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Tokyo Hotel Occupancy Up 3.2 Points in October Unlike in Osaka

Lara — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 09:36:09 +0000

According to figures derived from a Nikkei survey of 19 key hotels in Tokyo and 18 in Osaka reveal that occupancy rates at major hotels in the Tokyo area climbed to 82.7% in October, up 3.2 points on the year and the fourth straight month of year-over-year increases.

This increase is attributed to an influx of Chinese tourists to the area, and in the number of business travelers from Europe and the U.S., the latter travel segment that bounced back since declining in the wake of last fall’s financial crisis. On their part, the Hilton Tokyo which had experienced 30-35% fewer foreign business customers than in 2007, reportedly rebounded to being down just 10-15% in October. The Keio Plaza Hotel in Shinjuku on its part recorded an occupancy rate of 91.9% in October, a 0.8-point increase from the same month a year earlier.

The Tokyo Prince Hotel saw its occupancy rate climb 3.2 points to 85.5% attributed to a strong inflow of Chinese tourists, many in groups of four to eight. Increases in business clients have mostly been customers from pharmaceutical companies from the United States of America. Compared to Tokyo, occupancy rates in the Osaka area slipped 2.4 points year-over-year to 80.7% after improving in September for the first time in 14 months.

Hotel Occupancy in Asia Pacific Slumps in October

Lara — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 05:57:43 +0000

Hotels in the Asia Pacific region experienced decreases (in U.S. dollars terms) for all three key performance metrics for October 2009. This is according to data compiled by STR Global, year-on-year measurements of the Asia Pacific region’s occupancy rates which show a fall of 0.6% to 67.1%, and where ADR declined 2.5% to USD 128.09 and RevPAR fell 3.1% to USD 85.89.

The star performers in terms of monthly RevPAR growth across the region are Australia, Guam, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Zealand and South Korea, which benefited partly due to a weak U.S. Dollar exchange rate. Among the key markets in the region, New Delhi, India, reported the largest occupancy increase, up 14.7% to 77.5%, followed by Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (+12.4% to 74.1%), and Sydney, Australia (+11.9% to 88%). Two markets posted double-digit occupancy decreases those in Manila, Philippines (-11.3% to 63.4%), and Bali, Indonesia (-10.8% to 77.1%).

Melbourne, Australia (+28.5% to US$160.78), and Sydney (+28.5% to US$161.24) reported the largest ADR increases. Two other markets also reported ADR increases of more than 20% namely Brisbane, Australia (+23.2% to USD 153.32), and Seoul, South Korea (+22.7% to USD 170.59). On the other hand, largest ADR decreases were reported for Phuket, Thailand (-22.8% to USD 72.72), Shanghai, China (-22.2% to USD 117.22), and Beijing, China (-22.1% to USD 95.68). Sydney, Australia experienced the largest RevPAR increase, jumping 43.8% to USD 141.84. Three markets reported RevPAR decreases of more than 20% those of Phuket (-28.2% to USD 42.47); Shanghai (-25.2% to USD 66.82); and Beijing (-20.5% to USD 60.56).

According to the managing director of STR Global, Elizabeth Randall, all sub-regions across Asia/Pacific saw occupancy stabilizing in the month of October, helping to soften RevPAR decline by only 3.1% overall and where monthly improvements saw hotels across the region losing just USD 22.04 in RevPAR value year-to-date compared to year-to-October 2008.

Asia Pacific Hotel Perform Well in September

Lara — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 07:46:19 +0000

According to data compiled by STR Global, hotels in Asia Pacific recorded a year-on-year occupancy rise of 1.4% to reach 62.3%; while ADR declined 7.7% to USD 123.72, and RevPAR fell 6.3% to USD 77.12.

The STR data notes that Asia Pacific region reported the lowest RevPAR declines (-6.3%) since September 2008 and where the slight increase in occupancy that boosted RevPAR was the first increase in occupancy since October 2007. Managing Director of STR Global, Elizabeth Randall, notes that the coming months should see improvements on the poor performance of the last quarter of 2008, which had been weakened by the economic downturn. The MD further states that Beijing, Hong Kong and Shanghai saw smaller declines compared to the post-Olympic period, reporting RevPAR decreases of only 9.2%, 11% and 19.2%, respectively. Among the key markets, Beijing, reported the largest occupancy increase, up 18.8% to 57.1%, followed by Phuket (+13.3% to 46%), and Sydney (+10.5% to 79%).

