of stronger brand delivery and performance
as we step into the next 25 years and beyond,” said
Mr
Ho Kwon Ping, Founder and Executive
Chairman
of Banyan Tree Holdings.

 

Catalysing the next phase of growth, the Group is staking
its edge on its agile organisational structure and lateral capabilities of an
integrated hospitality ecosystem. It has evolved from a boutique chain to a
multi-branded global hospitality leader in its own right, with a footprint set
to double in the next five years and consistent brand recognition with over 140
awards in 2019 and 2535 awards won since inception. This year, the list included
Travel+Leisure US World’s Best Awards
2019 Top 25 Hotel Brands in the World>,
Most Influential Hotel Group>,
Voyage Travel Awards 2019 Best Hotel Group> and th
TTG Travel Awards 2019 Travel Hall of Fame Best
Spa Operator> for the 5^th year since induction.

 

Leadership with a difference

Banyan Tree Group
prides itself in being a global company with a start-up mentality. It has a strong
talent force from over 50 nationalities, yet stays simple in structure to drive
quick implementation and results. Looking beyond, the Group sees the inherent
collaborative strength of diverse talents to create innovative disruptions for
its transformational leadership thrust forward.

A testimony to the Group’s entrepreneurial spirit and
passion for change to enhance the industry, Mr Ho Kwon Ping was conferred
the prestigious HICAP Lifetime Achievement Award at the recent Hotel Investment
Conference Asia Pacific (HICAP). He is the only recipient of both HICAP’s Innovation
Award (2003) and Lifetime Achievement Award (2019) — in honour of his innovative outlook and accomplishments in the
expansion of Banyan Tree Group and his contributions to advancing the hotel
industry in Asia Pacific region and the world. An avid journalist turned
hospitality veteran, Mr Ho embodies and believes in creativity and diversity of
talents.

 

Drawing inspiration from its
founder, the Group has injected 3 new senior appointments with distinct backgrounds
and experiences into its management team. Combined with the current team in
senior positions (whereby a notable 50% is promoted over the last 12 years
through its internal talent development programme), the Group believes this newly
reinforced team will take the company to its next leap.

 

Rosalynn Tay is the newly-appointed Senior Vice President, Head of Growth and Demand of
Banyan Tree Holdings. With extensive geographical and multi-industry experience, Rosalynn has
a 28-year strong track record in transformational work and leadership. She was most
recently Dentsu Aegis Network Country Head and Dentsu CEO. At DBS Bank, she was
Managing Director, Head of Marketing for Consumer Banking and also Managing
Director of Tiger Airways Singapore, responsible for taking the airline public.
Throughout these diverse appointments, her keen commercial acumen, ability to
build high-performing team culture and push through change management
initiatives were evident in her winning both Campaign
Asia’s SEA Agency Head of the Year 2017 and Campaign Asia’s Women Leading
Change Awards Business Leader 2017.

 

Rosalynn will be leading the charge to drive the Group’s multi-brand
growth strategy while charting customer engagement across current and new
digital channels. She will also define the strategic approach to sales,
marketing, distribution, revenue and channel management.

 

Jonathan Ye is the new
Vice-President, Head of Demand. He has recently moved
from the consumer tech world where he was the Head of Digital Marketing, Asia
Pacific since 2017 and Chief Marketing Officer in Singapore for the Chinese
tech giant, Huawei. Prior to it and right after the acquisition by Marriott, he
was part of Starwood Hotels and Resorts Asia Pacific (including China) driving social,
mobile and emerging technologies for the region. He has rich digital marketing
experience across hospitality and telco industries with proven success. As the global head for marketing, Jonathan will be leading strategic
integrated marketing directions and functions across offline and online
channels for multi brands’ campaigns, digital performance marketing and
content.

Boris
Sertic is the new Senior Assistant Vice President, Head of Revenue. He
is an accomplished travel industry professional with over 20 years’ commercial
experience in the fields of pricing, revenue, distribution, group loyalty
programmes and fares database. For the first 12 years of his career, he was in
senior management positions for wholesale international tour operations,
focusing on long-haul worldwide strategy. He next joined Centara Hotels
& Resorts as corporate director in 2008 and had piloted numerous company-wide
projects for revenue management structure implementation, distribution and commercial
contracting strategies. Boris will provide global directions and
implement group revenue management and distribution strategies in collaboration
with the Growth & Demand team at the Group and Hotel levels.

More than a global lifestyle
hospitality company, Banyan Tree Group is also in the business of developing a
strengths-based culture to build individual strengths within its organisation.
In every decision made, it goes beyond what is necessary to help its people
maximise their potentials. This passion for talent development is a vehicle of
purpose that reinforces its mission
of sustainable value creation.

 

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ABOUT BANYAN TREE HOLDINGS LIMITED

Banyan Tree Holdings Limited (“Banyan Tree”
or the “Group”) is a leading international operator and developer of premium
resorts, hotels, residences and spas, with 47 hotels and resorts, 63 spas, 73
retail galleries, and three golf courses in 24 countries. Each resort typically
has between 75 to 300 rooms and commands room rates at the higher end of each
property’s particular market.

The Group’s primary business is centered on
four brands: the award-winning Banyan Tree and Angsana, as well as newly
established Cassia and Dhawa. Banyan Tree also operates the leading integrated
resort in Thailand — Laguna Phuket — through the Group’s subsidiary, Laguna
Resorts & Hotels Public Company Limited. Two other integrated resorts —
Laguna Bintan in Indonesia and Laguna L?ng Cô in Central Vietnam — complete the
status of the Group as the leading operator of integrated resorts in Asia.

As a leading operator of spas in Asia,
Banyan Tree’s spas are one of the key features in their resorts and hotels. Its
retail arm Banyan Tree Gallery complements and reinforces the branding of the
resort, hotel and spa operations.

Since the launch of the first Banyan Tree
resort, Banyan Tree Phuket, in 1994, Banyan Tree has received over 2,480 awards
and accolades for the resorts, hotels and spas that the Group manages. The
Group has also received recognition for its commitment to sustainability for
environmental protection and emphasis on corporate social responsibility.

In
addition to its currently operating hotels, resorts, spas and golf courses, the
Group currently has 21 hotels and resorts under construction, and another 31
under development.

www.banyantree.com   
www.angsana.com   
www.cassia.com   
www.dhawa.com

 

Awards Listings

With 2535 awards won since its
inception in 1994, Banyan Tree Group is consistently honoured as a leading
hospitality leader for its experiential brands in top global brand listings.

• Top 25 Hotel Brands in the World>
• Most Influential Hotel Group>
• . 
• Best Spa Operator> for 5th year since induction for
  the well-loved Banyan Tree Spa
• .
• for Laguna Phuket.
• for Banyan Tree
  Residences Brisbane
• for Laguna Village Residences
• for Laguna Golf Phuket
• for Banyan Tree Phuket
• for Banyan Tree Phuket
• for corporate governance