THSA appoints industry leaders for Asia Pacific expansion in 2024
Joining Rodger Powell as partners are Mina Li and Ruwan Peiris, both esteemed professionals with extensive backgrounds in the hospitality industry
Tourism and Hospitality Services AustralAsia (THSA), a prominent hotel advisory and asset management firm, has announced the appointment of two distinguished industry experts as partners to bolster the company’s advisory services in the Asia Pacific region.
This strategic move comes as the hospitality sector in the region anticipates rapid expansion in 2024.
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Established in 2005 by Managing Director Rodger Powell, THSA has earned a reputation for its comprehensive expertise in hotel management and advisory services. With a diverse background encompassing ownership, operation, and executive-level management in the hospitality and tourism sectors, Powell brings a wealth of experience to the table.
Joining Powell as partners are Mina Li and Ruwan Peiris, both esteemed professionals with extensive backgrounds in the hospitality industry:
Mina Li brings over 15 years of experience as a seasoned advisor in development planning, feasibility assessment, and investment and asset management advisory for hotel and hospitality assets across the Asia Pacific region. Li’s previous roles include Director of Investments and Asset Management at Pro-Invest Group, where she spearheaded the acquisition and due diligence processes for the group’s hotel transactions. With a proven track record in financial feasibility analysis and strategic advisory, Li’s expertise significantly enhances THSA’s capabilities.
Ruwan Peiris, with a distinguished career spanning major multinational corporations such as Accor, Marriott, Nikko, and IHG, adds a wealth of experience as a senior hotel executive. Peiris’s expertise extends across various segments of the hospitality industry, including luxury, mid-scale hotels, convention centers, golf courses, restaurants, and spas. Renowned for his ability to drive revenue growth and deliver sustainable financial outcomes, Peiris’s insights will be invaluable in navigating the complexities of the evolving hospitality landscape in the Asia Pacific region.
With the addition of Li and Peiris, THSA’s team now comprises eight professionals who collectively boast an impressive track record of over 800 assignments spanning six continents.
The expansion of THSA’s partnership comes at a time of renewed optimism for the Asia Pacific hospitality sector, with the region experiencing its first full year of ‘normal’ trading since 2019. Factors such as unrestricted travel, recovering air capacity, declining inflation, and robust stock markets worldwide have set the stage for heightened hospitality transactions, which are expected to reach the highest levels in over five years, as global groups look for opportunities to cement their market position.
Commenting on the expansion, Rodger Powell expressed confidence in the opportunities presented by the Asia Pacific region in 2024 and beyond. He emphasised the importance of strategic advisory in helping hotels and their owners optimise their potential for profitability amidst evolving industry trends.
He said: “The opportunities in 2024 and beyond across the Asia Pacific region are extraordinary, but so are the challenges, and with Ruwan and Mina joining the THSA team, I believe we can help hotels and their owners enhance their reputation, potential and profit.
“There are interesting trends that require careful navigation. Global brands are expanding dramatically, but guest demands are for more individuality and localism. The industry has changed enough to enable both globalism and localism to work in the same package, as long as the hotel has the right advice and strategy.
“With the surge in new developments as well as transactions, hotels will increasingly struggle to stand out from the crowd and establish their own position. Mina, Ruwan and I have been tasked with such scenarios for decades, and each of us has a proven track record in delivering the results.
“That can be from providing investment strategy, development support, operational performance support to asset repositioning. We are totally independent and unaligned, so our advice is specifically relevant to the property, its owner and its market environment. Often one-off project advice becomes longer-term retained advisory support.
“What we do differently is to integrate consumer insights within investment, development and operational advice that continue to deliver above-market returns. The greatest value to our clients is our diverse experience as owners, operators and managers of hotels, restaurants and bars, attractions, and all levels of accommodation, coupled with insights gained from years of consulting worldwide.
Collectively, these foundational pillars form the holistic approach that has become THSA’s hallmark. This is the THSA difference.”
With its holistic approach and unwavering commitment to client success, THSA remains poised to drive growth and innovation in the Asia Pacific hospitality sector in the years to come.
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