Macau's Occupancy Rate Continues to Fall

The average occupancy rate of Macau’s hotels and guesthouses fell by -6.3 percentage points year over year in June to a very weak 39.1%. The worst thing about that is the result will be lower than that for July. The Macau Statistics and Census Service said the occupancy rate for 5 star hotels fell by -12.2 points to 31.9%. The total number of guests of hotel establishments also fell by -10.3% in June year on year to 421,000, with mainland guests down -11.9% to 315,000 and local guests by -5.6% to 78,000. For the first six months of 2022, the average occupancy rate of guest rooms of hotel establishments in Macau fell by -12.8 percentage points year on year to 37.6%, while the number of guests fell by -22.3% to 2,624,000. The way things looked in July and so far in August combined with increasing Covid rates across “Zero-Covid” China suggests the casinos may look back at the first half of 2022 numbers and wish for those results by the end of 2022.

Ascott Residence Trust is proposing to acquire nine quality serviced residences, rental housing and student accommodation properties across five countries from its sponsor, The Ascott Limited. The total capital cost was said to be S$318.3 million with the yield-accretive acquisition set to increase Ascott’s distribution by S$9.2 million. The acquisition is expected to strengthen ART’s presence in its existing markets. The assets are predominantly located in Asia Pacific with seven in Australia, Japan and Vietnam, two in France and the USA. Total number of units being acquired is 1,018 and the acquisition will grow ART’s total assets to S$83 billion. Post-acquisition, ART’s portfolio will exceed 100 properties with over 18,000 units across 47 cities and 15 countries. ART is acquiring three serviced residences – Quest Cannon Hill in Brisbane, Australia and La Clef Our Eiffel Paris in France that are on master leases and Somerset Center TD Hai Phong City in Hai Phong, Vietnam which caters mainly to corporate guests and has an average length stay of about 11 months. The five rental housing properties in Japan have typical lease tenures of about two years. They are in Kyoto, Osaka, Hyogo and Nagoya. In South Carolina in the US, ART is doubling its stake in Standard at Columbia, acquiring an additional 45% stake in the student accommodation property. The transaction is expected to be completed by November 2022.

Accor, Ennismore, and Funyard shared the early progress of their recently announced strategic partnership to develop the international lifestyle brand, JO&JOE, across China. The companies announced the brand’s first Chinese destinations with new ones underway in progressive communities within the key urban centers of Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Changsha, Xiamen, Chongqing, Zhangjiajie and Xian. The agreement between the three companies was signed in April 2022, establishing Funyard as Accor and Ennismore’s exclusive strategic partner of the JO&JOE brand in China with a plan to develop over 1,300 properties. Accor Greater China said that in just under four months they have completed the design concepts and signed multiple development agreements to bring the brand to some of the busiest communities in China. The companies have customized several elements so it is tailor made for the Chinese market. JO&JOE will be built or renovated as modestly-sized properties for accommodation as well as non-accommodation income streams such as locally appealing places to eat and drink as well as host for events.

Ennismore announced the opening of the first TRIBE hotel in Cambodia. The TRIBE Phnom Penh Post Office Square is a new creative hub where modern travelers and locals can relax with a like-minded community of entrepreneurs and adventurous travelers. The hotel offers a prime location in the Post Office Square District, bordered by heritage buildings, the Mekong Riverfront promenade and the historic temple of Wat Phnom. TRIBE is described as a new kind of hotel that offers not just accommodation but also acts as a social destination and collaborative space, a combination of a hotel and social hub. The TRIBE rooms come in six categories with a focus on functionality, style and comfort. TRIBE Phnom Penh Post Office Square has 260 edgy rooms, an outdoor saltwater pool, Workout Atelier and a rooftop that houses HEMISPHERE, an exciting culinary concept. The hotel is located 10 kilometers from Phnom Penh International Airport.

Boulevard Holdings, Inc. will not have new projects for the second half of 2022 but instead will focus on developing its Friday’s resorts in Puerto Galera and Boracay in the Philippines. One of the company’s projects is the land connectivity of its Friday’s Puerto Galera at Boquete island. BHI is set to complete that in the second half of this year and until May next year water installations, re-conditioning, engine replacements and re-roofing projects. Aside from upgrading its existing resorts, the company is planning to acquire land in Siargao for an amount not higher than P100 million. BHI is the owner of Friday’s Holdings Inc. which operates Friday’s Boracay Beach Resort in Aklan. It is also the beneficial owner of the 45.46% equity in Friday’s Puerto Galera, the owner of Friday’s Puerto Galera Beach Resort in Oriental Mindoro.

Personnel Moves

Star Entertainment Group announced the addition of two new non-executive directors to the board. That includes former Crown Resorts director Anne Ward. She had joined Crown’s board in January but stepped down after only six months following Blackstone Group’s acquisition of the company in June. She is a former commercial lawyer. The other person joining Star’s revamped board of directors is former Suncorp Bank CEO David Foster, a veteran chairman and non-executive director of several companies across the financial services, retail, government, education and professional services sectors. Foster is currently a director on several other ASX-listed company.

HVS Executive Search announced the appointment of Axel Stadler as vice president of their office in Hong Kong as Sofie Otto as director of administration Europe and Asia Pacific under the leadership of Florian Kittler, managing director – Europe and Asia Pacific. Stadler has joined HVS Executive Search as vice president based in Hong Kong and Kuala Lumpur. He has been living and working overseas for almost 20 years with HVS saying he has more than 10 years of top-management recruitment and business development expertise in Asia Pacific. Otto was promoted to director of administration Europe and Asia Pacific. She has been in data management for HVS Africa and will be keeping those previous responsibilities and adding new duties in Europe and Asia Pacific.

Rotana announced the appointment of Carole Gemayel as corporate director of environment, health and safety. Gemayel is said to have over a decade of experience in the industry with previous roles including area environmental, health and safety manager. Most recently she served as environmental, health and sustainability consultant and trainer, supporting several clients in Lebanon performing internal audits and spearheading improvement solutions.