Two markets posted double-digit occupancy declines namely that of New Delhi (-12.2% to 63.2%), and Bali, Indonesia (-10.6% to 76%). Three markets on the other hand posted double-digit ADR increases namely Bali (+15.4% to USD 130.64); Tokyo (+14.1% to USD 228.19); and Osaka (+13.5% to USD 123.29). New Delhi reported the largest ADR decrease, falling 37.2% to USD 157.20. Three other markets posted ADR decreases of more than 20% including Mumbai, India (-30.7% to USD 170.96); Beijing (-23.6% to USD 97.44); and Shanghai, China (-22.6% to USD 107.59). Hotels in Seoul, South Korea, experienced the largest RevPAR increase, up 15.9% to USD 132.10, followed by Osaka with a 13.2% increase to USD 94.75. New Delhi (-44.8% to USD 99.32) and Mumbai (-31.3% to USD 103.27) reported the largest declines in RevPAR for the month.

Source: Asia Travel Tips at www.asiatraveltips.com

APAC Consumer Demand in Air Travel and Hotel Accommodation is Value–driven

Lara — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 05:46:04 +0000

Online travel agency, Expedia, recently released insights on consumer travel demand that indicate consumer response to value-driven offers from Asia hotels is spurring an increasing interest in regional travel. To spur demand, airlines and hotels in the past year significantly reduced rates into and across the region.

In effect, Air ticket prices have come down significantly, with ticket prices from the Americas and EMEA into APAC down 24% from last year, while fares for travel within APAC are down 25%. Further to this, hotels in the APAC region have equally adjusted their rates to the downturn for the first half of the year, with major destinations showing double-digit percentage reductions from 2Q08 to 2Q09. In the region, Beijing led with the biggest average room rate reduction of 36%, while others dropped notably Hong Kong (23%), Singapore (28%), Tokyo (26%), and Mumbai (25%). Given reductions in air and hotel rates, consumers are responding, with a 16% year-on-year increase among APAC travelers who are booking promotional rates.

In the first three quarters of 2008, 41% of hotel bookings on Expedia and Hotels.com sites in APAC were promotion-based, increasing to 57% of all hotel bookings for the same time period this year. Such deals have thereby enabled travelers to trade up in quality for the same budget in several markets. This fact is well illustrated in Beijing where 4-star hotels gained a 6% share of bookings while 3-star properties lost 8% over last year. In Sydney, 5-star properties gained 10 points, through the double effect of aggressive promotions and a very favorable currency situation. Air capacity into APAC is, on the other hand, making a steady rise, this coming after a lull recorded in the first quarter of 2009, a recovery that is acknowledged to be ahead of US and Europe. Much of this comeback in the Asia Pacific region is being driven from within the region itself.

For instance, Expedia data on their part show a higher growth of intra-APAC travel versus long haul travel into the region. For hotel bookings into the APAC region, Expedia’s Asia Pacific points-of-sale (POS) have gained share versus the EMEA and Americas POS, contributing as much as 30% of the region’s room nights. Expedia justifies its analysis based in what the Vice President Asia Pacific, Expedia Partner Services Group, Cyril Ranque, notes is the online agency receiving 60 million consumers worldwide visit to its site every month, booking more than 57 million room nights at Expedia’s hotel partners’ properties alone last year. Such customer visits indeed gives Expedia unique insights into travel demand that enable it to aid its hotel partners manage demand and occupancy, especially in the current fragile economic environment.

According to the Vice President, trends point toward value still being very important to travelers, and where airline and hotel partners are taking full advantage of the dynamic and targeted capabilities of sales and marketing channels to implement more sophisticated revenue management strategies.

Source: Asia Travel Tips at www.asiatraveltips.com

Singapore Airlines and Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts Garner Top Awards at World Event

Lara — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 09:06:22 +0000

This year’s Business Traveler Awards 2009 saw Singapore Airlines impressing by garnering five awards for Best Long-Haul Airline, Best Business Class, Best Economy Class, Best Cabin Staff, and Best Asian Airline. Virgin Atlantic won best Premium Economy Class, easyJet took Best Low-Cost Airline, and Emirates was a surprise winner of Best First Class for the first time.

British Airways reclaimed the overall title of Best Airline from Singapore Airlines, an accolade it had held from 1994 to 2007. BA also won Best Short-Haul Carrier and Best Frequent Flyer Program. The event is regarded and recognized as the market’s benchmark for excellence. In the hotel industry, an unexpected winner was Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts which stole the crown for Best Business Hotel Chain Worldwide from the Sheraton group, which has held the title every year since 1994. The Hilton group swept the awards for Best Business Hotel Chain in the UK and Europe, with Marriott winning Best Business Hotel Chain in North America for the fourth consecutive year, Jumeirah in the Middle East for the fifth consecutive year, and Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts continuing its dominance in Asia-Pacific for an impressive 15 uninterrupted years.

