Once a toxic wasteland, now one of the world’s best-known luxury hotels: Banyan Tree Resorts

Image from Banyan Tree Hotels and Resorts

I bet you would never imagine that the luxury hotel you’re staying in originated from an abandoned tin mine. You probably thought it was built on a beachfront or coastal land. In the 1980s, Phuket, Thailand, was known for its beautiful beaches, but not in Bang Tao Bay. There was a lot of mining and pollution in that area, so it was deemed unusable. However, Ho Kwon Ping and Claire Chiang saw the vision of creating this toxic wasteland as a chance to create a new kind of travel experience for tourists—one where there would be a balanced mix of sustainability and luxury. Since then, they have been known as Banyan Tree Resorts. They’re known as a luxury hospitality brand that has created 70+ resorts in 23 countries. Today, we will learn their origin story and how they have progressed to survive in today’s economy.

Image from Banyan Group Residences

Before this started, Ho Kwon Ping was a young journalist and activist at Stanford University. Although he attended one of the world's most elite schools, he was later expelled due to his participation in the protests of the Black Students Union against William Shockley. This controversy stretched from the 1960s to the 1970s and was based on William Shockley’s racist and eugenicist views. One of his views even included advocating for the voluntary sterilization of Black women. In addition, in 1977, Ho was arrested for writing politically sensitive articles and had violated Singapore’s Internal Security Act. When he exited jail, he took over the family business in factories, but later realized he wasn’t into this; he wanted to make an impact. He went on vacation with his wife, Claire Chiang, to Phuket, Thailand, and stumbled upon the area of Bang Tao Bay. They found the land beautiful, so they bought the plot because it was relatively cheap. However, shortly after their purchase, they discovered it was an abandoned tin mine, and it was so toxic that nothing could grow on it! Even the fishers had warned them that nothing would ever live there.

Obviously, with these warnings, most people would normally walk away. However, Ho Kwon Ping and Claire saw some clear potential in this plot of land. They decided to work with scientists to grow trees and improve the soil to revive the land. In 1987, they called this big project Laguna Phuket, a resort project. However, they had a big problem: it was a piece of land that didn’t have a beach, as most resorts have the reputation of having a beach within their premises. So that’s where the couple created the concept of each villa being a private pool villa instead of standard rooms. In addition, they created the idea of an Asia-cultured spa instead of the usual European approach. They made employees walk barefoot—a sign of respect in Asia—as well as using local healing techniques and Asian cultural attire. When they opened, their gamble paid off, and they were known for setting new global standards for a resort. With everybody liking their resort, they decided to double down and expand to many other countries: Bali, the Maldives, Morocco, the Seychelles, and Mexico.

As a long-standing resort, Banyan Tree has been through its fair share of challenges over the years. The financial crises in 2001 and 2009 hit the travel industry hard, and the SARS outbreak in 2003 only worsened things. Then, in 2004, the Indian Ocean tsunami struck—impacting nine of their 20 resorts at the time and badly damaging their flagship properties in Phuket. But instead of just rebuilding and moving on, Banyan Tree saw a bigger opportunity. They decided to make sustainability a core part of who they are. They launched the first-ever resort-based marine lab in the Maldives, inviting experts to help educate guests and locals about marine conservation. And in 2007, they took things further by opening a conservation lab in Bintan to focus on protecting biodiversity. These efforts weren’t just about recovery—they were about building a better, more responsible future for travel.