Banyan Tree's past 20 years and future

Some Banyan Tree Club & Spa Seoul’s guest rooms have a relaxation pool inside the room. Above is one in Deluxe Suite with Seoul Tower in the background. / Courtesy of Banyan Tree Club & Spa Seoul

By Kim Se-jeong

In the early 1980s, Ho Kwon Ping, the executive chairman of Banyan Tree and his wife Claire Chiang spent four years in Hong Kong.

Ho was a correspondent for the Far East Economic Review, an English-language news magazine, and Chiang a sociology teacher.

The couple were avid travelers, going on train rides in Europe and walking the Chinese mountains for miles.

At one point, what they loved doing occurred to Ho as a business opportunity.

“We wanted to do something to meet the need to provide products for people like us who treasure travel and understand diversity,” said Chiang, who is the senior vice president, during an interview with The Korea Times on Tuesday at Banyan Tree Club & Spa Seoul.

Banyan Tree Club & Spa Seoul

The two and Ho’s architect brother followed up on the idea by flying to Hawaii where they spent 11 days trying different services, food, amenities and feeling the different atmosphere in hotels.

In retrospect, Chiang said money was not much in their minds. In 1984, the first part of their dream came true.

They were the developer of Laguna Phuket, in Thailand, meaning that they owned property, but did not provide the services. Their investment was followed by torrents of other developers, contributing to making Phuket a popular tourist destination. She said people in Thailand remember them still and call Banyan Tree a Thai brand.

In 2001, the first Banyan Tree resort opened on Bintan, an Indonesian island that is 55 minutes from the Singaporean coast, with them being the resort manager.

As of 2014, Banyan Tree runs 37 resorts, 72 spas and 85 gallery outlets and golf courses in 27 countries.

Presidential Suite

Asia Pacific is the company’s focus, and almost 12,000 people are working for them.

The personal story is cherished this year, as it celebrates its 20th anniversary.

Chiang’s visit to the Seoul property earlier this week was in connection with the anniversary. The couple came with general managers of other Banyan Tree properties in Asia, in an effort to appeal to Korea’s growing number of travelers.

The name Banyan Tree came from the place in Hong Kong, called Banyan Cove where the couple had lived in 1980s where she said she had enjoyed the undeveloped landscape.

To aspiring young hoteliers, Chiang had one message: Define important values and stick to them even though it means a bigger cost.

She says that from her own experience.

The Granum Dining Lounge

Banyan Tree’s two important values are stakeholders and the environment.

“By this (stakeholders), I mean employees,” she said.

Looking after the nature is what she learned from Banyan Cove.

“Living in Banyan Cove in Hong Kong was wonderful because we had no cars. There were farms there were mountains. This made us appreciate the significance of water, nature and community, and that’s why we do work our corporate social responsibility.”

Since 2004, the company has funded the raising of turtles in captivity until they become adults.

Each turtle that goes back to the water wearing a GPS sensor on its back which tells their location. In 2013 alone, 620 were released from the shelter.

“The turtle project began thanks to my Maldivian colleague who is passionate about turtles. We had a German scholar who happened to be there who taught us about hatching, building and caging for hatching the eggs,” the vice president said. “The grown-up turtles move to the Arabian Sea.”

Planting trees is another project. Every year since 2007, almost 300,000 trees are planted.

“Each property should plant 2,000 trees every year,” Chiang said.

The hotel also keeps its environmental standard strict through the collaboration with Earth Check, an Australia-based environmental auditor. The auditor analyzes data on water use and electricity consumption in each of the 37 properties, and comes up with recommendations. From 2006, Chiang has also been publishing the Sustainability Report, an annual report on what Banyan Tree has done to improve the quality of life in the local community and the people.

She is anticipating a new project.

“We’re looking into food supplies, going through an audit with Earth Check. Forty hotels have different markets, different laws on exports and imports. Each hotel has its own way of getting what from where.”

Looking into next 20 years, the executive chairman said he is looking to expanding its clientele.

He will do so by introducing budget hotels.

He denounced that Banyan Tree will move away from luxurious and traditional resort business. “This is a change that we embrace.” He said.

In Korea, he is managing Banyan Tree Club and Spa Seoul which opened in 2010. He said he is considering opening a new property.

“We’re open to this opportunity, either in Jeju, Busan or Seoul,” Ho said.

Banyan Tree Resort Seoul has 50 guest rooms, with other facilities that are to support the guests.

Outdoor swimming pool Oasis is very much coveted urban beach, which gets overbooked almost every summer. Its spa enjoys a favorable reputation from local clientele. Private spa tubs in some rooms are Banyan Tree’s signature service.