This year Banyan Group celebrates its 30th anniversary. Banyan Group's Philip Lim explains how it all started and what the next 30 years hold for the group
Banyan Tree Phuket (pictured today) opened in 1994 after a decade spent clearing old mine land and planting thousands of trees
Banyan Group is named after a fishing village in Hong Kong. Our co-founders, Ho Kwon Ping and Claire Chiang, both lived in Banyan Tree Bay. While on holiday in Thailand in 1984, they decided to buy 550 acres of an abandoned tin mine at Bang Tao Bay in Phuket. Over the next ten years, they cleaned the acid-laden soil, planted more than 7,000 trees and built what is now the group’s flagship resort, Banyan Tree Phuket, which opened in 1994. They named it for the village they lived in and because the banyan tree is believed to have provided shelter to weary travellers, symbolising the comfort they aimed to offer at their hotel.
From the beginning, Banyan Tree wanted to pioneer sustainable hospitality. We’re committed to remaining the leading advocate of sustainable travel. Our founding ethos was ‘embracing the environment, empowering people’, something that is embodied through the Banyan Global Foundation and Banyan Academy. Banyan Global Foundation was established in 2009 to address challenges in developing regions and improve health and livelihoods with better resource allocation. Banyan Academy provides strategic in-house training to develop our employees. Earlier this year we launched ‘Retreats’ for our guests, a programme of wellbeing retreats hosted at various properties. Our inaugural annual Women’s Retreat was held at Buahan, a Banyan Tree Escape in Indonesia.
Family travel is an important focus for the group. We try to offer activities and excursions tailored to family groups at many of our properties, as well as child-friendly amenities like toiletries, bathrobes, cribs, additional beds, kids’ clubs, babysitting services and interactive dining options. I’d highlight Angsana Laguna Phuket where families can make use of a kids’ club, playground zones and even a children’s spa. And
Banyan Tree Phuket even has a kindergarten. Families on extended stays here are able to use the facility which is located within the Laguna complex. This is facilitated by Banyan Group’s partnership with SILK International School.
To mark our 30th year, we have changed our name from Banyan Tree Group to Banyan Group. This was to reflect the transformation of the group from a single luxury brand into a multi-brand hospitality powerhouse (the group’s current portfolio includes 12 brands and around 90 hotels and resorts in 22 countries).
Over the next decade we aim to have more than 200 hotels and double our global presence to 50 countries. So this 30th year marks a period of significant growth for us. I joined Banyan Tree in 2010 as general manager of Banyan Tree Sanya and have witnessed the expansion of our portfolio first-hand during that time. Between 2019 and now we doubled our brand portfolio and half of the countries we operate in now have a multi-brand presence.
Banyan launched in Halong Bay this year with Angsana Quan Lan
We’re focused on growth particularly in Japan, China, Vietnam, South Korea and Mexico. We first entered Japan in 2022 with Garrya Nijo Castle and Dhawa Yura Kyoto and earlier this year Banyan Tree debuted in Japan with Banyan Tree Higashiyama Kyoto. In the pipeline, we have Banyan Tree Ashinoko Hakone and Cassia Niseko Hirafu.
China is an important market for us. It’s a significant segment of both our current portfolio and our future plans with a focus on building a multi-brand presence there. Recent launches have included Banyan Tree Dongguan Songshan Lake and resorts in East China like Banyan Tree Suzhou Shishan, Angsana Suzhou Shishan, Banyan Tree Yangcheng Lake, Garrya Yangcheng Lake and Garrya Xianju.
We debuted in Dubai last year with Banyan Tree Dubai and expanded into Mexico with Banyan Tree Veya, a 16-acre wellness-centric retreat with vineyards.
Our biggest challenges are a slowing global economy and heightened geopolitical tensions. This is no different to any other player in the hospitality industry. But the growth opportunities for us remain in sustainability, with a focus on eco-friendly practices and culturally enriching travel. These are the opportunities we are capitalising on and will continue to do so as part of our expansion strategy.
In January we announced a robust pipeline of high-profile openings. As I've mentioned, Banyan Tree, our flagship brand, has welcomed five new properties in key and new markets this year, while Garrya, our fastest-growing brand, launched three. Overall, there have been 19 Banyan Group openings in 2024. Highlights include two new Vietnamese properties, Angsana Quan Lan in Halong Bay and Garrya Mu Cang Chai. We are also about to introduce Banyan Living, a residential rental marketing platform of branded residences and villas for short and long-term rentals. And we've unveiled withBanyan, a new membership programme, earlier this year.
Over the next 30 years, we'll remain a trailblazer for sustainable luxury. We’ll continue to lead in innovative sustainability practices and positively impact our destinations through Banyan Global Foundation and Banyan Academy. And we’ll continue providing guests with experiences that resonate long after their stay with us.
Philip Lim is senior vice president and head of Regional Operations at Banyan Group.
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