Hospitality Design - September 2015 - 69

perspectives

interview

nigel harris
By Rebecca Lo
Photography courtesy of Onyx Hospitality Group

1

DYNAMIC GROWTH

1. Images of players
adorn a guestroom at
the soccer-themed
Amari Buriram United in
Thailand.

Nigel Harris heeded the hospitality call in
college. While studying architecture at Plymouth
University in the UK, he designed a hotel
project and realized that he had a passion for the
business. After working as an architect for five
years in Hong Kong for the likes of P&T Group,
RMJM, and HPA (formerly Ho & Partners
Architects), he joined Kerry Group, the parent
company of Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts, to
oversee the construction of its Mactan Resort and
Spa, Cebu, in the Philippines. That was in 1990,
and Harris hasn't looked back.
"I couldn't have asked for a better
introduction to the hotel business, as I was
learning directly from the property's owner and
operator," he recalls. After the resort's completion
three years later, he moved on to Holiday Inn
as a quality control inspector where he visited
120 hotels per year experiencing the nuances of
Asia's different cultures, and eventually heading
up the group's technical services functions in the
region. In 2006, he joined Hilton Worldwide's
team in India, and while based in Delhi, led
projects for a major joint venture between Hilton
and DLF, one of the country's largest real estate
companies. At an event in late 2009, he bumped

into a former colleague who had recently joined
Amari, a Thai company with big plans. Two
months later, Amari came under the Onyx
Hospitality Group umbrella, and Harris was
ensconced in its Bangkok head office as executive
vice president and chief technical officer.
For almost four decades, Amari had
developed organically. "Amari's previous growth
was conservative," Harris acknowledges. "It
was a disparate brand, with 580 rooms in
city properties and 50-room boutique resort
properties. Six years ago, the owners wanted to
move forward and become more competitive
by leveraging the portfolio and expanding
within the region. It invested heavily up front,
doubling its [company] staff count in 2010
without increasing the number of properties.
They hired senior hoteliers from international
companies, and we worked with a branding team
and conducted market research to identify what
brand segmentation was appropriate for future
growth."
Amari, now known for its 4-Star hotels
and resorts, has become the leading sub-brand
within Onyx. The others include select-service
OZO; 5-Star Saffron; serviced apartment brand

A hotel veteran advances the Amari brand

2

2. Bright orange umbrellas
shade poolside loungers
at Amari Buriram.

Shama; and the eclectic Mosaic Collection-plus
Oriental Residence in Bangkok, a standalone
hotel-condo hybrid with interiors by local firm
Abacus Design.
Onyx owns approximately half of its dozen
or so properties in Thailand. "Our advantage
is our flexibility," Harris says. "We are able to
exploit market trends." The recently unveiled
hilltop Ocean Wing by locally based Create Great
Design at its flagship Amari Phuket, for example,
features residential-style guestrooms and blends
with the older, A49-designed beachside wing,
which the Thai firm recently renovated along
with the F&B facilities, he says. The new section
features a flat roof perfect for morning yoga that
overlooks Patong Bay and a picturesque staircase
that cuts through the property-from the highest
villa through the clubhouse down to the sea.
Now the Amari brand has nine properties

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