traded as set dtc industry hospitality founded 1948 founder thanpuying chanut piyaoui headquarters bangkok thailand number of locations 29 key people chanin donavanik ceo services dusit thani college le cordon bleu devarana spa net income 245 111 940 baht 2009 1 divisions dusit thani hotels and resorts dusit princess hotels and resorts dusit d2 hotels and resorts dusit residence serviced apartments dusit devarana hotels & resorts website www.dusit.com dusit thani hotel rama iv road bang rak bangkok the dusit thani group of companies also known as dusit international is a thai multinational hospitality company headquartered in bangkok thailand . founded by thanpuying chanut piyaoui in 1948 the company is now led by her son chanin donavanik . 2 as of 2016 dusit international has 29 properties located in thailand united arab emirates united states china maldives philippines india egypt and kenya . its brands include dusit thani hotels and resorts dusit princess hotels and resorts dusitd2 hotels and resorts dusit residence serviced apartments and devarana hotels and resorts . contents 1 history 2 hotel brands 3 references 4 external links history edit the group s origin dates back to 1948 when thanpuying chanut piyaoui opened her first hotel the princess in bangkok . 3 it had only 30 rooms but had the distinction of being the first modern hotel in bangkok with a swimming pool . the company takes its name and much of its character from the ideas of king rama vi whose thoughts on the modern state blended western and thai influences . 4 in 1918 he created a utopian miniature city near lumpini park and named it dusit thani meaning town in heaven . in thai dusit is the mythological name for the fourth of the seven levels of heaven . in 1970 the dusit thani bangkok became the company s first flagship hotel . the 510 room hotel was the first 5 star hotel and the tallest building in bangkok for several years . 4 in 1987 dusit acquired a hotel which was renovated to become the first resort property dusit thani pattaya followed by another beach resort in phuket dusit thani laguna phuket . 5 in 1989 dusit thani hua hin opened earlier known as dusit resort and polo club . 5 royal princess chiang mai was opened in chiang mai capital of the north in 1991 followed by a second northern hotel in chiang rai dusit island resort chiang rai opened the same year . in 1995 dusit international acquired the hotel nikko manila 6 by purchasing shares in the holding company philippine hoteliers inc. phi from japan airlines development company limited and jal trading inc. after the acquisition the hotel nikko manila came under the management of dusit thani hotels & resorts and was renamed the dusit hotel nikko manila . 7 the manila hotel underwent a major renovation programme and became dusit thani manila in april 2008 . 8 it is known for the supreme court ruling on illegal strike which considered the shaving of heads by the employees of dusit hotel as tantamount to committing strike . the issue has been protested widely in the philippines especially with the international labour organization s findings that the philippine government and the supreme court violated the workers right to freedom of expression and association and redefined the meaning of strike . 9 in early 2001 dusit thani dubai opened adding the middle east to the dusit portfolio . in 2005 dusit set up the middle east regional office also in dubai covering the gulf cooperation council member countries . 10 in november 2006 dusit thani hotels & resorts added a brand extension the dusit lifestyle collection with dusitd2 hotels & resorts . dusitd2 is the second generation brand of dusit thani hotels & resorts . 11 12 the first property in the dusitd2 collection opened in november 2006 in the historical city of chiang mai . 13 the second dusitd2 hotel dusitd2 baraquda pattaya was officially launched in february 2009 . in addition to the dusit sub brand extension the company introduced dusit residence serviced apartments . pearl coast premier hotel apartments dubai united arab emirates was opened in january 2007 14 followed by dusit residence dubai marina united arab emirates in 2008 . dusit international portfolio also includes dusit princess hotels & resorts . the rebirth of the spirit of the original princess hotel came with the 1989 opening of the royal princess larn luang bangkok 15 a boutique style hotel opened near the city s grand palace . there are currently 7 dusit princess hotels & resorts in thailand . 16 the first dusit princess outside thailand dusit princess city centre dubai opened in december 2009 . 17 in 2007 dusit entered into a joint venture agreement with bird hospitality services bhs a wholly owned subsidiary of bird group to bring the collection of dusit international property brands to india . 18 the first property in the dusit devarana collection opened in 2013 in new delhi . the 50 room hotel features a 330 foot long pool as the centerpiece . 19 in 2014 dusit thani introduced its second devarana property signing of an agreement with zhuzhou nature real estate development company . 20 the dusit devarana hot springs & spa resort zhuzhou is set to open in 2019 which features 150 rooms and villas with each villa boasting a private hot springs pool . dusit thani dongtai was the very first dusit thani to launch in china . 21 22 dusit thani fudu qingfeng and dusitd2 fudu binhu hotel also opened in 2016 followed by dusit thani dongtai . dusit thani has announced to open three more hotels in china as well as 45 other projects in the pipeline including dusit thani abu dhabi 23 dusit residence west bay doha dusit thani dilmunia bahrain and dusit thani jeddah . 24 in october 2014 dusit international partnering with maxsen world signed a deal with springfield land corporation to build the dusit thani brookwater golf and spa resort in queensland australia . 