AOT NULLIFY ACCOR CONTRACT FOR NOVOTEL HOTEL AND AIRPORT PROFITS DROP SHARPLY

As Accor group and Universal Hospitality Joint Venture were not qualified to win the airport hotel contract and AoT Airport of Thailand has decided to nullify this contract for airport hotel.Airport of Thailand found that the bidding terms for the management rights of the hotel prohibited a joint venture from vying for the contract because a joint venture is not a juristic entity under the Civil Code of Thailand and this could pose legal problems.Eight companies registered interest in bidding for the Suvarnabhumi hotel contract, they are Intercontinental Hotel Group, Marriott Hotel Group, Central Plaza Hotel group, Dusit Hotels group, AAPC Thailand, Amari Hotels group, Sheraton Overseas Management group, and the Carlson Group. Five submitted bids. Universal Hospitality Joint Venture, owner of Bangkok new Novotel airport was not among them.The authorities have yet to find out how Universal Hospitality eventually obtained the airport hotel management contract but suspect corruption by the previous prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, again.At the same time, high maintenance costs at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi airport and the reopening of the century old Don Muang airport have contributed to an 88 percent drop in quarterly net profit reported by the AOT Airports Authority of Thailand AOT.Also, huge repairing cost because of cracks caused by underwater found in the runway and taxiways doesn't help to get better results.