Read the latest news from around the Asia-Pacific region.
Outside of the US, Global Hotel Occupancy Highest Since March 2020
Global hotel occupancy reached its highest level of the year, as well as its highest since March 2020, writes STR’s Chris Klauda, William Anns and Isaac Collazo. STR is CoStar’s hospitality analytics firm.
In the top 10 countries based on supply, occupancy amounted to 72.4%, its highest since the start of the pandemic. China and Japan led those gains on occupancy, with year-over-year increases of 22.4 percentage points and 12.5 points, respectively. Revenue per available room in China grew 116% year over year, and Japan followed closely with 93% RevPAR growth.
Morin Confident in Ability To Further Grow Accor Brands
In an interview at the 2023 International Hospitality Investment Forum with HNN’s Terence Baker, Jean-Jacques Morin, deputy CEO of the premium, midscale and economy brands division at Accor, said the return of Chinese travelers has buoyed the potential growth for Accor’s brands. The company revised its full-year 2023 guidance to reflect projected double-digit RevPAR growth between 10% and 14%.
“It translates the very dynamism of the regions in which we are and notably the recovery of Asia,” Morin said.
Global Travel Flows Show Which Markets Are Attractive to International Travelers
While Americans are returning to international travel, the U.S. isn’t seeing its own return of inbound international travel, writes Jan Freitag, national director for hospitality market analytics at CoStar.
“Rome and Paris stand out as European markets with strong appeal to leisure travelers,” Freitag writes. “American passenger counts increased over 10% in both markets compared to 2019. Amsterdam and London passenger counts from the U.S. are on par with 2019 results. Dubai and Frankfurt have almost fully recovered. Outliers are two markets in Asia — Hong Kong and Tokyo. Even though China is fully open to travelers, visitation to the mainland and Hong Kong is still depressed. In Japan, which also opened to foreign travelers more recently, international inbound passenger counts soared.”
Demand for Hotels in Japan Blossoms Once Again
Hotels in Japan are seeing a level of demand they haven’t experienced in years, reports HNN’s Dana Miller. The demand is due in part to events, such as the blooming of cherry blossom trees and the G7 Summit in Hiroshima.
"Japan is on many traveler's bucket lists and the fact that it has been one of the last countries to lift the restrictions has helped build momentum for months to come," said Carlos Tarrero, general manager of The Ritz-Carlton, Kyoto. "We are seeing tourists from all over the world, to be honest. For the time being, the demand is still affected by the flight capacity and the U.S. remains as one of the main markets for us, but we cannot single any market out anymore."
Deals, Developments, People on the Move
- Marriott International will open its largest Aloft-branded hotel, the 785-key Aloft Singapore Novena, with Singapore-based Hiap Hoe Ltd.
- A portfolio of three hotels — the 317-key Pullman Jakarta Central Park, the 140-key Ibis Saigon South and the 175-key Capri by Fraser — sold for $106.1 million.
- Sydney-based private investment group Virtical acquired the 34-key Adelphi Hotel for 25 million Australian dollars ($16.9 million).
- IHG Hotels & Resorts opened its first Voco Hotel in Japan with the 191-key Voco Osaka Central.
- United Arab Emirates-based FAM Holding PSC Group plans to launch the Al Mahra Maldives Resort, a $217.8 million investment project that will include 150 hotel units and chalets.
- Hotel brand Yotel will open its first hotel in Bangkok, Thailand, with a 250-key property in the tech-focused hub of Cloud 11.