Read the latest news from around the Asia-Pacific region.

During Marriott International’s third quarter earnings call, CEO Tony Capuano said the company’s portfolio in the Asia-Pacific region, excluding Greater China, advanced more slowly than in other global regions, reports HNN’s Bryan Wroten. Results across countries were mixed, but hotels in India saw meaningful improvement as the number of COVID-19 cases decreased.

In Greater China, Marriott’s hotels saw mixed results given the country’s zero COVID-19 policy. It was the first market in which hotel revenue per available room returned to pre-pandemic levels a quarter ago, but demand fell significantly in August after the government imposed strict lockdowns in response to small regional outbreaks.

“Demand then swiftly rose again in September as soon as those restrictions were lifted,” Capuano said.

The hotel industries in seven Asia-Pacific markets reported profitability levels well below pre-pandemic levels, according to data from STR, CoStar’s hospitality analytics firm. Only Beijing was above 40% of the 2019 comparable.

“Only three of the region’s key markets reported positive profit conversion in September 2021: Singapore, due to quarantine demand, and Beijing and Hong Kong, which have remained resilient despite the delta variant outbreak,” said Jesper Palmqvist, STR’s area director for the Asia-Pacific region. “Sydney, of course, has been limited due to lockdowns, but with the reopening and allowance of international travelers underway in New South Wales, the market should soon return to positive profitability. Bali and Bangkok, on the other hand, remain further behind in the recovery cycle, with negative profit conversion at -55% and -44%, respectively.”

The lifting of lockdowns comes as relief to Australia’s hoteliers, reports HNN contributor Tamara Thiessen. The lockdowns, designed to curb the spread of COVID-19 cases, have also depressed hotel occupancy across the country.

Tourism Accommodation Australia CEO Michael Johnson said Greater Sydney hotel occupancies have plummeted to as low as 2% during the pandemic. Many hotels struggled to stay open, as business was “decimated,” he said.

“There were no leisure bookings, no international, no corporate,” he said, adding that thousands of staff have been without work, and the only hotels staying afloat were those used as quarantine facilities.

During Hilton’s third quarter earnings call, President and CEO Chris Nassetta spoke about the company’s launch of a Hilton Garden Inn franchise model in the Asia-Pacific region, reports HNN’s Stephanie Ricca. It is the company’s first do-it-yourself franchise plan in the region compared to the master franchise model it used with Plateno Group to develop Hampton by Hilton properties and with Country Garden for Home2 Suites.

“During COVID, we made some strategic investments to build out more infrastructure in order to take other brands in the Hilton family to franchise in China and do it ourselves,” Nassetta said. “It’s great to work with third parties and we’ll continue to do it but it’s also important we have that skill set ourselves. We’re building a good infrastructure to be able to take a lot of other brands [to China] and build the franchises the way we’ve done here in the U.S. and Europe.”

At the time of the call, Hilton had signed more than 100 deals to develop Hilton Garden Inn franchises in China.

Europe and the Asia-Pacific were two of four world regions to report an increase in hotel pipeline activity from September 2020 to September 2021, according to data from STR.

While the number of rooms in construction did not change from 478,193, the number of rooms in final planning grew by 5.3% to 178,195 rooms and in planning grew 16% to 288,277. The number of total under contract grew 5.4% to 944,615 rooms.

In the region, China has the most rooms in construction with 295,989, followed by Vietnam with 29,178

• Keppel Investment Management, the South Korean arm of Singapore-based real estate investor Keppel Capital Holdings, acquired the 250-room Sheraton Seoul D Cube for 131.7 billion Korean won ($117.9 million).
• Italy’s The Emerald Collection has acquired the Emerald Faarufushi Resort & Spa in Raa Atoll for an undisclosed amount.
• South Korea’s IGIS Asset Management signed a memorandum of understanding to acquire the 700-room Millennium Hilton Seoul for 1 trillion Korean won ($845 million).
• New Zealand-based CPG Hotels acquired the Pacific Tower in Christchurch with the intention of rebranding the 171-room The Rendezvous Hotel to its boutique luxury brand Fable Hotels and Resorts.
• Hong Kong-based Swire Properties Limited sold the 352-room East Miami hotel to a joint venture created by funds managed by U.S.-based Trinity Fund Advisors, an affiliate of Trinity Real Estate Investments, and funds managed by U.S.-based Certares Management for approximately $174 million.

Editor's Note: Chris Nassetta serves on CoStar Group's board of directors.

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