Phuket officials threaten protest over Club Med lease

[LivinginKata]

For sure all these officials and head men are licking their lips at the prospect of zillions of baht being shelled out over the next year and the following years by either Club Med or other developers.

I can see many mia nois getting a new Benz and villa next Christmas.

[NamKangMan]

If Club Med doesn't get the lease, Kata will turn into a little Patong. All the east-west roads will be extended to the beach and the 4-5 story shop houses will tower above the Club Meds current location. it will be the end of the last bit of parking available near a west coast beach. At present most of Kata beach is quite nice, quiet and clean. Much of the natural coastline dune with pines and ivy is still there. A perfect place to string up a hammock and enjoy the beach,swaying in the shade and breeze. It's the only place I know of like that here. We say goodbye to it if Club Med goes.

Sounds a bit like what happened to Pattaya, years ago.

Phuket going the same way.

[Showbags]

thainess : lease the land,build stuff on it and after 30 years, we take it all from you, and you can leave and make us rich

what is up with the donation, soft corruption ?

So you blame thais for a foreigners stooopidity to sign up for such and fork over the money ?

Think they did it all on their own foolishness..

Many others countries have similar lease options to buy land for outsiders....if you want to do it, up to you, just dont complain when the 30 years or whatever is up.

Recently a very large hotels lease came up in Bali, kuta beach area....the initial lease was peanuts....the new lease saw the owners immediately purchase a mansion, new porsches and holidaying in the poshest locales overseas......many many millions of $$ not IDR.

[Zpete]

Can they demolish everything they put there over the last 30 years? Ya know, really and completely put it back to what it was?

What I was thinking.

Scorched earth, nothing left standing.

Bulldose the whole site.

[KarenBravo]

Watch the Thai property developers swoop in and make high end condominiums or. a massive high-rise hotel.

[fiddlehead]

"“This land could be a beach zone for tourists and local people. We could build a public park here, or set up an exhibition that would help preserve local culture,” he said."

Yeah, like the beachfront football stadium they built over in Karon.

Now we'll see how smart they are.
Will they build a beautiful (much needed) park?

Will they extend the lease?

How about a compromise and leave the resort and par 3 golf course, but build some cultural park over on the north end of the road.

Nah, we all know it's going to end up shophouses with no parking. (except for the tuk tuks that will make it a one way, one lane road)

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Does anyone here know who's behind Holiday Villages (Thailand) Co, Ltd, AKA Club Med Phuket.

I'm presuming it's substantial or majority Thai ownership, and that it's like a franchise operator under the Club Med name.... not owned by Club Med per se.

Although, this chart from a 2013 Club Med corporate document makes it look like the company is in fact the owner of the Phuket resort, as opposed to just managing or leasing.

Page 51

http://www.clubmed-corporate.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Club-Med_Presentation-resultats-annuels_V-IMPRESSION-ENG-16h.pdf

Edited April 19, 2014 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[jpeg]

I very much doubt Club Med would've expanded, as already stated, if 'negotiations' hadn't already taken place and a very very large sum has already been budgeted by them for the payoff

[grumpyoldman]

Hi highly doubt Club Med would've done the remodel last year on the one end creating a high end restaurant and no kids zone, if they thought their lease wasn't going to get renewed........

Just a lot of smoke here, posturing for a certain sized envelope.

[jpeg]

Hi highly doubt Club Med would've done the remodel last year on the one end creating a high end restaurant and no kids zone, if they thought their lease wasn't going to get renewed........

Just a lot of smoke here, posturing for a certain sized envelope.

That's what I said

[simon43]

Can they demolish everything they put there over the last 30 years? Ya know, really and completely put it back to what it was?

What I was thinking.

Scorched earth, nothing left standing.

Bulldose the whole site.

The lease contracts that I have for my little hotels stipulate just that - that if the contract is not renewed, I have MY choice to either leave the buildings intact or to demolish everything....

Simon

[mikebike]

I don't see how some are concluding Thai greed... Developers anywhere in the world would be salivating over this land... Does anyone really expect this lease to be renegotiated under similar terms 30 YEARS later? The 'donations' part of the contract was probably in Club Med's favour as they can write off the 'donations' - the (much) larger part of their 'rent'.

[robertthebruce]

I dread to think what would happen if ''Club Med'' do not renew the lease...

Currently it attracts nice family tourists, which is great, and on ''Kata Beach'' at the far end is where most of the families go..

Fingers Crossed ''Club Med'' can work out something, but i am not holding my breath

[jocko]

If Club Med doesn't get the lease, Kata will turn into a little Patong. All the east-west roads will be extended to the beach and the 4-5 story shop houses will tower above the Club Meds current location. it will be the end of the last bit of parking available near a west coast beach. At present most of Kata beach is quite nice, quiet and clean. Much of the natural coastline dune with pines and ivy is still there. A perfect place to string up a hammock and enjoy the beach,swaying in the shade and breeze. It's the only place I know of like that here. We say goodbye to it if Club Med goes.

