Taylor Swift Concerts Break Hotel Records in Australia

CoStar said both Sydney and Melbourne, Australia posted their highest average daily rate for any month on record, according to February’s preliminary data. As to why, all you need to know is Taylor Swift’s Eras tour was there. February 2024 hotel occupancy in Melbourne was 78.1%, up 8.5% year over year while the average daily rate was up 11.4% to A$244.80 resulting in a 20.9% year over year rise in RevPAR to A$191.18. In Sydney, occupancy was up 5.9% to 86.5% while ADR was A$329.05, up 16.4% resulting in a 23.2% RevPAR rise to A$284.47. CoStar said Melbourne’s hotel occupancy remained above the 70% average mark with the exception of six days. February 17th had the highest levels with occupancy at 91.8% and ADR at A$459.10. In Sydney, there were four Taylor Swift concerts with ADR levels going as high as A$527.52 on February 24th. The highest daily occupancy was actually on a non-Swift concert day, at 93.6% on February 20th. The second day of the concert had occupancy of 92.9%, the highest of the four days.

A second study on the possible legalization of casino resorts in Thailand has been completed and will be put to the country’s House of Representatives next week. The Bangkok Post said the study emphasizes entertainment complexes with casinos being a small part at only 5% of the total floor space. There will be high minimum investments in the integrated resorts. We’ll find out more when the study is released because bits and pieces just cause speculation and there will be enough controversy if Thailand actually adopts this study and begins the process of legalizing casinos and awarding licenses. What we do know is five locations are endorsed with Bangkok and Thailand’s Eastern Economic Corridor (Pattaya and Rayong) named as the most suitable locations.

The consortium behind the Nagasaki integrated resort casino bid that was rejected by Japan’s central government in Tokyo last year will not appeal the decision. Kyushu Resorts CEO revealed they would not make an administrative appeal request to have the plan examined again. The Casinos Austria-led consortium had questionable financing ability even back when their bid was first selected and rising interest rates were going to make that financing even more difficult to obtain on terms that could assure the IR would be successful. Casinos Austria had pitched a casino IR at the Netherlands-themed Huis Ten Bosch theme park. The Governor of Nagasaki also backtracked on his January vow to seek answers from Tokyo on the decision. The Governor is expected to soon publicly confirm the prefecture and city would formally abandon its plans to secure a casino permit. Thailand should study the more than a decade long attempt by Japan to legalize casinos so they can see what they should not do.

Aman Resorts said its new spinoff brand, Janu, opened today in central Tokyo. The first Janu hotel has 122 rooms across the lowest floors of a luxury residential tower. While Aman Resorts is known for luxury hotels and very high nightly rates, Janu will court a younger demographic and create a more scalable model that includes lower room rate pricing. Janu Tokyo rooms will cost about half of what a room at nearby Aman Tokyo will cost even though Janu will still be among one of the most expensive places to stay in the city. Janu Tokyo is fully booked for today’s opening and expects 70% occupancy in its first month. Aman said the Janu brand has at least 12 additional destinations set for development with more opening after next year. For context see this interview with the Aman Group CEO.

The first Odisha Homestays under OYO Rooms was inaugurated at heritage city Puri by the Minister of Sports & Youth Services yesterday. The initiative is part of the hospitality brand’s move to establish 50 of such homestays at various locations of Odisha where Odisha Skill Development Authority shall support in terms of skilled manpower as per the recent MOU signed.

JP Morgan was reported to have extended a Rs 200 crore credit facility to OYO, according to the Economic Times. Sources said the primary objective behind this credit line is to fuel the expansion of OYO’s Accelerator Programme. OYO launched the program back in March of last year with a stated target of supporting 50 first-generation hoteliers. OYO’s Accelerator Programme currently supports over 700 hotels and over 85 small and first-generation hoteliers from across the country. Hotel owners with more than five running hotels are eligible to be part of the program.

Indian Hotels Company announced the signing of a 350-key greenfield project under the Taj hotel brand in Indore, Madhya Pradesh. IHCL said the signing is in line with their strategic vision to expand their footprint across India’s key business and leisure destinations. The hotel is a greenfield project and will be one of the largest convention facilities in Central India. IHCL partnered with developer Manikaran Commercials Private Limited for the hotel. The 350-room luxury property will be situated along the new Super Corridor, a stone’s throw from important IT campuses. There will be an all-day dining restaurant, a specialty restaurant, a bar and a lobby lounge. Leisure and recreational amenities will include a swimming pool, spa, fitness center and various sports and entertainment options. The hotel will offer approximately 50,000 square feet of banqueting and event spaces, making it the leading convention center in Central India. With the addition of this hotel, IHCL will have 12 hotels across Taj, SeleQtions, Vivanta and Ginger brands in Madhya Pradesh including four under development.

Robinsons Hotels and Resorts, the hospitality arm of Robinsons Land Corp, said they expect a robust tourism market this year, with an increasing number of staycationers from Metro Manila. Robinsons feels the Philippines market is at a threshold or a pivotal point where it will grow sharply over the next five to ten years. The recovery is attributed to the initiatives from the Dept. of Tourism, the Filipino brand of hospitality and the emerging growth opportunities outside major tourist hubs like Metro Manila, Boracay and Cebu. Robinsons is tapping into the MICE market, providing facilities for corporate and government activities.