The Best Airport in the World was once again awarded to Singapore’s Changi Airport, which has yet to be unsaddled from this seat, Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport won Best Airport in Europe, and London Heathrow was awarded Best Airport for Duty-Free Shopping, for the first time since 2001. In another closely contested category, Hertz snatched the Best Car Rental Company Worldwide crown from Avis this year. Commenting on the awards Business Traveler’s editorial director, Tom Otley, noted that the year is proving a challenge for the industry with the recession forcing many companies to review travel costs but where recent surveys show that despite the dramatic downturn in the economy, only 7.5% of companies have instigated a ban on business travel. This year’s ceremony was co-sponsored by the Global Hotel Alliance and American Express, and took place at the London Hilton on Park Lane hotel.

Awards were presented by British adventurer, Sir Ranulph Fiennes, who conquered Mount Everest earlier this year at the age of 65. This year also saw the launch of the Business Travel Awards 2010, building on 14 years of success with the Business Travel World Awards, and combining the popular Buying Business Travel Diamond Awards. For the past 14 years, The Business Travel World Awards has been a major event on the business travel industry’s calendar. For the event’s 15th year the publishers of Buying Business Travel presented the industry with an enhanced celebration of excellence under the new name of The Business Travel Awards. The event was a combination both of the long-standing Business Travel World Awards and the prestigious Buying Business Travel Diamond Awards, which have been recognizing industry success for the past 5 years in glittering style.

Source: Business Traveller at www.businesstraveller.com

Hotel Room Average Price Falls 17% in First 6 Months

Lara — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 08:52:59 +0000

The Hotel Price Index, which looks at hotel prices for January to June 2009 compared to the same period the year before, revealed that hotel prices around the world fell 17% in the first half of the year, their lowest level in five years. This is indeed great news for travelers in that consumers are now paying as per 2003 prices. With the exception of the Caribbean, every major region around the world experienced the sharpest price-falls since the Hotels.com Hotel Price Index began in January 2004.

In Europe, the US and Latin America, hotel prices in Spring/Summer 2009 had fallen to levels well below those in 2004, meaning hotel room prices were at their lowest level for five years. Latin American hotels saw the steepest price fall year-on-year (down 18%), while North American hoteliers cut prices by 17%. The average price for a hotel room in a European hotel was 16% lower than it had been a year before. The good news for travelers is that hotels in destinations once considered an indulgence for the budget conscious are now also offering considerable savings. Hotel prices are down significantly and cities worldwide include New York (30%); Beijing (32%), Sydney (30%); London (12%); Paris (18%); Dubai (26%) and Abu Dhabi (9%). Prices for hotels in Mumbai registered the second highest decline of 42% as the terrorist attack of November 2008 continued to deter tourists, while business travel to the city also dropped due to the economic downturn.

Other cities that registered steep falls include Auckland (-40%); Warsaw (-38%) and Singapore (-35%). Hotel prices in New Delhi also declined sharply by 31%. Other hotels in the Asia Pacific region, which had been holding up better than those in the US or Europe, tumbled in the first half of 2009, dropping an average of 17% compared to the same period one year earlier. Key destinations in Asia-Pacific region that experienced some drastic price downfall include Singapore (-35%), Beijing (-32%), Hong Kong (-22%), Kuala Lumpur (-18%) and Bangkok (-16%). Mumbai and New Delhi equally recorded drastic declines. According to the managing director Hotels.com Asia Pacific, Johan Svanstrom, the significant fall in hotel prices in India’s two largest cities once again makes this region attractive to international visitors as long-haul inbound travelers will see lower hotel rates helping to offset the perceived relative expense of getting there.

The director additionally notes that there has certainly been a price drop also in local currencies, helping to stimulate local travelers to find great deals, both for leisure and for business purposes.Hotels.com Worldwide President, David Roche, 2009 in retrospect notes that expectation was rife that 2009 was to be a year of dramatic price reductions across the world, and the Hotel Price Index report attests to this. The revelations highlight that this is by far the most significant movement in prices seen in the five years of publishing the Hotel Price Index. The Hotels.com Hotel Price Index tracks the real prices paid per hotel room rather than advertised rates. The HPI is based on prices actually paid by customers for 78,000 properties across 13,000 locations around the world. The international scale of Hotels.com (in terms of both customers and destinations) makes the Hotel Price Index one of the most comprehensive benchmarks available.

