Seoul Plans a Floating Hotel

Macau visitor arrivals were up 39% year on year in March to 2,720,584. That was a decline of -17.4% from February but equals 80.3% of total visitor arrivals in March 2019. Mainland China visitation was 1,786,536, up 43.8% year over year. Same-day visitors were up 47.7% to 1,443,963, while overnight visitors were up 30.4% to 1,276,621. That results in 1Q24 visitation rising 79.4% year on year to 8,875,757. International visitor arrivals total 584,026 in 1Q24. That is 68.2% of 2019 levels.

Reports are out that some luxury hotels in Macau casino resorts have no rooms available for booking during the May Day holiday period. 11 of the 32 luxury hotel towers, most of them on Cotai, were indicating all five nights were fully booked. They include Grand Lisboa, Palazzo Versace Macau Karl Lagerfeld, and the hotel at MGM Macau. Epic Tower at Studio City, Galaxy Hotel, Banyan Tree Macau, Hotel Okura Macau, JW Marriott Hotel Macau, Ritz-Carlton Macau, and Raffles at Galaxy Macau are also full. The others all have sellouts for four or so of the nights. Room rates are said to be averaging US$372 a night.

Dusit Hotels and Resorts, the hotel arm of Dusit International, confirmed its flagship Dusit Thani Bangkok hotel will reopen on September 27th following its transformation as part of Dusit Central Park. That landmark mixed-use development is located opposite Lumpini Park in the heart of Bangkok. The Dusit Thani Bangkok will reopen with 257 guestrooms, including suites designed by Andre Fu Studio. Each room starts at 50 square meters and has uninterrupted views of Lumpini Park through expansion floor-to-ceiling windows complemented by stylish seating nooks. The hotel also includes a unique urban wellness concept, curated dining experiences and a multi-level rooftop bar. There is also over 5,000 square meters of banqueting and meeting facilities, including one of Bangkok’s largest grand ballrooms.

The Sands Torquay, a recently refurbished four-star resort and golf course in the seaside town of Torquay in Australia, has been listed for sale on behalf of their Receivers and Managers. The sale will include all Freehold land and buildings along with the business with Vacant Possession. The resort is situated on a 76.5ha site and comprises 112 suites, a restaurant, conference facilities, an 18-hole Stuart Appleby-designed golf course and a 20-bay driving range, as well as a health club which includes an indoor 25-meter swimming pool and tennis courts. The resort was built in 2007 but recently underwent significant refurbishment which uplifted it to a 4.5 star standard. The location is just 90 minutes from Melbourne. CBRE is managing the sale via an Expression of Interest campaign closing on May 29, 2024.

The Seoul, South Korea city government is planning to develop floating office and hotel buildings plus water sports facilities being created on the Han River by 2030. The project is aimed at increasing the potential of the river running across the city. The Great Han River Project initiative is aimed at better utilizing and enhancing the allure of the river. A total of US$172.9 million (236.6 billion won) from the city budget, along with private funding of another 313.5 billion won, will be injected into the latest project. The plan includes floating offices and a floating hotel being constructed on the river, equipped with accommodation, leisure and convention facilities. The hotel, once constructed, will provide boat transportation and boat tour services to hotel guests. The city plans to begin the hotel construction in 2026. A planned Ichon marina, named Han River Art Pier, will be additionally equipped with a floating swimming pool, a scenery observation platform and other leisure facilities, expected to open in 2026.

Nearly three years after it was announced that a 775-room hotel would come up at Kempegowda International Airport, Bangalore Airport Hotel Limited has invited an expression of interest from contractors for construction of the hotel. BAHL is one of the subsidiaries of Bangalore International Airport Limited, which operates the airport. The 775 keys will be made up of two hotels, Vivanta and Ginger from Indian Hotels Company Limited, at Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India. IHCL entered into an agreement with Bengaluru Airport City Limited for setting up the 775 room hotel in June of 2021. The proposed hotel comprises a combination of a 450-room Vivanta and a 325-room Ginger hotel, located in close proximity to the concert area that is currently under development. The hotels will have extensive banqueting facilities to capture the growing potential of the MICE demand. It is slated to open in 2025. IHCL currently operates Taj Bangalore, located 250 meters from the Terminal 1 with 370 rooms. In total is was proposed there would be a combined inventory of 1,145 rooms on the airport premises.

Indian Hotels Company also announced the opening of a Vivanta hotel in Jamshedpur, Jharkhand. The hotel is located in the heart of the city and will mark the debut of the Vivanta brand and will be IHCL’s second hotel in the city. Vivanta Jamshedpur is situated on Golmuri Road with each of the 95 rooms offering picturesque hill views. The hotel includes Mynt, IHCL’s signature all-day diner, as well as Red Pearl Pan-Asian restaurant and poolside grills at The Grill. The chic bar is named Wing and the wellness facilities at the hotel include a gym and a rooftop swimming pool. The hotel offers over 10,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor banqueting space. With the addition of this hotel, IHCL will have two hotels across Vivanta and Ginger brands in Jharkhand.

A 50,000-seat stadium will be built on the former site of the Tsukiji market in Tokyo’s Chuo Ward. The Tokyo Metropolitan government announced that a consortium of 11 companies, led by Mitsui Fudosan Co., including the Yomiuri Shimbun Group and Toyota Fudosan Co., has been selected to redevelop the former site of one of the world’s largest fish markets. Construction on the stadium for baseball and other sports, as well as a hotel and mixed-use building, is planned to begin in fiscal 2025 with completion scheduled for 2038. The facilities are expected to host international sporting events, concerts and large-scale exhibitions. An international conference center and theater hall are also planned. The former Tsukiji market site, owned by the Tokyo government, is about 20 hectares.

Personnel Move

CBRE Hotels in Australia has expanded its national hotel platform with the appointment of Taylor Morris as Senior Negotiator. Morris commenced her career at Savills, rapidly advancing from Team Administrator to Analyst to Sales Executive.