STR reported Chinese hotel data for the week ended October 7. Hotel RevPAR in China was up 77.2% year over year, driven by Golden Week. It was up against an easy -16.5% comp. When compared with 2019, RevPAR for the week was up 53.2%.
CoStar/STR also said Japan posted an elevated average daily rate of JPY18,507.46 in July, 126.9% of what was seen in July 2019. Japan has yet to reach fully recovery on hotel occupancy with July at 73.4% average compared to 88.3% in 2019. The first day of Marine Day, a three day long national holiday in Japan, had the highest occupancy of the month, 89.2% on July 15. That was the highest in Japan since December 15, 2019. August ADR and RevPAR did not exceed July’s figures with ADR of JPY19,438.40 (120.3% of 2019) and RevPAR of JPY14,717.34 (107% of 2019). August occupancy rates exceeded July figures with Japan hotels posting a level of 75.7%, which is 88.9% of pre-pandemic comparables. August 12th’s 87.2% was the highest occupancy level of the month, the night before the beginning of the Obon week and the second day of the three-day long Mountain holiday. August hotel performance was impacted by Typhoon No7 which hit on August 15th. Overall Tokyo and Osaka saw the same pace in ADR and RevPAR recovery in both July and August. Recovery was helped by a jump in international demand from South Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong.
Melbourne, Australia’s hotel industry reported a decline in RevPAR in September for just the second time this year, according to preliminary data from CoStar. Occupancy was up 1.4% year over year to 65.4% but ADR was down -4.5% to A$212.47. That resulted in a RevPAR decline of -3.2% to A$138.85. This is the second time in three months ADR has fallen year over year. The market’s highest occupancy levels were seen on September 30, the night of the AFL Grand Final 2023 with occupancy levels at 94.8%. Melbourne’s daily hotel occupancy levels remained above the 50% mark throughout the month, apart from two days. Occupancy on the books is showing October occupancy tracking on par to the same time last year.
Marriott‘s W Hotels brand announced the opening of W Sydney. The hotel is located in a dramatic curved structure rising over Darling Harbour, located within The Ribbon. W Sydney has 588 guestrooms, including 162 suites. The lobby is a social hub, with the Living Room embracing a ‘Future Noir’ theme, punctuated by an electric blue circular bar and nest-like seating that reference the Australian Bowerbird. W Sydney brings four new dining and bar venues across three levels. Once of them is at the WET Deck, the 30 meter open-air infinity pool from the W brand. Other signature W amenities include AWAY Spa and the FIT Gym. The hotel features 1,300 square meters of event space across eight rooms. Level five has the 592 square meter pillarless Great Room.
Adelaide’s skyline will be transformed with the GPO Hotel Marriott. The hotel construction just reached its Topping Out Ceremony phase, with the ceremony spearheaded by BESIX Watpac. The $200 million GPO Hotel Marriott is slated to open its doors in the first half of 2024. This is BESIX Watpac’s fifth venture in the South Australian residential and hotel sector in just over 10 years. Their global portfolio includes the Burj Khalifa and Royal Atlantis Resort in Dubai.
Lemon Tree Hotels Ltd. announced the opening of its fourth hotel in Jammu & Kashmir at Sonmarg. The 38 room hotel in Sonmarg will be managed by Lemon Tree’s Carnation Hotels unit, their management arm. Lemon Tree is now currently operating about 9,400 rooms in 96 hotels across 61 destinations.
Patong, in Phuket, Thailand, was the location of the grand opening of M Social Phuket. Situated in the heart of Patong, M Social Phuket combined trendy aesthetics, modern amenities, and seamless technology that will redefine the way travelers experience Phuket. The hotel is just steps away from Patong Beach, surrounded by trendy bars, shops and restaurants. The hotel has 418 Social Rooms and Suites. The hotel says they are set apart from the others by their innovative spirit, evident through the inclusion of Phuket’s first AI voice-controlled assistant in all rooms. From the lobby to the rooftop, every corner of the hotel is described as exuding creativity and uniqueness. Modern amenities include e-concierge kiosks, a day spa for relaxation, two outdoor pools and a state of the art fitness center for active travelers. The hotel includes two restaurants and two pool bars with the bars offering stunning views over the Andaman Sea. Meetings and events options include the Rhythm Ballroom. M Social Phuket is the sixth M Social hotel globally and it is Millennium Hotels & Resorts inaugural hotel in Thailand.
Businesses in Vietnam, particularly property developers, are under pressure to sell off assets and real estate projects to settle their debts, including bond repayments and loans. Many have already announced plans to sell properties as part of their debt restructuring strategies. As we have detailed in many past reports, the problem in Vietnam, at least when it comes to hotels, is that there are too many for sale and not enough buyers. This Vietnam news article said LDG Investment announced plans to sell two property, the Bai But – Son Tra beach resort in Da Nang city and an apartment complex in Binh Duong province’s Di A city. The beach resorts covers an area of 29 hectares with a total investment of over VND4.6 trillion. The company had explored the possibility of finding partners to invest with a 50-70 percent state but LDG decided this was unlikely in the current real estate market. We are not so sure they are going to get anywhere near what they want in price, if there are even any aggressive bidders to buy the resort. Then again Hai Phat Investment Corporation was able to sell their project in Nha Trang City. The development is adjacent to the Tran Phu Bridge and consists of three 40 story towers with three commercial floors, 10 hotel floors and 27 apartment floors. Hoang Anh Gia Lai group announced its plan to sell one of its last prime assets, a hotel in Pleiku city in the Central Highlands province of Gia Lai Province. As for the prospects, the article warned that potential investors are wary of investing due to financial uncertainties and the price of real estate projects remains too high.
Personnel Move
OYO announced the promotion of Rakesh Kumar to Deputy Chief Financial Officer. He was previously head of controls.