25 the construction of the resort started in mid 2016 and is scheduled to complete in 2019 . the 550 million project includes 520 residential resort apartments a tennis stadium to host international tour events a water park a retail emporium an aquatic centre designed to commonwealth games standards a convention centre set to host business conferences ballroom day spa gymnasium restaurants and resort retail indoor and outdoor recreational and leisure facilities as well as recreation clubs a wedding chapel and man made beach . 26 the group s other business are hotel management of both thai and overseas properties and education through the dusit thani college and a bangkok culinary school joint venture with le cordon bleu of france . in 1993 thanpuying chanut founded the dusit thani college . 27 in 2009 it initiated a programme with lyceum of the philippines university . additionally the college opened its new campus in pattaya in 2011 . 27 in august 2007 the le cordon bleu dusit culinary school opened making it the first of its kind in the southeast asian region . 28 besides these the dusit executive development center dedc was established in 2005 as a subsidiary of dusit thani public co. ltd. to provide executive training and development courses to individuals and various organisations . 29 hotel brands edit dusit international is a member of the preferred hotel group . dusit international comprises five hotel brands dusit thani hotels & resorts dusit s second generation dusitd2 hotels & resorts dusit princess hotel & resorts dusit devarana hotels & resorts and dusit residence serviced apartments . it also operates its own signature devarana spa . hotel resort dusit brand city country ref s dusit devarana hot springs & spa conghua devarana guangzhou china dusitd2 fudu binhu hotel d2 changzhou china dusit thani dongtai thani jiangsu china 30 dusit thani fudu qingfeng thani qingfeng china dusit devarana new delhi devarana new delhi india dusitd2 nairobi d2 nairobi kenya dusit thani lakeview cairo thani cairo egypt dusit thani maldives thani baa atoll maldives dusit thani manila thani makati philippines dusit thani bangkok thani jiangsu thailand dusit thani hua hin thani jiangsu thailand dusit princess korat princess korat thailand dusitd2 chiang mai d2 chiang mai thailand dusitd2 phuket resort d2 phuket thailand dusit princess chiang mai princess chiang mai thailand dusit princess srinakarin princess srinakarin thailand royal princess larn luang princess larn luang thailand pathumwan princess mbk centre princess bangkok thailand dusit island resort chiang rai thani chiang rai thailand dusit thani laguna phuket thani phuket thailand dusit thani krabi beach resort thani krabi beach thailand dusit thani pattaya thani pattaya thailand pearl coast apartments princess dubai united arab emirates 31 dusit thani abu dhabi thani abu dhabi united arab emirates 23 dusit residence dubai marina thani dubai united arab emirates dusit thani dubai thani dubai united arab emirates dusit thani brookwater golf and spa resort thani queensland australia dusit thani residences davao future residences davao phiiippines dusitd2 bgc future d2 taguig philippines dusitd2 davao future davao davao philippines dusit princess cebu future princess cebu philippines dusitd2 kenz hotel d2 dubai united arab emirates dusitd2 hotel constance pasadena d2 pasadena united states dusit thani guam resort thani guam united states 32 references edit annual report 2009 pdf thailand s first lady of hospitality . tourism insider . october 25 2009 . retrieved april 23 2016 . thanpying chanut piyaoui 35 most influential thais pdf . the nation . july 1 2006 . retrieved april 23 2016 . a b why shouldn t i be the one to build it . november 21 2007 . retrieved april 23 2016 . a b dusit international one of asia s leading hotel brands . retrieved april 23 2016 . asian hotel chains . april 11 2012 . retrieved june 16 2016 . the history of dusit hotels . retrieved 16 june 2016 . dusit international one of asia s leading hotel brands . tourism insider.com . tourism insider . 30 september 2011 . retrieved 16 june 2016 . outrageous and erroneous supreme court ruling on dusit hotel case discussed in church labor conference congress . retrieved 16 june 2016 . thailand dusit on expansion drive in middle east region . gulf times . april 1 2014 . retrieved april 23 2016 . dusit thani town in heaven . march 30 2008 . retrieved 16 june 2016 . dusitd2 hotels resorts dusit lifestyle collection . 18 january 2008 . retrieved 16 june 2016 . dusit unveils new brand in chiang mai . hotel business review . november 30 2006 . retrieved 16 june 2016 . company update dusit international . 25 august 2014 . retrieved 16 june 2016 . dusit international asia s leading hotel brands . 25 october 2009 . retrieved 16 june 2016 . dusit princess hotels & resorts . retrieved 16 june 2016 . dusit international opens dusit princess city centre . www.khaleejtimes.com . khaleej times . 2 december 2009 . retrieved 16 june 2016 . dusit international proudly announces dynamic expansion projects . hospitality.net . 8 may 2007 . retrieved 16 june 2016 . dusit bird hotels to open its first hotel in new delhi in september 2010 . april 16 2010 . retrieved 16 june 2016 . dusit aims high in china . china s first dusit thani hotel debuts in jiangsu province . dusit international to open first property in china . businesstraveller.com . 12 november 2009 . retrieved 16 june 2016 . a b hotel insider the dusit thani abu dhabi . the national . november 14 2013 . retrieved 16 june 2016 . dusit enters saudi in joint venture . arabianindustry.com . 12 april 2015 . retrieved 16 june 2016 . 550 million dusit thani brookwater golf resort and spa makes splash on market . theurbandeveloper.com . 16 october 2015 . retrieved 7 august 2016 . work to start on brookwater luxury resort . the queensland times .