STR’s global update as of November 11, 2023 showed 79% of markets with growth in RevPAR compared to 2019. Different from the previous update, more markets outside of Europe have taken the top positions in recovery as winter approaches in the Northern Hemisphere. Among countries with 50,000 rooms, the United Arab Emirates, South Korea, Singapore, France, and Italy led in RevPAR on an actual basis. More counties in Asia are in leading spots in the measurement as most European countries approach low season. Notably, the United Arab Emirates and South Korea reached occupancy of more than 80%, while Japan was not far behind at 79%. South Korea and Japan ADR came in at US$214 and US$223, respectively. The top five countries leading in RevPAR growth compared to 2019, with monthly room supply above 50,000 rooms, included Brazil, Saudi Arabia, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, and the United Arab Emirates. Excluding provincial areas, country markets, and markets affected by fluctuating exchange rates, the top five RevPAR performers were Rio de Janeiro, Santiago, Sao Paulo, Edinburgh and Hong Kong. Notably, Santiago saw a 38% increase in occupancy compared to 2019. Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo have entered leading positions as Brazil is embracing the start of the summer season. Edinburgh maintained the top spot as the market sustained a 55% ADR increase versus 2019.
Chinese airlines were reported to be canceling flights to Thailand for December and January as the number of travelers in the route decrease. This is despite Thailand waiving visa requirement. Thailand’s Civil Aviation Authority said 10 Chinese airlines have informed about canceling flights to Thailand from next month until January 2024. Approximately 3.01 million Chinese tourists have visited Thailand this year. The country initially had a target of 5 million Chinese arrivals for all of 2023.
International visitor arrivals in the Philippines reached 4.83 million as of November 27th. That is over the government’s target for the year. 4.43 million were foreign nationals. South Korea remains the top source market for foreign tourists at 1.27 million. The DOT has conservatively targeted international arrivals to reach 8.4 million by 2025. That would be higher than the 8.3 million peak arrivals in pre-pandemic 2019.
Macau’s hotel occupancy rates in October increased by 41.1% year on year to 82.8%. Five star hotels saw their average occupancy rise to 85.6% while two star hotels were at 83.1%. Year on year, the number of hotels in Macau rose by 19 with the number of hotel rooms up 24.8% to 46,000. The number of guests of hotels in October rose to 1,247,000 with the average length of stay at 1.6 nights. In the first 10 months of 2023, the average occupancy rate of guests rooms of hotel establishments reached 80.9% with 11,041,000 hotel guests staying an average of 1.7 nights.
Wyndham Hotels & Resorts has over 10 upcoming hotels with more than 3,000 rooms set to open in the coming years in Malaysia. The upcoming hotels are related to Wyndham’s strategic partnership with Hospitality 360 Sdn Bhd, inked last December to expand their portfolio of hotels, resorts and serviced agreements nationwide. H360 will deliver at least 15 hotels signed as franchises under various Wyndham-owned brands over the next six years. The article on this reported memorandum of understandings have been signed by Wyndham and developers of the hotel properties, namely Jesselton Newcity Development Sdn Bhd and Sumbangan Aru KK Sdn Bhd. Construction of the hotels will begin this year in phases with completion by 2027, adding over 2,000 rooms. The hotels will be managed under the Wyndham Grand, Dolce by Wyndham and Ramada by Wyndham brand names.
OYO said it has restarted self-operated hotels tagged as ‘Managed by Oyo’ through the company’s app and website. They are seeking partnerships with real estate developers to identify properties for these hotels. Oyo will secure annual to long-term management contracts on the revenue share basis of 200 premium hotels across Indian metros and give its top hotel operators an opportunity to leverage their expertise in maintaining operational excellence and high customer satisfaction. Oyo closed its self-operated hotel market just before the start of the pandemic in early 2020. The program will focus on high traffic metros and major tourism destinations such as Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Goa, Chennai and others. Many of the hotels will go under company’s premium hotel brands Townhouse, Townhouse Oak and Collection O.
Fern Hotels & Resorts inaugurated the Fern Residency Subhash Bridge in Ahmedabad. The newly relaunched hotel marks the company’s 24th operational venture in Gujarat. The hotel offers 69 rooms and suites, 24/7 all-day diner called The Gourmet, the Corner Café and the Patisserie. The hotel also has banquet facilities.
The Indian Hotels Co has planned to infuse funds into two of its subsidiaries, Genness Hospitality Pvt. and Qurio Hospitality Pvt. through subscription to rights issues. IHCL’s investment in both wholly owned subsidiaries will not lead to any change in its shareholding, which remains 100%. Both companies were incorporated in February 2022 and are greenfield projects in Gujarat that are presently under development.
BWH Hotels announced the signing of The Sailing Quy Nhon, BW Premier Collection by Best Western. BWH said the new high-rise hotel will introduce the company’s elevated standards of international hospitality to an up and coming destination on Vietnam’s central coast. The upscale hotel will comprise one tower of a new mixed-use development overlooking the ocean in the heart of Quy Nhon. The Sailing Quy Nhon, BW Premier Collection will be situated just moments from the beach and feature a full range of premium accommodations and amenities. Phu Cat Airport is just 30 minutes away from the property. BWH Hotels currently has five operating properties in Vietnam with more in the pipeline.
Personnel Move
Pan Pacific Hotels Group announced the appointment of Craig Bond as Senior Vice President Head of Operations. Bond goes into the position ahead of several key openings for Pan Pacific including PARKROYAL Serviced Suites Jakarta, PARKROYAL A’Famosa Melaka Resort, and Pan Pacific Jakarta in H1 2024. Bond returns to Pan Pacific from his most recent position as Managing Director of La Vie Hotels & Resorts.
