Reflecting the impact of a second lockdown, Melbourne showed continued lower hotel performance in October 2020, according to preliminary data from STR.Year-over-year declines remained significant. Comparison with October 2019:
Thailand's leading resort island Phuket has come face-to-face with the reality that it is tourism high-season will not see a marked reopening to overseas travelers. In the wake of the dismantling of the 'Phuket Model' and refocus by the government on using Bangkok as a single international gateway, there is increasing alarm over the lack of a path forward for the island's rice bowl-tourism. The key tourism indicator for the island is airlift and Phuket International Airport is the gateway for 70-80% of visitors to the destination. According to Airports of Thailand (AOT) data, 121,530 passengers arrived in the month of September. This equates to just over 4,000 arrivals a day and a portion of these include local residents and business people. Comparing year-on-year data, 2019's daily arrivals which included international travelers was five times higher. Commenting on the toxic situation, hospitality consulting group C9 Hotelworks Managing Director Bill Barnett says "there is a dramatic change in the market mix where the current domestic-led average length of stay for hotels is approximately 1.8 days, while for foreign travelers it's more than double this amount. What this means for hotels is severely reduced overall demand across the island's entire accommodation sector." Looking forward to the high season when the numbers spike upwards in the four months of December through March, the high season months last year equated to more than one-third of annual demand. Total domestic and international arrivals at the airport totaled just over 9 million in 2019. Adding in high season shoulder months into the equation, the stark economic impact of Phuket's economic seasonality is reflected in the fact that well over half of the island's tourism arrivals are packed into a six-month period. Now, nearly two months into that timeframe, what is apparent is it's virtually impossible to save the high season and hotel owners in 2021 will be forced to contend with historically the lowest trading months of the year by May. Given these grim prospects, C9 is predicting large-scale job losses and business closures given there is no light at the end of the pandemic-induced tunnel. "Taking a 360-degree view on the restricted domestic-only demand, you have to take into account that Phuket's current registered accommodation supply has continued to surge to its present size of 90,267 rooms in 1,773 hotels/tourism establishments" adds Barnett. "Of this supply upper midscale, upscale, and luxury properties of international standards are approximately 25% of the total rooms."Data from leading data intelligence provider STR daily has Phuket occupancy averaging 10% with upward spikes on weekends at international standard hotels. Looking into the number though, the reality is domestic travelers are cashing in on cheap deals at upscale and luxury hotels. Given limited visitor arrivals the far larger mid and economy tiers where most of the hotel inventory sits, are experiencing even lower occupancy. This domino effect is expected to prevail unabated throughout a sustained downturn and effectively crushes the smaller properties and local tourism businesses.
The Indian Hotels Company Limited (IHCL), South Asia's largest hospitality company, reported its Consolidated and Standalone financials for the second quarter ending September 30th, 2020.
As entry restrictions for international travelers in Japan remain in place, new trends in hotel performance have emerged. Recent data suggests a distinct preference for regional destinations, helped in part by the Japanese government's "Go to Travel" campaign to promote domestic travel and help boost local businesses. But while regional markets are leading the recovery in the country, levels remain well below pre-pandemic levels with full recovery not expected for years.
STR's Forward STAR data shows that Australia's short-term hotel performance will remain similar to recent months with regional areas outperforming capital cities.Parallel to other countries across the world, higher occupancy in regional areas is especially pronounced on weekends, and occupancy-on-the-books data for the next 90 days (as of 5 October) shows a similar pattern. Data for Saturday, 17 October, for example, shows Regional Australia's occupancy on the books at 46%, while the capital cities show 26% in the metric. November and December data follows suit, with Regional Australia data sitting between 14-32% and capital cities between 8-17%. Post-Christmas is where the trend begins to shift slightly, with more Australians set to head out of town for their summer vacations.
While many nations have lifted COVID-19-related limits on travelers, entry restrictions for international travelers in Japan remain in place. However, the Japanese government has launched a "Go to Travel" campaign to promote domestic travel and help boost local businesses. But while hotel occupancy has improved thanks to this government campaign, levels remain well below pre-pandemic levels with full recovery not expected for years.
Few industries have suffered more from the COVID-19 than hospitality and tourism, and China's hotel sector has many lessons to learn. In a thought-provoking exploratory study published recently, Dr Fei Hao, Dr Qu Xiao and Dean Kaye Chon of the School of Hotel and Tourism Management (SHTM) at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University cast light on the fundamental impact of COVID-19 on the sector, and propose strategies for Chinese hotel firms to overcome their current difficulties and emerge ever stronger. First and hardest hit by the devastating impact of COVID-19, Chinese hotels now have the chance to lead the global sector out of crisis and into a bright new future.