Source: eTravel Blackboard at www.etravelblackboard.com

Hotels in Asia Pacific Register Double-Digit Slump in Occupancy

Lara — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 03:05:41 +0000

Latest trend data compiled by Smith Travel Research (STR) Global indicates that hotel occupancy in the Asia Pacific region in May 2009 dropped 14.9% to 55.4% when compared to the same period last year, while the average daily rate declined 15.2% to USD 117.86. Revenue per available room fell 27.9% to USD 65.26. Occupancy levels dropped the most within the region for the month of May and in the year-to-date numbers of any region.

While Europe, the Americas, the Middle East, and Africa are experiencing a slowdown in the rate of decline, the same cannot be said in Asia where some of the lowest levels of occupancy – under 50% – were reported in Bangkok, Beijing, Phuket, and Shanghai. On the brighter side, however, hotels in Brisbane, Melbourne, Seoul, and Sydney reported the highest levels of occupancy – over 70%. According to outcomes of the 17 market analysis, Asia Pacific Hotel Review, Brisbane reported the smallest occupancy decrease, sliding 2.1% to 77.3% while Bangkok fell in occupancy by 37.3% to 41.8%, reporting the largest decrease in that metric. Phuket followed with a 32.1% decrease in occupancy to 34.5%.

The low occupancy rates for hotels in Thailand are significantly attributed to the country’s tourism woes precipitated by the 2008 political turmoil in the country when partisan demonstrators closed numerous airports, including Bangkok’s International Airport, Suvarnbabhumi, leaving hundreds of thousands of travelers stranded creating massive global negative press coverage as a result. These woes in the industry have further been aggravated due to more recent political demonstrations, poor exchange rates on some currencies like the GBP, the outbreak of the AH1N1 Swine Flu virus, the global economic downturn, plus the fact that Thailand is now in its traditional low/rainy season.

Three markets reported ADR increases namely those in Bali, Indonesia (+18.5% to USD 127.83); Tokyo, Japan (+12.9% to USD 228.55); and Osaka, Japan (+8.7% to USD 129.72). Hotels in Mumbai, however reported the largest ADR decrease, dropping 35.6% to USD 164.66. New Delhi, India, followed with a 31% decrease in ADR to USD 162.02. Bali was the only market to increase in RevPAR for the month, rising 10.8% to USD 88.79. Five markets reported RevPAR decreases of more than 40%: Bangkok (-48.4% to USD 36.36); Phuket (-47.6% to USD 25.80); New Delhi (-44.8% to USD 81.48); Beijing, China (-43.8% to USD 45.54); and Mumbai (-40.3% to USD 92.37). Performance of hotels in the Asia Pacific region was the second most affected in the world following Europe. Double-digit declines in RevPAR were witnessed in the first quarter of the year in most of markets across the region, with Indian cities worse off.

Source: ASIA Travel Tips.com at www.asiatraveltips.com

Asia Pacific Hotels Record Mixed Occupancy Rates

Tue — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 09:12:09 +0000

Hotels in the Asia Pacific region are reporting double-digit decreases for all three key performance metrics for April 2009. Based on data compiled by STR Global, the region’s occupancy dropped 14.3% to 59.2% with the average daily rate declining 20.1% to USD 117.10 and revenue per available room sliding 31.5% to USD 69.36.

James Chappell, Managing Director of STR Global, notes that the Asia Pacific region, along with the Middle East, has come into a similar cyclical movement as Europe and North America, though with a few highlights still such as Bali, which increased its occupancy by 21.5% in RevPAR (in local currency), and Seoul, which equally reported a 16.3% increase (in local currency).

Seoul was the only city in the market to report an increase in occupancy, up 10.5% to 83.3%. Bangkok on the other hand reported the largest decrease in occupancy dropping 33.6% to 44.3%. Bali reported the largest increase in ADR, which rose 17.4% to USD 123.39. Two other markets reported increases in ADR namely the Japanese cities of Tokyo (+10.9% to USD 227.09) and Osaka (+5.8% to USD 122.82). Mumbai, however, led with the highest ADR decrease dropping 41.1% to USD 163.30. Other markets that reported ADR decreases of more than 30% include: New Delhi (-38.6% to USD 174.29); Beijing (-32.3% to USD 97.48); and Sydney (-31.3% to USD 119.92).

Bali was indeed the only key market to report a RevPAR increase (+5.0% to USD 78.83) while New Delhi reported the largest decrease dropping 52.7% to USD 101.33. Three other key markets that reported large RevPAR decreases include: Mumbai (51.4% to USD 95.56), Beijing (-51.2% to USD 50.46), and Bangkok (-47% to USD 39.74).

Source: ASIA Travel Tips.com at www.asiatraveltips.com