Banyan Tree was founded in 1994 by Ho Kwon Ping and his wife Claire Chiang. They spotted a land while they were on a holiday in Phuket. The location was on the coast of the Andaman Sea which the couple thought as an ideal place for a resort. The couple bought the land out of that pure awe with the beauty of the area. However, they discovered that the reason the land was not acquired by bigger developers before they ever did was because of its toxicity. The area was an abandoned mine whose soil is too poor to sustain any kind of growth, crop-wise and construction-wise. The couple didn’t give up and planned an entire rehabilitation program for the area so it could be back to its natural richness again.

After 10 years on 1994, they were able to build the first hotel under the brand on that area. Banyan Tree Holdings Limited became the official name of the collection of hotels that followed the initial establishment. In 2009, the couple has already made Banyan Tree Global Foundation as an extension to their experience in the beginning of their hotel venture. The foundation promotes corporate social responsibility which now remains an attached reputation to the hotel brand.