China's Travelers Favored Singapore and Indonesia in July

STR reported Chinese hotel data for the week ending August 12th. Hotel RevPAR in China was up 37%, up against a 107.7% comp a year ago. Compared to the week in 2019, RevPAR was still up 16.9%.

If you are one of those wondering where all the Chinese travelers are, in July, most of them apparently went to Singapore. China was Singapore's largest single source of visitor arrivals in July, with the amount of mainland China tourists doubling from what it was in June. The Singapore Tourism Board said Singapore logged 231,330 visitor arrivals from China in July, up 104.2% from June. Indonesia was the second-ranked source market in July, with 229,890 visitor arrivals. The average stay for visitors from China in July was 4.78 days. The average stay for all international visitors was 3.82 days. Singapore's total arrivals in July was 1.42 million, up 95.3% year on year and 25.7% from June. For the first seven months of the year, visitor arrivals to Singapore totaled 7.7 million, up 245.3%. China is behind Indonesia for the leading source market, with Indonesia at 1.35 million and China way behind at 655,520.

Accor announced the signing of an agreement with Sarin Hotels to open a second The Sebel hotel in Wellington, NZ, the Sebel Wellington Thorndon. That follows the opening of The Sebel Wellington Lower Hutt this past May. The Sebel Wellington Thorndon is set to open in September 2023. The project is by Wellington's Sky Stadium. It will feature 72 rooms, including a selection of studio apartments, one-bedroom apartments, and onsite secure car parking. Sarin Hotels manages the Sebel Wellington Thorndon, which is the third hotel that Sarin is partnering with Accor on in New Zealand, with the others being the ibis Styles Invercargill and The Sebel Wellington Lower Hutt.

Byron Bay in Australia will have the opening of its first five-star hotel this month. Situated in the heart of Byron, Hotel Marvell will have Byron's first rooftop pool and bar and an exquisite seafood-centric restaurant, Bonito. The boutique hotel includes many high-end accommodations, including 16 hotel rooms, 6 suites, and 2 two-bedroom hotel rooms. The hallmark feature of Hotel Marvell includes a stunning pedestrian laneway with high beams, open-air spaces, and overhanging palm trees. Scott Emery and Scott Dider developed the hotel.

Following up on a story from yesterday, Melco Resorts & Entertainment said the W Macau, the new hotel that was just approved to open at the Studio City property on Cotai, in Macau, will open on September 8. The hotel features 557 guest rooms, including 127 suites, a spa, a gym, an indoor swimming pool, and some 1,100 square meters of event and meeting space. Melco has spent some US$1.2 billion on the Phase 2 expansion of the Studio City property. The first phase included a new indoor water park and hotel tower and the 338-suite Epic Tower, both of which opened in April of this year. There is the W Macau opening, a six-screen Cineplex, two regular houses, four VIP suites, and a state-of-the-art MICE space rounding out Phase 2.

Mandara Group of Hotels said Mandara Resort in Mirissa, a leading tourist hotel in Sri Lanka, is ready to build a new complex with 40 luxury rooms at an investment of Rs. 500 million. The new project is being implemented to increase the number of rooms at the resort to 100 to facilitate increasing tourist arrivals. The resort has 17 Standard Lagoon rooms, 25 Superior Sea View rooms, 4 Superior Plunge Pool rooms, 10 Deluxe Family rooms, and two Deluxe Double rooms at present. The resort is currently in the process of building a Kids Area.

Absolute Hotel Services announced the expansion and upcoming launch of its latest branded property, Eastin Residences Vientiane, in Laos. This is their second property in the capital of Laos. Eastin Residences Vientiane is tailored to cater to short, medium, and long-term stays, offering 50 meticulously designed serviced apartment units complemented by world-class amenities. The opening is scheduled for 2026.

OYO announced that its Super OYO-tagged hotels have surpassed the 1,000 mark, spread across 140 cities in India. The category was launched in December 2022 with 200 properties across 70 cities to recognize hotels that provide the most consistent and high-quality customer experience. OYO expects to add another 1,500 hotels in this segment by the end of FY24. The Super OYO category constitutes the majority of the OYO hotels, with over 26%, followed by OYO Rooms at 22% and Collection O at 19%. Hyderabad has the highest number of Super OYOs at 82, followed by Bangalore and Kolkata at 61 and 55, respectively.

Royal Orchid and Regenta Hotels have launched a new property in India's hill station of Shimla, Shoghi. The Regenta Resort MARS Valley View Shoghi features 44 rooms and is Royal Orchid & Regenta Hotels' fourth property in the region. The hotel is nestled amidst the pristine beauty of Shimla, enjoying a convenient location with easy access to NH 5, 200 meters from the main Highway. The hotel presents an array of fully equipped rooms, including Deluxe rooms, Premium valley view rooms, Luxury one-room cottages, and Luxury family two-room cottages. There are eight cottages boasting private balconies. The property features a 'Pinxx' restaurant, serving meals all day. The hotel features a meeting room that can accommodate up to 70 pax to host business meetings, conferences, and social get-togethers.

Thailand-based Narai Hospitality Group announced the scheduled grand opening of Lub d Japan Osaka Honmachi in this current quarter. The Lub d brand already operates five properties in Thailand, Cambodia, and the Philippines, with plans to launch two additional projects in 2023 and more in 2024. Lub d established a local subsidiary, Common Area GK, a strategic development to ensure seamless integration of Narai's hospitality ethos into the Japanese hospitality scene. The newly opened 165-room hotel features a vibrant lobby and a mixed-use area for relaxation or work, designed by local artists and colorful artworks in every room. The Narai Hospitality Group's global footprint spans several regions, with investments in Australia and operational platforms in Europe.