STEEPED INCULTURE
PROFILE
ANCHALIKA KIJKANAKORN
STEEPED INCULTURE
ANCHALIKA KIJKANAKORN ’ S AKARYN HOTEL GROUP PUTS A THAI SPIN
ON BAREFOOT LUXURY .
By BARBARA BOHN , MANAGING EDITOR
Akaryn Hotel Group founder Anchalika Kijkanakorn spent her early career in finance , staying in chain hotels that catered to business people . They all looked alike .
“ I was being posted everywhere from Singapore to the U . S . to finally in London for the best part of 10 years , and at some point I had probably had enough with the finance world , for lack of a better word , and I wanted to do something I could be passionate about ,” Kijkanakorn says . “ I wanted to do something where I could actually see the fruit of my own labor , so I decided to go home .”
Home is Thailand , and Kijkanakorn has built Akyra brand hotels , aimed at millennials , in Chiang Mai and Bangkok , and the more laid-back Aleenta brand , in Phuket and Hua Hin . The Akyra Beach Club Phuket is new , and The President by Akaryn will open in June in Ventiane , Laos , the first outside Thailand .
Her philosophy is simple : “ Each hotel that we create has to be true to the location .” Her first hotel , the Aleenta Hua Hin , opened in 2002 on land
owned by her family . She didn ’ t think many hotels in Thailand at that time reflected the country ’ s unique culture of hospitality , and having a website that emphasized that aspect helped attract international travelers willing to pay for the experience . “ In hindsight , the playing field was leveled for the little hotels . People back then were saying , how did she get that kind of pricing ?” she says . “ It was based on demand . It wasn ’ t based on the industry or the comp set .”
THINK LIKE AN OWNER Of the six properties , the company owns three and manages three . “ We ’ re able to think like an owner , not just a manager ,” Kijkanakorn says . “ We can be choosy about who we work with .”
The brands have evolved as her life has . In the early days , Aleenta was adults-only , but after she had children , “ all of a sudden Aleenta has a kids club , because I needed somewhere to park my kids while I go to the spa .” The club eschews video games and television for cooking and kick boxing .
46 hotelsmag . com April 2017