I dont Know Kata that well but have been impressed with the beach road when i have driven and walked along it the open aspect makes it feel like a beach road surely they are not going to let it become a Patong beach road which is not a beach road at all.

[fatdrunkandstupid]

Has anyone even entertained the notion that perhaps Club Med does NOT want to renew?

Their USP is environment. The coastal environment on the West coast of Phuket is now a biohazard.

[LivinginKata]

Has anyone even entertained the notion that perhaps Club Med does NOT want to renew?

Their USP is environment. The coastal environment on the West coast of Phuket is now a biohazard.

Every indication they do want to renew subject to the next 30 year lease being financially viable. I expect that everyone has already been taken care off and that the nxt 30 years is in the bag.

[eezergood]

Does anyone here know who's behind Holiday Villages (Thailand) Co, Ltd, AKA Club Med Phuket.

I'm presuming it's substantial or majority Thai ownership, and that it's like a franchise operator under the Club Med name.... not owned by Club Med per se.

Although, this chart from a 2013 Club Med corporate document makes it look like the company is in fact the owner of the Phuket resort, as opposed to just managing or leasing.

PS0322.jpg

Page 51

http://www.clubmed-corporate.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Club-Med_Presentation-resultats-annuels_V-IMPRESSION-ENG-16h.pdf

Exactly the point i was going to raise!

Yes I think i know, but need some more confirmation - If who I think, Club Med goes nowhere!

[eezergood]

Has anyone even entertained the notion that perhaps Club Med does NOT want to renew?

Their USP is environment. The coastal environment on the West coast of Phuket is now a biohazard.

Club med is nothing more than a management company for the owner.......

[fatdrunkandstupid]

Has anyone even entertained the notion that perhaps Club Med does NOT want to renew?

Their USP is environment. The coastal environment on the West coast of Phuket is now a biohazard.

Club med is nothing more than a management company for the owner.......

Wrong.

If anything they are a management company for the lessee.

Or, are you implying that CM manage the property to protect the interests of the lessor?

[KarenBravo]

Has anyone even entertained the notion that perhaps Club Med does NOT want to renew?

Their USP is environment. The coastal environment on the West coast of Phuket is now a biohazard.

Club med is nothing more than a management company for the owner.......

Club Med is on over 30 different parcels of land, many with different owners. It took them a couple of years getting the leases together before they could start construction.

They actually built the main road that goes from Kata centre up to the Kata Thani as it was originally on their leased land. They built it so that they could close down the road that runs along the beach. There were public protests and that road (or track as it was then) was deemed a public byway as it had been used for generations. Club Med lost and it became a public road.

The road that they built as the substitute had a 1 to 3 metre verge on the east side. They managed to thwart development for years by denying access to all the land on the other side, accept for a couple of spots that were public roads. They gave up that policy about 16 or 17 years ago.

[billythehat]

Have I missed something? I can't see anything in the article stating that the original lease is a 30+30, it just states that the lease is due to expire next year. Please correct me if I am wrong.

More importantly, if Club Med have to renegotiate and pay anything like the going rate for that tract of land, then it would not be viable to run the resort there.

I hate to think what will replace it but I doubt it would be the Kamnan's idea of a public park. The rent collectible from hotels, restaurants, stores etc, in that location would be astronomical, as would the amounts payable in brown envelopes.

IMHO, Club Med remaining would be the best option if Kata Beach is to avoid becoming a total eyesore. But I really don't think that'll happen.

A big company like Club Med would know the "+30" clause is unenforceable under Thai law, so probably never bothered with it.

The article says their 30 year lease is up soon and the "hands" are already out for more money to allow them another lease, or to force them to walk away.

Either way, Club Med will be assessing the viability of remaining at that location, and given the current economic climate on Phuket, the margins are going to be tight.

Sir, you are normally quite quick to pick out the meat from these tales but I’m most surprised to note that you didn’t see the glaring flaw in this report; they had gone straight to stage ‘Threaten’ before announcing stage ‘Mull’, unless of course this stage will be covered by (after consideration) “raise your concerns in the meeting.” Furthermore, “For 30 years we have been waiting for the contract to expire,” said Kamnan...hab hmmmm...I would venture to suggest that the esteemed Khun Kamnan and most of his valued colleagues were about (from the photo) 10 years old at the inception of the original contract...fantastic comedy all the same.

[eezergood]

Has anyone even entertained the notion that perhaps Club Med does NOT want to renew?

Their USP is environment. The coastal environment on the West coast of Phuket is now a biohazard.

Club med is nothing more than a management company for the owner.......

Wrong.

If anything they are a management company for the lessee.

Or, are you implying that CM manage the property to protect the interests of the lessor?

I am saying, without explaining how most hotel(s) chains are owned and operated that CLub MEd as most people understand it DO NOT own this. Similarlt BIll Marriott only owns, I think 7/8 hotels, yet many more bear his name...

As for this particular situation, I believe a BAngkok based family are the owners....

[fiddlehead]

I remember hearing that the owner died in the tsunami.