Hotel News Now each week features a news roundup from a different region of the world. Today’s review covers the Asia/Pacific region.
Accor, China Lodging team up in China
Accor is joining forces with China Lodging Group as part of an effort to kick start development of the French company’s midscale and economy hotels in China, reports Hotel News Now’s Shawn A. Turner. The agreement will see Shanghai-based China Lodging take over Accor’s midscale and economy brands as part of a 70-year master franchise deal in China. The plan is for China Lodging to eventually develop 350 to 400 such hotels for Accor in the country. The deal is unlikely to close before the second half of 2015.
Hotel performance dips in November
The Asia/Pacific region’s occupancy during the month was down 0.4% to 72.2%; its average daily rate fell 3% to $115.70; and its revenue per available room decreased 3.4% to $83.48, according to data from STR Global, parent company of Hotel News Now.
Singapore to see strong performance
After a challenging 2014 when hotel occupancy rates fell, Cushman & Wakefield said it expects demand to recover in Singapore in the short term. Geopolitical tension in the region and a spate of aviation incidents last year dampened the demand for hotel rooms, with occupancy falling to 84.3% from 86% in 2013. But with Singapore celebrating its golden jubilee this year, coupled with the Southeast Asian Games, market watchers said they expect to see a 4% to 5% climb in tourist arrivals, reports Channel NewsAsia.
Upscale segment leads construction
The upscale segment accounted for the largest portion of rooms in construction (28.8% with 73,145 rooms) in the Asia/Pacific region, followed by the upper-upscale segment (26.1% with 66,173 rooms), according to December data from STR Global.
The region as a whole reported 2,390 hotels comprising 537,726 rooms under contract.
Skilled labor shortage plagues China’s hotel industry
The development of human resources has not kept pace with the development of hotels in China, according to research from the Chaplin School of Hospitality and Tourism Management at Florida International University. Titled “Managing growing pains of China’s relentless hotel development pipeline,” the white paper acknowledges a shortage of skilled talent in China’s labor pool, the perception of work within the service industry as a menial job among the Chinese, and that the country’s hotel owners do not necessarily make enough investments in talent acquisition and development. The paper recommends education, training and mentoring as possible solutions.
Louvre to add 4 in India …
Paris-based Louvre Hotels Group plans to open four new hotels in India by April as part of its expansion plans in the country, reports the Business Standard. Two will wave the 4-star Golden Tulip flag, one will be a 3-star Tulip Inn and one will be a 5-star Royal Tulip. The company also plans to open a 500-room Royal Tulip hotel in Bangladesh later in 2015. Louvre has 16 hotels in India under the 5-star Royal Tulip, 4-star Golden Tulip and 3-star Tulip Inn brands.
… as does JW Marriott
JW Marriott Hotels & Resorts plans to open three properties in Greater China and one hotel in India by summer 2015, bringing the brand’s Asia/Pacific portfolio to 28 hotels and resorts with 11 in China and seven in India. By 2020, the global brand portfolio is expected to encompass 105 properties worldwide, 45 of which will be located in the Asia/Pacific region.
Chinese millennials increasingly picking pod hotels
China's minute capsule hotels are gleaning popularity with young travelers due to their affordable price tags, according to the Daily Mail. The Space Capsule hotel in Taiyuan in the Shanxi province is one of many to open up in China, after the trend for sleep pods began in Japan decades ago. Each room measures 4.3 feet by 6.6 feet, and costs just under £7 ($10.59) per night.
Deals and developments
- Hilton Worldwide Holdings and DoubleTree by Hilton opened the 427-room DoubleTree by Hilton Heyuan in China’s Guangdong province.
- The 261-room Radisson Blu Kashgar opened in the historic city of Kashgar in China's Xinjiang region in Western China.
- InterContinental Hotels Group signed a management agreement with PT Ciputra Puri Trisula, part of PT Ciputra Property Tbk, a leading property developer in Indonesia, to develop a 200-room InterContinental hotel in Jakarta.
- Marriott International opened its third hotel under the flagship Marriott Hotels brand in Hainan Province, China: the 458-room Sanya Marriott Hotel Dadonghai Bay.
- Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide opened two Sheraton branded hotels—Sheraton Xishuangbanna and Sheraton Zhengzhou—in the Yunnan Province and Henan Province of China.
- Building work began on Hong Kong Disneyland's third luxury hotel, with the 750-room Disney Explorers Lodge scheduled to open its doors to tourists by early 2017, according to a South China Morning Post report.
Compiled by Patrick Mayock.