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1. Firm Predicts Budget Hotels Segment Growth
The global budget hotels market is predicted to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 4.1% between now and 2032, according to research from Allied Market Research in its latest report. That growth will increase the value of the sector to $430.9 billion from the current value of $276.3 billion.
The research said that the segment is continuing its success due to a “growing number of budget-conscious travelers, the rise of online booking platforms and increasing travel and tourism.” It added that the segment is poised to expand in emerging markets and that “the limited-service hotels segment held the highest market share in 2022, accounting for nearly half of the global budget hotels market revenue and is estimated to maintain its leadership status throughout the forecast period.”
2. Brookfield Places Conrad Seoul On Market For $370 Million
Toronto-based Brookfield Asset Management has put the 434-room Conrad Seoul in the South Korean capital up for sale for approximately 500 billion Korean won ($370 million), more than $850,000 per key, according to Korea Economic Daily.
The KED added that the “alternative asset manager acquired the International Finance Center Seoul, comprised of the [Conrad], three office towers and a shopping mall, at 2.55 trillion Korean won [approximately $1.8 billion] from American Insurance Group in 2016.”
3. Keppel Sells Myanmar Sedona Hotel For $57 Million
Singapore-based real estate management firm Keppel Corp. has sold the 789-room Sedona Hotel Yangon, in the capital of Southeast Asian country Myanmar, for approximately 76 million Singapore dollars ($57 million), according to a news release.
Keppel Corp. said its subsidiary Greenfield Development had completed the sale to a peer Singaporean hotels firm Spring Blossom Ventures.
When the hotel was opened in 1996 on the shores of the city’s Inya Lake, it was considered to be the country’s first international-standard hotel and was for a while the tallest building in Yangon. A new wing was added in 2015.
The sale comes despite Myanmar’s increasing isolation from the world stage following resumption of dictatorship in the country's leadership and geopolitical unrest.
4. Moody’s Joins S&P in Upping UK Credit Rating
Credit rating agency Moody has dropped its “negative” rating of the United Kingdom, stating that the country’s “policy predictability has been restored,” according to the BBC. The move comes six months after peer agency S&P Global did the same, which was six months after the “mini budget” presided by the short-lived government of former Primer Minister Liz Truss resulted in a marked economic fall.
Moody's said Brexit still plays a part in its thinking, adding that it is heartened by the “U.K.'s more conciliatory approach to EU trade … [and] chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s decision to reverse most of his predecessor’s tax cuts,” but it added that “increased friction due to Brexit had slowed the U.K.’s bid to reduce inflation,” which it sees returning to its 2% target in 2026.
5. China Hotel Giant H World Grows Revenue Over 2019
H World Group, China’s second-largest hotel firm by hotel count, has marked one year of increases in revenue-per-available-room growth over 2019 numbers, according to its latest earnings report for the third quarter of 2023. The company currently operates 9,157 hotels and 885,756 rooms.
RevPAR for the three months ending Sept. 30 “recovered to 129% of the 2019 level,” the company stated. RevPAR in July, August and September 2023 recovered to 132%, 128% and 128% of the 2019 levels, respectively. H World Group said RevPAR growth has been driven by average daily rate, but “occupancy rate recovery also improved sequentially.”