Shanghai ordered mass testing of all 1.3 million residents amidst another lockdown, Wuhan locked down 900,000 people for at least five days, while in Macau the MGM Cotai casino resort was locked down after a dealer tested positive. Macau also ordered citywide testing. Sadly, given the new and more transmissible Covid variants, this is going to continue if China maintains its strategy. It may seem odd but amidst all this in Macau, China’s immigration bureau said mainland residents would be able to use an online visa system from November 1 to travel to Macau. For now, there will be strict Covid testing procedures but we do see a glimmer of hope with the government saying one thing while their actions suggest another. In the meantime, expect the weekly STR numbers for China hotel RevPAR to continue to be extremely weak for the foreseeable future as the country struggles with yet another Covid outbreak.
Macau’s hotel occupancy rate plummeted to just 37.5% through the first nine months of 2022, a drop of -12.9 percentage points off of 2021 results, which were already weak. The Macau Statistics and Census Service said the number of hotel guests was down -25.5% year on year to 3,754,000 for the first nine months of 2022. This follows a drop of -11.9 percentage points in September 2022 year over year to 37.6%. The rate of four star hotels fell by -21.5 percentage points.
The hospitality sector in India is looking at rapidly adding managed hotels to its portfolio. Hospitality consultants believe hotels under development are unlikely to keep up with the increasing demand for hotel rooms. Hotelivate said there are about 59,000 new rooms proposed across the country in the next five years. 72%, or about 35,000 rooms, are under active development. The active development number has gone up by at least 10% when compared to 2020. In the upcoming hotel supply, about 6,800 rooms are going up in Bengaluru, followed by 5,400 rooms in Mumbai. They expect the demand for hotel rooms to outpace supply over the next five years with a shortage of the supply of hotel rooms in the country. There are currently about 150,000 branded hotel rooms with about 7,000 more added per year. Hotelivate said demand is surely going to outpace the 4.5% supply growth which should result in higher room rates. JLL recently said about 25,000 hotel rooms are expected to come up in the top 11 cities in India in the next five years. They believe Mumbai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad will easily absorb the new supply in the next five years.
Hong Kong-based Langham Hospitality Group has launched an upper midscale brand called Ying’nFlo. The first Ying’nFlo hotel opened in Hong Kong in the Wanchai district. Guest rooms have furniture adaptable to different uses. Hotel amenities include sturdy Wi-Fi, laundry facilities, smart home features, and breakfast. Langham Hospitality Group told Hotels Asia it’s in talks to secure multiple sites in Asia Pacific to develop Ying’nFlo. Next up is Xiamen, China.
Hyatt Hotels Corporation announced the opening of Grand Hyatt Shenzhou Peninsula in Wanning, Hainan. The oceanfront resort is set on Shenzhou Peninsula, located off the east coast of Hainan Island. The resort includes 262 guestrooms and suites, starting at 570 square feet. The resort also features unique kid-themed rooms and Grand Club guestrooms which have access to the Grand Club lounge, along with World of Hyatt Elite members. The resort includes a selection of dining options including the River Pavilion which will open next year featuring three unique dining and bar concepts. The resort features three swimming pools including an indoor pool, Grand Club pool and an oceanfront pool. Other offerings include a fitness center, mahjong and karaoke, Camp Hyatt kids’ club and more than 27,900 square feet of indoor and outdoor meeting and event spaces.
Capella Hotels & Resorts held the groundbreaking ceremony for Capella Yang Yang, their first entry into South Korea. The resort is being built at Songjeong Beach on Sonyang-myeon, Yangyang-gun, Gangwon-do. The luxury beach resort will have a total of 261 rooms, the largest wellness area in South Korea, five indoor and outdoor swimming pools, and various concept restaurants and convention halls. The project cost is about 830 billion won (US$584 million). The resort is expected to open by the second half of 2025. Mastern Investment Management is the business entity of the project with Mirae Asset responsible for financing. Ayumm is leading the business as project management.
Accor said they signed its first Mercure property in Cambodia in the country’s capital, Phnom Penh. The 200 room Mercure Phnom Penh Beung Keng Kong 1is set to open in 2027, joining Accor’s pipeline of four hotels across the country. Mercure Phnom Penh Beung Keng Kong 1 will be located in the city’s Beung Keng Kong district, a neighborhood featuring an array of restaurants, bars, shops and international schools. The hotel will offer a restaurant, bar, outdoor swimming pool, fitness center and spa, as well as a range of meeting and events facilities.
South Korean builder Daewoo E&C held a ground-breaking ceremony of Vietnam Hanoi Starlake B3CC1 Complex, a $500 million development project that involves two multipurpose 35 story buildings in the Vietnamese capital. The complex, at over 211,462 square meters of floor space, will comprise a hotel and offices. Korean hotel chain Hotel Shilla will be responsible for the operations of the hotel.
Anantara Lawana Koh Samui Resort’s recently renovated luxury residential compound offers an exclusive resort-within-a-resort experience. The private villa cluster has ample space to accommodate up to 15 adults with four King Bedrooms and one Twin Bedroom, located in one of Samui, Thailand’s most vibrant neighborhoods. The villas are described as being perfect for indoor/outdoor island living, with a partially open-air bathroom equipped with a rain shower and soaking tub and a private poolside sala.
The world’s first Jono Hotel has opened in Karon Beach, the chic seafront enclave on Phuket, Thailand’s sunset coast. JonoX Phuket Karon has 121 guestrooms ranging from the 21 square meter Recharge rooms to the more spacious 35 square meter RechargeX rooms. The resort has a rooftop infinity pool with the 360 Restaurant and Altitude Rooftop Bar. An intimate meeting room can host up to 10 people with the private room also doubling as a co-working space.
The Ayana Segara Bali, a new Ayana hotel inside the Ayana Estate in Jimbaran, will welcome its first guest on November 5. The 205 room hotel introduces a contemporary twist to the Balinese-inspired Ayana experience. The hotel is the fourth Ayana property inside the 90-hectare integrated Ayana Estate luxury community at Jimbaran, following the trio of Ayana Villas Bali, Ayana Resort Bali and Rimba by Ayana Bali, taking the total to 980 villas, suites and rooms. WATG, the firm behind the other Ayana properties in Bali and Komodo, designed the new Ayana Segara Bali. The resort features 205 rooms and suites with the rooms ranging from 58 to 65 square meters. The four suites are about 93 square meters with each room offering private balconies or terraces. There are three restaurants, event and function space, the largest indoor-outdoor pool in Bali and a rooftop pool at Luna Rooftop Bar. There are a total of 15 swimming pools across the Ayana estate. Ayana Spa, at 22,000 square meters, is one step away from Ayana Segara Bali.
Lemon Tree Hotels Limited announced the signing of a hotel in Haridwar which is expected to be operational by the end of calendar year 2024. Lemon Tree’s wholly owned management subsidiary, Carnation Hotels Private Limited, will manage the hotel. It will be located in the Jwalapur area of Haridwar and will have 50 rooms, a restaurant, gym, meeting rooms, along with banquets and public areas. Lemon Tree currently operates 8,400 rooms in 87 hotels in 52 locations. Once the current pipeline of hotels becomes operational, 10,950 rooms in 116 hotels in 71 locations in India and abroad shall be operated by the company. This follows the opening of two hotels in October, a 44-room Keys Lite by Lemon Tree Hotels in Sreekanya, Visakhapatnam and a 63-room Lemon Tree Hotel, Kalina in Mumbai.
