Macau Casinos Experience High Demand as Golden Week Approaches

GGRAsia said that 22 hotels associated with Macau casino complexes have their standard rooms sold out for at least three nights of the upcoming Golden Week. That was as of last Thursday. The rooms that are still being listed as available in some properties have hefty room prices of around US$400 a night.

Samhi Hotels has raised Rs 1,370 crore through its Initial Public Offering, issuing Rs 1,200 crore of new shares and up to 1.35 crore existing equity shares for sale. The proceeds of the IPO are expected to be about Rs 900 crore and will primarily used for debt repayment and general corporate purposes. The shares debuted on the BSE and NSE Friday, trading up 7% from the IPO price. Indian investors snapped up the IPO after a sluggish start, ending with the IPO oversubscribed 5.33 times on the final day of bidding. Blue Chandra Pte Ltd., the previous largest shareholder of SAMHI, sold 50% of its equity holdings in conjunction with the IPO. Blue Chandra is an affiliate company of US based Equity International.

Marriott International has opened the first Four Points by Sheraton resort in the Philippines with the Four Points by Sheraton Palawan Puerto Princesa. The 168 room hotel is located on the Sabang Beach. The resort offers various dining outlets, a showcase swimming pool, jacuzzi, fitness center and Kids Club indoor and outdoor playground.

Marriott’s Le Meridien Hotels & Resorts brand announced the opening of Le Meridien Phuket Mai Khao Beach Resort. The resort is nestled in the golden sands of Mai Khao Beach in Thailand. Following a refurbishment and a rebranding, Le Meridien Phuket Mai Khao Beach Resort features 244 bright and inviting rooms and suites. Room types range from 41 to 110 square meters in size and are designed in a contemporary local style with a balcony or terrace in every room and views of the gardens, pool or sea. A selection of family rooms with bunk beds are available and the newly-reimagined resort has also introduced new pool access rooms, private cabana rooms, two bedroom suites and private pool suites. The resort features an outdoor lagoon pool, children’s fun pool, kids’ club and outdoor activities. Various F&B options, event spaces and direct access to Mai Khao Beach are what is available to guests.

Hilton announced the opening of Hilton Maldives Amingiri Resort & Spa in the Maldives. The all-villa property is the fourth resort under the company’s portfolio of brands in the country. The hotel is owned by Amingiri Holdings Pvt Ltd and is managed by Hilton. Hilton Maldives Amingiri is directly accessible from Velana International Airport via a scenic 20 minute speedboat ride. The resort is nestled in Amingiri Island in the North Male Atoll and features 109 expansive beach and overwater villas, each offering a private pool and views of the surrounding turquoise lagoon. New concepts introduced to the Maldives via the resort include a rooftop lounge exclusive to teenage guests, a cocktail lab, to name a couple. The resort offers eight dining concepts and the Amingiri Spa.

Hyatt Hotels Corporation announced an affiliate has entered into an agreement with an affiliate of Holder East Ltd for a Hyatt House hotel in Melbourne, Australia. The 97 room Hyatt House South Melbourne is expected to open in 2025 and will mark the entry of the Hyatt House brand in the country. Construction is underway on the hotel which will offer a mix of room types such as studios and 1 bedroom residential-styled Kitchen Suites. The hotel will include an all-day lounge which will house the H Bar. There will be a 24/7 fitness room and communal spaces.

SoftBank and OYO parent, Oravel, have formed a new joint venture to launch a premium hotel chain in India. Both parties own 49.9% each of Mountainia which plans to introduce 5-star and 4-star hotels under the brand name ‘Sunday’ in growing Tier II Indian cities. The first will be Sunday Jaipur, opened in the city-center of Jaipur. The hotel features 90 rooms, a bar, restaurant, spa and meeting spaces. The joint venture expects to open four more Sunday hotels by the end of 2023. The Sunday hotel chain will be managed by Oravel while utilizing its operating entity, while capital investments will be provided by the JV.

OYO also said they launched a “Super OYO” program to recognize hotels that provide the most consistent and high-quality customer experience in the Philippines. Super OYO constantly analyzes each hotel’s performance on multiple parameters such as customer ratings and reviews, keeping maximum rooms operational consistently, smooth check-in experiences, among others. Super OYO hotels are required to maintain an average rating of 4 and above out of 5 by ensuring low cancellations and minimal negative feedback. Super OYO is one of multiple programs that OYO said they are working on to help customers find choices for the kind of stay they are looking for, provide relevant information to make an informed choice and ensure comfortable and hassle-free stays at highly competitive prices. There are 18 Super OYO hotels in the Philippines across cities such as Manila, Cebu, Davao, Makati City, Mandaluyong, Pampanga, Pasay, and Quezon City.

Mohegan said construction on the Inspire Entertainment Resort in Incheon, South Korea is 97% complete at the end of August. While they will open the non-gaming operations in 4Q, they hope to get their license in time for Chinese New Year on February 10, 2024. Mohegan said it anticipates the potential market size for the SK resort to comprise 4.7 million gaming trips annually, including both inbound visitors and foreign residents or dual passport holders. 1.8 million trips from Mainland China is what they are banking on. Mohegan said the total market value of their players would be US$1.83 billion a year of which US$1.24 billion will come from the premium direct segment.

Best Western Hotels said they are aiming to expand their presence outside the United States and capitalize on the fast growth in the Asia Pacific region. BWH only has 1,600 hotels outside of North America compared to 2,500 in NA. BWH plans to transform its acquired WorldHotels brand into a soft brand and focus on its strategic growth in international markets. BWH has prioritized the Asia Pacific region with 232 hotels in its international pipeline and 37 for WorldHotels. By focusing on strategic growth and evolving WorldHotels into a competitive soft brand, BWH aims to establish a significant presence in the Asia Pacific region and transform itself into a global brand

Bankrupt Japanese hotel chain Unizo Holdings has selected US investment fund KKR as its restructuring sponsor. KKR will likely take over Unizo’s Japan office building and hotel business. Unizo filed for bankruptcy protection in April with debt of US$849.40 million. The company initially chose Japanese private equity firm Nippon Sangyo Suishin Kiko as its restructuring sponsor but dropped them and restarted the bidding process.