COMO Hotels and Resorts has disclosed a strategy to capture Thai luxury outbound travelers, coinciding with the launch of two new properties in France, COMO Le Beauvallon on the French Riviera and COMO Cordeillan-Bages in Bordeaux. The group is shifting from a destination-led sales model to a customer-centric regional structure anchored by a Jakarta-based ASEAN sales hub and a newly appointed Bangkok-based director for Thailand and Hong Kong.
Key Facts At A Glance
- COMO Hotels and Resorts is targeting Thailand’s luxury outbound market as part of a broader European expansion strategy
- Two new France properties launched: COMO Le Beauvallon, French Riviera, and COMO Cordeillan-Bages, Bordeaux
- Sales model being restructured from destination-focused to customer-centric regional structure
- An ASEAN sales hub in Jakarta anchors the new regional framework
- Bangkok-based Jocelyn Whiteside appointed global director of sales for Thailand and Hong Kong
- Strategy targets precision distribution through luxury travel advisors, DMCs, invitation-only communities, and luxury consortiums
- KOL and tastemaker collaborations are being explored to supplement advisor-led channels
- Established European properties including COMO Castello Del Nero in Tuscany, COMO Alpina Dolomites, and COMO The Halkin in London remain active parts of the Thai market offering
The Strategy Shift
COMO Hotels and Resorts announced on June 17, 2026, that it is stepping up efforts to attract Thailand’s luxury outbound travelers as it expands its European portfolio. The move follows the launch of two new France properties. COMO Le Beauvallon is a historic Belle Époque palace on the French Riviera that has been reopened and repositioned under the COMO brand. COMO Cordeillan-Bages is a new entry in Bordeaux, a market with strong resonance for affluent Thai travelers interested in wine and culinary culture.
Doris Goh, executive vice president, commercial, at COMO Hotels and Resorts, described Thailand as one of Asia’s most sophisticated luxury travel markets, characterizing Thai travelers as globally minded, culturally curious, and oriented toward experience-led rather than transactional luxury.
A New Distribution Architecture
Central to the restructure is a move away from destination-based selling, where properties are marketed individually, toward a customer-centric model organized around the Thai and broader ASEAN traveler. The operational hub for the ASEAN strategy is based in Jakarta, from which the group intends to address affluent outbound travelers across Southeast Asia and Hong Kong.
The appointment of Bangkok-based Jocelyn Whiteside as global director of sales for Thailand and Hong Kong represents the most visible structural change. Her mandate is to deepen relationships with bespoke travel advisors, destination management companies, invitation-only traveler communities, and luxury consortiums, channels Goh described as carrying greater influence over high-net-worth travel decisions than conventional mass-market advertising.
“The Thai luxury traveller remains highly relationship-driven, with trust, familiarity, and personalised engagement carrying far greater influence than traditional mass-market advertising. The strategic priority is therefore not volume distribution, but precision distribution, reaching the right affluent traveller through trusted luxury channels,” Goh said.
Broadening Beyond Advisors
COMO is also planning direct engagement with affluent Thai travelers through intimate client events, wellness talks, chef collaborations, destination showcases, and exclusive in-market activations. The group is exploring collaborations with Thai key opinion leaders, celebrities, and tastemakers as complementary channels alongside the advisor-led approach.
On DMC partnerships specifically, Goh noted that these relationships should move beyond transactional contracting. The group is pursuing joint client events, familiarization trips, and co-created culinary or wellness itineraries with Thai luxury DMC partners as a means of deepening the end-to-end influence those operators carry over high-net-worth guest journeys.
Existing European Portfolio
Alongside the two new France openings, COMO’s established European properties remain integral to the Thai market strategy. COMO Castello Del Nero in Tuscany, COMO Alpina Dolomites, and COMO The Halkin in London are cited as properties that continue to attract Thai guests seeking longer stays and wellness-centered escapes. Publicly available reporting does not include room counts, investment figures, or specific opening timelines for the two new French properties beyond their announcement alongside the strategy disclosure.