The Nest Property Co, an arm of the Mahagitsiri family's PM Group, is branching out into the hotel business with plans to spend 2 billion baht to build two lifestyle hotels by 2023.

During the period, the company plans to continue developing one or two additional property projects a year.

Chief executive Ausana Mahagitsiri said the company will spend 800 million baht to develop a 150-room lifestyle hotel behind the Noble Ploenchit condominium project and 1.2 billion for a 250-room lifestyle hotel on a one-and-a-half rai plot in the Nana area.

The Nest has established two wholly-owned subsidiaries, The Nest Ploenchit Co and The Nest Nana Co, to handle hotels in those respective areas.

The Rosewood hotel group of Hong Kong will be hired to manage the properties under the Penta Hotel label.

Mrs Ausana said construction approval is being sought for the first lifestyle hotel, to be developed in the Phloenchit area. Once cleared, construction will take 24 months to complete.

After that, the company will start construction of its second hotel in Nana.

Room rates for the hotels will run from 2,000 to 2,500 baht a night. It's expected to take eight years for the company's hotel business to break even. Revenue from the two hotels is projected to contribute 10% of the total once they are fully operational, Mrs Ausana said.

"We are expanding into the hotel business because of the growing number of foreign tourists, while hotel supply in the Phloenchit area is relatively small," she said.

In addition to hotels, the company also plans to develop The Nest Sukhumvit 71, located near Phra Khanong skytrain station, by year-end.

This eight-storey, five-building project features 515 units. The project value is 2 billion baht. Presales of The Nest Sukhumvit 71, with a unit price of 2-4 million baht, begin this quarter. Construction is estimated to take 12-18 months.

Mrs Ausana said the condo market in 2018 is faring better than last year as the government further invests in key infrastructure projects, lifting consumer confidence and prompting more people to buy residences.

Many foreign investors from China, Singapore and Hong Kong have expressed interest in buying condo units in Thailand. This has lifted demand for condos in inner Bangkok and close to skytrain routes.

The company is looking for a location to develop a new condominium with a project value of 2 billion baht next year.

By year-end, the company expects to rack up 2.5 billion baht from sales of The Next Condominium projects on Sukhumvit 22, Sukhumvit 64 and Phloenchit, along with 1.8 billion-2 billion baht in presales from projects on Sukhumvit 64 and Sukhumvit 71.

The Nest jumped into the property fray in 2013 with The Nest Ploenchit and its 64 units, followed by The Nest Sukhumvit 22, a low-rise eight-storey condominium project with 316 units valued at 1.4 billion baht. In 2015, the firm launched The Nest Sukhumvit 64, valued at 1.6 billion baht and comprising 439 units.

The Nest Sukhumvit 64, on a four-rai site, is forecast to be completed next year.

For that project, 80% of the units have been reserved and sales activity is expected to end later this year. The project is being targeted at general investors and first-jobbers with income exceeding 30,000 baht a month.

PM Group still has two land banks on Rama IV spanning five rai. The company is conducting a feasibility studying for a mixed-used development there. The company has another three-rai plot on Sathon Soi 1.