South Korea Overhauls Hotel Rating System

Key Points

• China hotel RevPAR declined 6.8% year-over-year for the week ended June 27, primarily due to a 5.8% drop in occupancy, while ADR was down only 1.1%.
• Regulatory shifts are reshaping key Asian markets: Japan tripled its departure tax to US$18.45 to manage overtourism, and South Korea launched a stricter two-stage hotel rating system with undercover evaluations and tougher overcharging penalties.
• Significant APAC brand expansion is underway, including Travel + Leisure's first Club Wyndham property in Thailand, Hilton and IHCL growth across India, Avani's Vientiane debut, and Small Luxury Hotels doubling its Australian portfolio via Salter Brothers Hospitality.

Summary

A roundup of Asia-Pacific hospitality developments highlights both regulatory shifts and expansion activity. On the performance side, STR/CoStar reported China hotel RevPAR fell 6.8% year-over-year for the week ended June 27, driven mainly by a 5.8% occupancy decline. Regulatory changes are reshaping two major markets: Japan tripled its International Tourist "sayonara" departure tax to US$18.45 effective July 1 (nearly doubling annual revenue to roughly US$737 million) to manage rising tourist volumes, while South Korea overhauled its hotel rating system with a two-stage evaluation including undercover stays and sharply higher penalties for overcharging. On the development front, Travel + Leisure launched its first Club Wyndham-branded property in Thailand (Phuket), Hilton opened a Hilton Garden Inn within Embassy TechVillage in Bengaluru as phase one of a dual-branded project, IHCL added multiple Ginger hotels across India, Avani debuted its second Laos property in Vientiane, Amora opened in Adelaide as part of a A$73 million redevelopment, and Small Luxury Hotels of the World doubled its Australian portfolio via a partnership with Salter Brothers Hospitality.