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

Strengthening leisure and business travel are pushing Marriott International’s performance around the globe, but lockdowns in Great China are holding back hotels in the country, reports HNN’s Bryan Wroten.

The company saw RevPAR recovery in every region internationally except for Greater China, Marriott CEO Tony Capuano said during the company’s first quarter earnings call. It was there that RevPAR dropped significantly following lockdowns in several major cities, including Shanghai.

Hilton’s executives are keeping a watchful eye on China’s COVID-19 lockdowns, but President and CEO Chris Nassetta said during the company’s first quarter earnings call he’s optimistic hotel performance in the country will come back strong in the second half of this year, reports HNN’s Dan Kubacki.

"China is going to reopen for China at a minimum, not necessarily China opening for international arrivals," he said. "But as we saw in the early stages of the pandemic, when China got way ahead of the rest of the world, when China opens for China — 'in-China business' — our business does quite well and can recover very, very rapidly."

MGM Resorts International’s Las Vegas Strip properties and regional operations saw improving performance over the first quarter of 2022, but its properties in Macau in China continue to face headwinds, reports HNN’s Bryan Wroten.

China’s COVID-19 public health policies have created challenges for MGM Resorts’ two resort casinos in Macau, but the company’s market share was 13% higher than it has been historically and are positioned to capture premium mass business as demand returns, MGM Resorts President and CEO Bill Hornbuckle said during the earnings call.

Melbourne, Australia’s hotel industry reported its highest monthly rates on record thanks to the Australian Grand Prix, according to data from preliminary April 2022 data from STR, CoStar’s hospitality analytics firm.

Occupancy during the month reached 65.1% while average daily rate hit 238.30 Australian dollars ($169.05), resulting in RevPAR of 155.14 Australian dollars ($110.05). These represent the market’s highest occupancy since February 2020 and highest RevPAR since November 2019.

• Australia-based Oscars Hotels acquired the West Waters Hotel and Entertainment Complex, which includes the 98-room Mercure Melbourne Caroline Springs, for an undisclosed sum.
• Hong Kong investment manager Baring Private Equity Asia acquired the 487-room Hilton Sydney for approximately 530 million Australian dollars ($375.8 million), the largest hotel deal in the country’s history.
• Hong Kong-based Weave Living Real Estate and U.K. Virgin Islands formed a joint venture to acquire the 214-room Grand City Hotel in Hong Kong for 900 million Hong Kong dollars ($114.6 million).
• Vietnam’s Viva Land agreed to acquire the 134-room SO/ Singapore Hotel from Singapore-based Royal Group for 240 million Singapore dollars ($174.9 million).
• Australia-based Pro-invest Group acquired the Campbell5 Hotel in Canberra, Australia.
• Hong Kong-based Swiss-Belhotel International will expand its hospitality portfolio in Japan and other countries in Asia through a joint venture with Hong Kong-based Odyssey Group.

Editor’s note: Chris Nassetta serves on the board of directors of CoStar Group, Hotel News Now’s parent company.

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