Phuket Post :: Article :: Business Profile

One of the most gently staggering things about Trisara is just how relaxed a resort it is.

Amongst the world�s most prestigious luxury bijoux, designed and created for the world�s top guests, it is one of the least pretentious.

This is in no small way due to the debonair yet laid-back personality behind it, entrepreneur Anthony Lark.

Anthony was the General Manager at the Amanpuri, the signature resort of the luxury hotel chain Aman Resorts, when it opened 19 years ago.

Anthony�s flair and dedication during his 12-year tenure at Amanpuri put Phuket securely on the map for every sophisticated traveller in the world.

Yet three years ago, Anthony took Phuket one pace closer to offering international guests one of the most exclusive hideaways in the world, by joining forces with Thai architect Mom Luang Tridosoyudh (Mom Tri) and Hong Kong based adventurer, Simon Murray to create Trisara.

Anthony is characteristically modest about his achievement.

�Mom Tri presented this prime piece of land on Phuket�s west coast.

Thirty-three individual pool villas plus twelve privately owned residential villas were each to have a complete view of the sea. This is unheard of in Phuket. And the resort would sit on a pristine, secluded beach,� he says.

That may be, but it is no secret that a resort�s success is down to the person who runs it and Anthony�s reputation went before him.

Coaxed a little, the 30-something Sydney-born hotelier continues, �It�s all about relationships, building relationships with everyone, looking after and caring for your staff, establishing easy-going business relationships with the international media and, last but not least, being natural with the guests.

�I don�t want to stay behind the scenes pushing paper. I enjoy being available for the guests and ensuring their comfort.�

Did Anthony see Trisara as a competitor or even an extension of Amanpuri?

�When we first opened at Trisara, I wondered if we could compete. But I came to realise it was not so much competition as a need to set a new benchmark for Thai beach resorts, to cater to the tastes of the new breed of discerning guests.

�That means private pools in all the villas and suites, hideaway plasma TVs in every villa, absolutely silent, cross-current air-conditioning, password-free WiFi that works seamlessly and custom 7-foot king-sized beds with lightweight duvets.�

Of course, Trisara is not only a resort. It offers villas for private ownership. Asked about any conflict of interests or obstacles to wearing two hats, Anthony was confident.

�Amanpuri was based upon exactly the same principle of resort management and villa ownership so it was not new to me.

�In the beginning, here at Trisara, we put our villas with all the renowned real estate agents on the island and frankly didn�t get a bite. Twelve villas were, however, sold almost overnight without any assistance from outside agencies,� continues Anthony.

�We rent the villas out if the owner wants us to, but almost in every case, the owner has fallen in love with the lifestyle Phuket has to offer and wants to visit whenever he feels like it without �sharing time� with those he lets to.

�Anyway, the most owners are not looking for returns on villa lets, but an overall capital investment. Prices for a three-bedroom villa are listed at around 262 million baht and for some this is their third or fourth home.�

International marketing plays a vital part in filling the hotel.

However, when asked with whom Trisara competes, instead of name-checking a couple of other Phuket places, Anthony responds with �Bali, the Maldives � but when you�ve been to the Maldives once�� leaving the obvious continuation hanging in the air.

�Simply,� he begins, �Trisara is not vying for position with other resorts in Phuket, but rather resorts of a similar exclusive standard in the world.

�Having top notch public relations companies representing you around the world is one of the keys to ensuring one receives the best publicity. We have a niche in the market and good PR companies strategically selected in the world target our guests and potential guests.

�Of course, �word of mouth� is the best PR you can have and only requires,� Anthony adds with his trademark chuckle, �maintaining standards.

�Running a resort is a never-ending work in progress, which must look effortless. You can never afford to let standards slip. You have to keep up staff training, change and update menus, adapt to different guest needs, keep things sexy.

�For example, you get your iPod when you check in, take it to the library, choose all the songs you want and have the staff upload them for you. The biggest challenge is choosing the music. Plugging the iPod into your suite�s Bose stereo is about as complicated as it gets here.

�It is a great challenge and there is never a dull moment. For example, we opened eight weeks before the Indian Ocean tsunami ravaged parts of the island. Our marketing had targeted America and Australia, markets that are, by tradition, the first to react and retreat.

�We had to turn things around very quickly and were fortunate enough to have got it right by focusing on the German and Korean markets, who barely batted an eyelid � as far as their choices of holiday destination went � over the tsunami. That gave us a head start in 2005.�

Anthony has known Phuket for more than two decades and has seen this Pearl of the Andaman, along with a handful of other general managers on the island, go through the highs and lows of running a resort and surviving the slings and arrows that are beyond one�s control, whether they be force majeur or market or political influences.

What was the future for Phuket did Anthony feel?

�The west coast is the coast that matters,� he states

�No-one can deny that � that�s where the sun sets and where the best beaches are. There�s nowhere left to build here on the west now. The large chains that are coming to Phuket have only the East coast and inland to build, and they will be fighting it out for the minority of guests who aren�t bothered by not being on the west.

�The future for Phuket though is good. I know our guests adore Phuket. Yes, of course, it is Trisara they return to time and time again yet they visit other places in the world too, places which perhaps can�t offer what Phuket can.

�And the future for Trisara? Well, I am � rather we � are never going to rest on our laurels. There is always room for improvement, even if everything is right.

�My policy of five days on, two days off led the way in Phuket. We retain and retrain staff, and have a laissez-faire attitude to them � if they do their job.

�Hey, so I see one of our service staff eating a croissant. Big deal. �Have some jam and butter; it�ll taste even better,� I�ll tell him, not like some of the � well, I won�t say the nationality, but very unlike some GMs. Give a lot to Trisara, and you get a lot in return,� says Anthony.

�I like it, the staff like it and so do the guests.