HOTEL GAHN

Brand Creation 2018-2019

Crossing over challenges

Hotel GAHN is a boutique hideaway in Khao Lak, Phang Nga Province, a popular destination for Thai and foreign travelers. Our challenges lay on the fact that the hotel situates on a small plot of land, at the city centre, with some distance from the famous seaside. Comparing to nearby competitors of similar prices and services, we had more issues to catch in the business.

Building unique strengths with passion

The hotel was composed upon the mother’s aspiration to create a social haven for her loved ones. Being a Chinese-Thai descendant or a ‘Baba’, the mother picked up from her heritage the family-like hospitality that spoke warmth and thoughtfulness to the guest’s first impression.

Capturing aspects of the hotelier’s core value – Baba culture and strong sense of family – Simplisis designed the brand, not only to reflect the corporate identity, but also to embody the cultural experience that connects the business to their most-appreciating guests. We were propelled to capture the immersive and sensorial local culture, and to show to the worthy travelers from Bangkok and overseas that this hotel could offer a special memory to their journeys like no other.

From family history to brand story

Working closely with the hotelier family, we grasped on their first ancestral narrative, the story of Kong, the grandfather, disembarking a Chinese argosy in Takua Pa District. The family’s value is instilled in the memoir of Kong – how he built up a new life, how he cared for his Baba family. These memories have been retold time over time, from generation to generation, and inspired the naming of Hotel GAHN.

Spaces in the hotel have been devised to recount different parts of Kong’s life. Scenes of Kong getting the first job as a juumpo or a chief cook in the galley decorate Juumpo Restaurant. When Kong invested his first savings on a grocer’s shop, his hospitality and the way he greeted his clientele is portrayed at the reception (“Gahn Thon Rab”). Guest bedrooms (“Gahn Non”) paint the loving and warm Kong sending his children to sleep every night. Lastly, the workshop space (“Gahn Baeng Pan”), where guests can learn about Baba culture through rotating activities, is lit with Kong’s compassion and mind of sharing.

The worth of value

Today, Hotel GAHN has become a preferred, constantly booked hotel, highly rated by Thai and expatriate vacationers. Comparing to the surrounding competitors, Hotel GAHN has enjoyed a higher occupancy rate and, more importantly, a large pool of return Thai customers and determined long-staying foreign customers. Simplisis is proud to co-create GAHN brand, communicating the deepest value of a brand, besides making a place marketable. We are rhapsodic to witness how this brand continues reshaping the way local people see, embrace and transmit their birthright cultures.