HotelNewsNow.com each week features a news roundup from a different region of the world. Today’s compilation covers the Asia/Pacific region.
Regional hotel performance
In year-over-year measurements, the Asia/Pacific region’s occupancy ended the month virtually flat with a 0.2% decrease to 64%, its average daily rate increased 13.5% to US$138.54, and its revenue per available room jumped 13.3% to US$88.72.
Thailand’s supply/demand woes
Tourism in Thailand has bounced back strongly since the global meltdown of 2009, despite continuing economic doldrums in Western countries and Thailand’s continuing political instability.
New source markets have momentum, tourism revenue was up 8% last year and more than 18,000 hotel rooms will enter the market within the next three years. Yet the mood in Bangkok recently at TravelTrends.biz’s “No Vacancy” conference was cautious—even somber.
“There’s a disconnect between luxury hotels and growth in mass tourism,” said Bill Barnett, managing director of Phuket-based consultancy C9 Hotelworks. “There’s a disconnect when it comes to infrastructure in Thailand. And the reality is that a wholesale market is a different model. These people aren’t booking online.”
Australia’s investors focus on Sydney, Brisbane and Perth
According to Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels’ most recent Hotel Investor Sentiment Survey, investors are circling for hotel investment opportunities around Australia with Sydney, Brisbane and Perth attracting the most interest on the back of anticipated strong trading growth over the short to medium term.
“The post GFC trading recovery is well underway and market conditions are expected to strengthen over the short and medium terms. Localised supply and demand market dynamics will once again dictate the pace and extent of growth,” said Craig Collins, CEO - Australasia, Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels.
Sydney continues to rank highest out of the Australian markets for positive short term trading expectations with a net balance score of +53.2%. Sydney’s nominal RevPAR has surpassed the 2008 peak and continues along its strong growth trajectory. Trading sentiment is even stronger over the medium term at +62.8%.
“The positive trading outlook for Sydney is reflective of an accommodation market which is facing considerable capacity constraints and little drive to build with hotel construction continuing to be held back by market forces,” said Collins.
Trading expectations for Melbourne are quite positive over the short (+35.5%) and medium terms (+50%) driven by strong corporate travel and a major events calendar.
Collins noted: “Melbourne is one of Australia’s most solid trading markets. Investors have great confidence in this market, particularly after it recently absorbed new supply increases with apparent ease.”
Brisbane hotels continue to trade solidly in the wake of the January floods, driven primarily by corporate travellers. The medium term trading expectations are quite strong at +37.5%.
Marriott sets up customer service in China
Marriott International recently opened its first dedicated Global Reservation Sales and Customer Care Centre in China, located in the Pearl River New City district in the city of Guangzhou. This facility will service Marriott Worldwide reservations, customer care and Marriott Rewards for the company’s hotels throughout greater China.
Notable deals, openings
• Best Western International signed on its newest hotel in Thailand, The Grand Howard, in the capital city of Bangkok.
• Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide announced that its Sheraton brand will open seven more hotels in China before the end of September. This summer, Sheraton will open its second hotel in Beijing, its second in Xian, and its first in Chongqing, Yantai, Guangzhou, Zhenjiang, Wanning and Hangzhou.
• 8Hotels acquired the Portal Hotel Brisbane, a near new 86-room boutique hotel in central Brisbane. The property will join the upper scale Diamant collection of properties and will be rebranded Diamant Hotel Brisbane on 1 August.
• 8Hotels entered into a definitive long-term management agreement to operate a 96-room Pensione Hotel in Perth, Western Australia.
• Fairmont Hotels & Resorts announced a new property scheduled to open in 2014 in Taiyuan, a historic city in Northern China and the capital of Shanxi Province. Shanxi Jun Lian Real Estate Development Company Limited is developing the Sumeru project, a mixed-use development featuring luxury residential accommodations, a 7,000-square-meter private club and retail facilities in addition to the 330-room hotel.
• Hyatt Hotels Corporation announced that a Hyatt affiliate has entered into an agreement with Bahagia Investment Corporation (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd to manage the 412-room Grand Hyatt Kuala Lumpur. The hotel is under construction and is expected to open in 2012.
• Langham Hospitality Group announced Eaton Smart, New Delhi Airport—India’s first transit hotel. The 93-room hotel is now open inside Terminal 3.
• Accor’s Sofitel Luxury Hotels announced the opening of its first address in Guangzhou in southern China with the 493-room Sofitel Guangzhou Sunrich, increasing its network to 20 locations in the country.
Compiled by Stacey Higgins.