China RevPAR Improves YoY But Falls Short of 2019

STR reported China lodging data for the week ended 9/24. Hotel RevPAR was up 5.1% year over year. When compared with the same week in 2019, RevPAR was down -21.5%. Absolute occupancy was 57.5% for the week compared with 52.1% in the comparable week last year.

The St. Regis Jakarta is set to debut on November 10, 2022, within Jakarta, Indonesia’s Golden Triangle District. The hotel will have 254 guest rooms and 28 signature suites. The St. Regis Jakarta will be home to eight culinary concepts, 2,762 square meters of flexible function space and all the St. Regis luxury amenities and signature rituals.

Shillong in India will be getting new hotels. The Crowborough Hotel, left abandoned for 36 years, was inaugurated as Taj Vivanta, Shillong on September 26. The other five-star hotel to be opened in Shillong, Meghalaya will be from Marriott, likely a Courtyard by Marriott.

Club Med said their three Japan properties are ready to welcome back guests. That includes the brand new Club Med Kiroro Peak, opening in December 2022. The ski-in-ski-out resort has 23 courses in the area with the highest snowfall in Japan. The resort offers Club Med’s first traditional Japanese onsen, Rotenboro outdoor open-air hot bathtub, saunas and a dedicated wellness hub. The renovated Club Med Sahoro Hokkaido completed its renovations in 2019, reflected in Club Med Sahoro’s rooms, reception, theater, dining and outdoor spaces. The third property is the Club Med Tomamu Hokkaido.

The Grand Ho Tram Strip casino resort in Vietnam believes a new multi-billion US dollar international air hub being built east of Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City should halve the current airport transfer time for international visitors there. The new airport is due to be finished in 2025 at Long Thanh, about 78 kilometers northwest of the Ho Tram Strip. The current air hub is about 112 kilometers away. That would make it less than one hour away from the casino resort. The property management thinks other casino resorts that are within 40 minutes of air hubs have an advantage over them.

IHG Hotels & Resorts announced the signing of a management agreement with Saudi Investment Group and Marketing Co, a wholly owned subsidiary of Ghazzawi Group, for its second Hotel Indigo in Jeddah. Hotel Indigo Jeddah will open in the first quarter of 2028 with 267 hotel rooms and 173 serviced apartments. The hotel will be developed as part of the SIGMAC mixed-use development on Prince Sultan Road. The development will include a premium hotel, residential, offices, retail and entertainment facilities. The hotel will feature a neighborhood café, lobby lounge, health club and swimming pool. Guests on business will have access to meeting rooms and printing facilities.

Rotana announced the soft opening of its first 5-star hotel in Dammam under the Rayhaan by Rotana brand. Dana Rayhaan by Rotana is in a prime location in the heart of the city. The property has 285 rooms and suites. The sixteenth floor of the hotel, guests who seek personalized services and added benefits will have access to a special stay at Club Rotana, Rotana’s “hotel-within-a-hotel” concept, offering dedicated rooms, suites and an exclusive lounge that reflects Rotana’s high-end luxurious standards the brand is well-known for. The hotel offers various culinary experiences, an outdoor swimming pool and more.

Fuwairit Kite Beach Resort, a kitesurfing resort on Qatar’s northern coast, will be opening its doors to the public next month. This is another resort set to receive guests as Qatar hosts the FIFA World Cup later this year. Fuwairit Beach Resort will have 50 rooms with eight connecting rooms. 40 of the rooms are facing the beach. 32 have king sized beds while 8 are twin rooms. The resort is being promoted as one of the world’s best kitesurfing secrets. Other facilities include a guest house, fitness center, beach volleyball, beach football, yoga pavilion convertible to a function hall and a soon-to-open outdoor cinema.