Banyan Tree Hotels & Resorts is appealing to second home investors with its new residential brand, Cassia.
Cassia branded properties will offer fully-furnished one and two-bedroom units available for ownership, starting from US $143,000 for a 35 square metre one-bedroom apartment.
"Cassia merges three of the group’s strengths; hospitality, design and real estate, to set the stage for the hotel residences of the future,” says Ho Kwon Ping, executive chairman of Banyan Tree Group.
“The extended stay segment has been overlooked in recent years so we took the opportunity to innovate and create a hospitality product that meets the demands and needs of today’s travellers.”
Five projects are already in the works, including Phuket, Thailand; Bintan, Indonesia; Beruwala, Sri Lanka, Gold Coast, Australia and Lijiang, China. Each development will have a host of facilities, including a pool, gym and bar
Around 70 percent of units in Phuket and 45 percent in Bintan have been sold already in phase one of the project.
A rendering of the upcoming Cassia development in Phuket
A further seven projects are being planned in Brisbane, New York, Japan, Seychelles, Chiang Mai, Bangkok and Lang Co, Vietnam. Banyan Tree Group plans to grow to 66 hotels and resorts across all of its brands, which will include 117 spas and 115 galleries across 33 countries by 2017.
The brand is named from the Cassia Fistula tree, which Banyan Tree describes as bold, vibrant and striking.
This is Banyan Tree’s third brand, along with its namesake and Angsana, but the focus is placed on holiday home investments and for those looking to develop an hotel product in the serviced apartment segment.
