SkyCity Entertainment Faces Potential Sale of Adelaide Casino

In observance of the U.S. Memorial Day Holiday, there will be no Daily Lodging Report – Asia Pacific on Monday, May 27.

The Singapore Tourism Board said overall visitor volumes in the first four months of the year was 5.71 million, up 41.3% year on year. That is a 90.8% recovery compared to the same period in 2019. This was capped by an April where visitor volume was up 20.4% year on year to 1.36 million. A rebound in Indonesian visitor volume helped boost the numbers in the first four months of the year. In April alone Singapore had 243,800 visitors from Indonesia. In the first four months they have seen 908,660 Indonesians visit which is 94.1% of what they saw in that same period in 2019. China was the second largest feeder market in April at 220,440 entries. From January to April, the Chinese made up 1.01 million of the visitors but that was only a recovery of 80.2% versus those same four months in 2019.

The Philippines tightened visa requirements with China. We touched on this earlier but the Philippines Department of Foreign Affairs said they have seen a high number of fraudulent applications received by the country’s embassies and consulates in China. There are also criminal groups targeting some Chinese arrivals to employ them in illegal Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators. The visa tightening terms including requiring visa applicants to present their social security documents issued by the Chinese Government. Visa applicants from China will also have to present their employment certificate and bank statements. The Philippine authorities will also increase the minimum number of visa applicants for Chinese nationals to travel as part of a group to a minimum of 10 from the current 3.

SkyCity Entertainment agreed to pay AUSTRAC fines (A$61.4 million) for AML failings at their casino operations. The Australian said they may wind up selling SkyCity Adelaide, a casino and hotel property. SkyCity purchased the property in 2000 and started renovating the property in 2018. It transformed the asset into a world class integrated resort with 12 food and beverage outlets, an integrated a new hotel building with the existing refurbished heritage building. The Australian said U.S.-based Delaware North is ready to buy the property if SkyCity wants to go through with a sale. The article said SkyCity’s shareholders would like them to sell the property at a good price and get out of the Australian market, focusing on New Zealand instead. Management has been of the view that there is more work needed to boost earnings on the gaming floor even as the hotel has been performing well. Delaware North purchased SkyCity’s Darwin Casino in 2018 for A$188 million. They also own the Lizard Island Resort in Queensland.

Bellerive Hoi An Resort & Spa in Hoi An City, Quang Nam Province was recognized as a five star resort by the Vietnam National Authority of Tourism on May 6. The hotel opened in 2022 and has 170 rooms and eight villas with private swimming pools, nestled on the bank of the De Vong River. The five star resort has a river-view infinity pool with other amenities including a spa, restaurant and conference rooms.

WorldHotels announced the signing of Hangzhou ZhongWei Goethe Hotel, a hotel and conference venue in China. It has become a member of WorldHotels Distinctive, the curated collection of unique upscale hotels around the world. The hotel is positioned on West Lake Avenue in the Shangcheng District of Hangzhou and offers uninterrupted views of West Lake, the UNESCO World Heritage site. This becomes WorldHotels’ first location in Hangzhou and 20th hotel in China. The hotel has 196 rooms and suites, an Executive Club Lounge, the Lake View Restaurant, ZhongWei Palace Chinese restaurant, a Lobby Bar, indoor swimming pool, spa, fitness center and mahjong rooms as well as 1,500 square meters of meeting space.

While India is still the fourth largest market for Marriott International, they continue to expand to try to get it into their top three. They are targeting 250 hotels, including open and those in the pipeline, by 2025. They recently opened their 150th hotel in Katra, Jammu and Kashmir. Marriott said they will open 12 hotels this year in India and expect that number to be the norm in coming years. Marriott’s pipeline comprises 83 hotels which would add around 12,300 rooms to their portfolio in India. The three markets ahead of India for Marriott are the U.S., China and Canada. Overall, Marriott has over 28,000 rooms in the country and is eyeing tier II and III cities for growth.

Marriott and the Manglam Group recently announced the 140 key Westin Jaipur. Manglam is spending Rs 150 crore to develop the grand resort that will be spread across 8 acres of prime land at the foothills of the Aravallis on the Delhi-Jaipur highway. The resort is scheduled to be operational by October of this year. The hotel will be custom designed to cater to the premium weddings market, offering 8 different venues for wedding planners and organizers. Jaipur is becoming the capital of destination weddings in India.

Indian Hotels Company announced the launch of Ekyam, a new marketing platform that will manage a portfolio of 25 hotels and 2,500 rooms by the end of 2025. Ekyam will primarily manage properties across destinations that offer adventure experiences across the Indian Ocean, Greater Himalayan regions and wildlife escapes and will club IHCL’s 11 existing and seven upcoming properties owned by its long-time partner Nepali diversified business conglomerate CG Group’s CG Hospitality. The 11 properties have 900 rooms in the Indian sub-continent and west Asia. The seven upcoming properties will include four in Nepal, two in Bhutan and one in Dubai under the platform, adding another 900 rooms. IHCL said they identified seven of its existing managed properties with other developers it plans to add to Ekyam. Under two joint ventures, IHCL and CG Hospitality own 7 of the 11 operational hotels. The remaining four are owned by CG Group. IHCL announced a new partnership with CG Hospitality, extending its current association of TAJ Hotels & Resorts Limited and Taj Safaris Limited to achieve that portfolio of 25 hotels by 2025.

Royal Orchid Hotels Ltd. announced the signing of Regenta Resort, a luxury 5 star escape near the Statue of Unity in Gujarat’s Kevadia town. The 15th ROHL branded hotel in Gujarat, Regenta Resort will be strategically located near the tourist attraction. It will have 49 rooms, pool villa and suites, multiple F&B options and will be the first luxury hotel to operate near the Statue of Unity. Leisure facilities will include a swimming pool, wellness center and gym, and laws with landscaped gardens.