2019 had been one of the strongest performing years for the Indian hotel market in the past decade, uplifting hopes for even better performance in 2020. However, 2020 has been the toughest year in living memory and unfortunately looks to carry on the negative trend for the rest of the year due to the global pandemic. A significant part of the first half of the year was impacted by COVID-19, especially after a complete country wide lockdown was implemented effective 24 March 2020.
Phuket's hotel industry is reaching breaking point and drastic economic support from the government is needed for it to survive the high season, urge industry leaders. In the wake of the controversial "Phuket Model" international travel reopening scheme, reality is biting back as hotels in Thailand's leading resort island are unable to sustain operating viability based on domestic tourism.According to the Airports of Thailand (AOT), passenger arrivals at the aviation gateway have plunged 65% year-on-year from January through July of this year. What is clear is that the 86,000 rooms in Phuket's registered accommodation establishments cannot realistically break-even or even be cash-flow positive with only domestic demand. This realistically could set the scene for 50,000 job losses in the hotel sector this year if there's no support forth coming or international visitors are not allowed in. One of the green shoots is the Alternative Local State Quarantine (ALSQ) program, with over 60 island properties applying.
Oakwood®, a wholly owned subsidiary of Mapletree Investments ("Mapletree"), together with Country Garden Commercial and Culture Tourism Group, announced the strategic alliance to co-develop new branded product Oakwood Beluxs at the 2020 Asia Hotel and Travel Forum held in Shanghai, China on August 13. Country Garden Commercial and Culture Tourism Group's cutting-edge business intelligence and its commitment to urban civilization, backed by Oakwood's renowned expertise in the management of serviced apartments, will set a strong foundation for the target opening of 100 Oakwood Beluxs properties in China's 50 cities with the highest gross domestic product (GDP) by 2030.
Sydney showed slightly higher hotel performance in July 2020 but the same significant level of year-over-year declines, according to preliminary data from STR.
The electronic quarantine tag recently introduced in Singapore has the potential to rattle the number of international departures from the country, which reached 16.8 million in 2019, as it is yet another aspect that will elevate consumer angst and postpone recovery for neighboring Asian destinations, according to GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.
HVS has conducted a survey about the COVID-10 pandemic and its unprecedented impact on the South Korea hotel market. The survey is divided in two sections, how the properties in South Korea is reacting in response to drop of overall demands throughout contingency plans and viewpoint of how experts in the hotel operations are recognizing sign of recovery of pandemic as well as their outlook of the market in the future.
Luang Prabang is located in north central Laos on a peninsula bounded by the Mekong River to the north and the Khan River to the east. Listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Since 1995, Luang Prabang attracts tourists from international and regional markets through a combination of preserved cultural experiences and natural beauty within the province. The following article gives a brief overview of Luang Prabang, its tourism industry and recent dynamics of the local lodging market.
The survey discusses COVID-19 pandemic and its unprecedented impact on the Drive-In Hotel Markets. On a property level, the survey focuses on hoteliers' point of view on reopening strategies, domestic demand profile, and market outlook. The survey discusses COVID-19 pandemic and its unprecedented impact on the Drive-In Hotel Markets. On a property level, the survey focuses on hoteliers' point of view on reopening strategies, domestic demand profile, and market outlook. The survey was distributed to participants on 11 June 2020. The data collection period was available through 8 July 2020.
Melbourne showed slightly higher hotel performance in June 2020 but the same significant level of year-over-year declines, according to preliminary data from STR.Comparison with June 2019:
As markets slowly begin to reopen and leisure demand picks up, specifically on weekends, it is important to look towards business-on-the-books data to see how these markets will perform in the coming weeks and months.
Each week, STR analysts provide a deep-dive into China hotel performance. The most recent video is linked below, available in both English and Chinese.Key highlights:
While the global travel sector continues to withstand the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, some markets have started to show signs of recovery. In China, where the virus first broke out, domestic airline passenger levels have grown steadily, and now sit at 50 percent of precrisis levels. Hotel occupancy rates have also improved since the depths of the crisis, and are now back to 60 percent of last year's levels. Domestic travel is now positioned to accelerate as summer approaches, with segments that drive demand during this period, such as families, reporting an increased desire to travel in the near term. In this article we explore some key trends in travel, and how these have changed from the early stages of COVID-19 recovery, in April.
Reflecting the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, Sydney showed continued lower hotel performance in May 2020, according to preliminary data from STR.Comparison with May 2019: