Melbourne Hotel Supply Grew 21% Since 2019

STR reported China hotel data for the week ended July 6. Hotel RevPAR in China was down -15% year over year. The week was up against a +41.5% year-over-year comparable result in 2023. Truist called the results an example of China experiencing "revenge travel" fatigue following the re-opening a year ago. Occupancy for China hotels fell -6.8% for the week, year over year.

Sydney, Australia hotel performance jumped in June driven by the Vivid Drone Show and the Sydney Film Festival. CoStar/STR said hotel occupancy rose 1% year over year to 72.6% while ADR was up 1.5$ to A$243.45. That resulted in a 2.5% rise in RevPAR to A$176.81. Both ADR and RevPAR achieved their highest levels for any June on record in Sydney with the highest occupancy rate for the month recorded on June 8th at 88%, coinciding with the first night of the Drone show and fourth night of the Sydney Film Festival. ADR peaked at A$312.35 on that night while RevPAR jumped to A$274.90. Demand was offset by a 3.2% rise in supply.

Speaking of supply, Melbourne has seen more hotels opening in the past four years than any other Australian city with more than 5,000 new rooms coming on board, a 21% increase since 2019. JLL said the 22 new hotels have coincided with a 9% rise in hotel bookings. In 2023 alone, four major developments worth over $226 million opened its doors, adding 1,100 new rooms including at the Dorsett Hotel, Meriton Suites, Ritz-Carlton and Le Meridien. Room occupancy rates are averaging 74%, with major events like the Formula 1 Grand Prix showing spikes in occupancy beyond 90%. Premium hotels are also seeing a rise with 1,100 luxury and upscale rooms set to open over the coming years in places such as Lanson Place and Seararers 1. The 2023 National International Visitor Survey showed Melbourne was the number one city for interstate overnight trips in Australia.

The Vietnam National Authority of Tourism said in the first six months of 2024, 8.8 million international visitors showed up, an increase of 58.4% from 2023. That was also up 4.1% over the same period in 2019. There were 66.5 million domestic visitor trips as well. Tourism receipts were estimated at about VND 436.5 trillion.

Visitor arrivals to Singapore totaled 1.25 million in June, up 10.7% year over year but down -2.34% month to month from May's 1.28 million.

The Singapore Tourism Board said the tally of overnight visitors in June was 925,720, up 11.3% year on year. Mainland China was the largest single contributor to Singapore's tourism during June, supplying 217,650 visits, up 92.1% year on year. Indonesia was in second with 200,080 arrivals but that was down -7.8% year on year. India arrivals rose 5.1% to 120,380. For the first half of 2024, China was the top source market for Singapore's tourism sector at 1.45 million visits. That was 80.1% of the 2019 levels.

Absolute Hotel Services announced the launch of two new properties on Thailand's eastern seaboard, U Sriracha and T Hotel Sriracha. U Sriracha has 168 rooms and villas, state-of-the-art indoor and outdoor pools, a fully equipped fitness center, versatile meeting spaces, dining options and a rooftop lounge bar. T Hotel Sriracha is part of the Relax brand in the Absolute Collection, offers 48 sophisticated rooms, a Japanese spa and Onsen, a fitness center, and distinctive F&B options. The hotel has an iconic T-shaped design and expansive views. The hotels are set to open in 2026, catering to both domestic and international upscale markets.

Club Med's new Heilongtan Resort officially debuted today, bringing visitors to Meishan City, Sichuan Province a new option to stay at. The Heilongtan Resort from China Railway joined the Club Med brand, a leisure destination just an hour's drive from Chengdu. This is the first resort in the Club Med Joyview product line in Southwest China. The resort area covers an area of 106 mu, with a total construction area of about 57,000 square meters, featuring 350 rooms. The resort's facilities include conference and banquet areas, indoor and outdoor pools, Chinese and Western restaurants, a kid's club, spa area, theater and bar.

Ramee Group of Hotels announced the latest addition to their portfolio – Ramee Tarang Hotel, Indore, a property signed on a management contract. The hotel is situated on the Agra Mumbai Main Highway and offers a diverse range of dining and entertainment options. That will include a rooftop restaurant with a view of the city skyline.

Personnel Moves

The Ascott Limited announced six new appointments in the functions of business development, strategy and operations as the company charts a new growth trajectory towards achieving its target of more than S$500 million in fee revenue by 2028. The new appointments to Ascott's business development team are Venessa Koo as VP, Business Development for Hong Kong, Taiwan, the Philippines and Vietnam; Teo Junrong as VP, Business Development for Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia; and Thomas Lamson, VP, Business Development and Product & Technical Services for Europe, Middle East and Africa. In addition, Joseph Wong, Managing Director for China, was entrusted with driving business development in the key market. Ascott also welcomed Steven Chan as VP, Global Franchise Services and Regional GM for Indochina, as well as Sophie Mougel as VP, Strategy and Regional GM for the Philippines and Malaysia.