"I'll make him an offer he can't refuse" - Don Vito Corleone, Mario Puzo's 'The Godfather'. We wonder if Don Corleone had the right idea! The unforgiving world of the 1950s Italian Mafia in the boroughs of New York was about not questioning the means as long they justified the ends. Was there honor in play?
The motivations of Chinese luxury travellers are not very well understood, and little studied, but with persistence they can be determined. Having reviewed the literature on the topic in a recently published study, Ph.D. student Elaine Yulan Zhang and Dr Tony Tse of the School of Hotel and Tourism Management (SHTM) at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University argue that "a subset of relatively wealthy Chinese luxury travellers" are driven by the desire for "status, interpersonal relationships, relaxation and hedonism, self-improvement and perfection".
Ovolo Group's founder & CEO, Girish Jhunjhnuwala, has called on the Hong Kong Government for assistance for the local hospitality industry given the current economic downturn in the region. The situation in Hong Kong has hit been felt across all corners of the city including the retail, aviation and financial sectors, with the tourism industry being the hardest hit.
STR's preliminary August 2019 data for hotels in Melbourne, Australia, indicates lower overall performance, but higher room rates.Based on daily data from the month, Melbourne reported the following in year-over-year comparisons:
STR's preliminary August 2019 data for hotels in Hong Kong indicates all-time low occupancy levels amid ongoing protests in the region.Based on daily data from the month, Hong Kong reported the following in year-over-year comparisons:
STR's preliminary August 2019 data for hotels in Sydney, Australia, indicates lower performance due to supply growth. Based on daily data from the month, Sydney reported the following in year-over-year comparisons:
After a buoyant period of booming tourism demand, Chiang Mai has felt the impact of new supply on top-tier hotel performance. Heightened hotel investments, along with infrastructure bottlenecks, will likely dampen near-term growth. Passive investors could continue to take a long-term view of this unique charming town's potential. Major transport improvement plans, the UNESCO World Heritage Initiative Project and the vested interest of a property tycoon in developing his riverside land bank into another tourism landmark give rise to optimism for the destination. Nevertheless, opportunistic and institutional players will remain cautious until Chiang Mai's next upswing returns in earnest.
The Pudong Expo area is a key part of Shanghai's future development where headquarters, financial institutions and high-end service industries are under rapid development. In the '13th Five-Year Plan of Shanghai', the Expo area is planned to be the International Central Activity Zone. This latest report reviews the historical market performance, identifies the demand segmentation dynamics and draws an overview of the Upper-Upscale and Upper-Midscale hotels in the Pudong Expo area.
STR's preliminary June 2019 data for hotels in Melbourne, Australia, indicates strong supply affecting performance levels. Based on daily data from the month, Melbourne reported the following in year-over-year comparisons:
The performance of the New Zealand hotel industry plateaued in 2018, although at a relatively high level compared to recent decades. Government international visitor arrival projections, despite having been revised downwards, are still reasonably positive in the medium term. Hotel demand growth will be supported by new international standard conference centres opening in major cities over the next five years, and continue to be supported by destination marketing and economic development agencies. However, targeted property rates and other proposed hotel and tourism taxes, peer-to-peer accommodation, and a significant increase in hotel room supply will provide challenges for the industry.
STR's preliminary May 2019 data for hotels in Sydney indicates performance consistent with supply outpacing demand.Based on daily data from the month, Sydney reported the following in year-over-year comparisons:
By 2023, approximately 3,000 guestrooms of the top-end segment will have entered the Kuala Lumpur luxury hotel market. Big brands such as Banyan Tree, Four Seasons and W made their presence in 2018, and brands such as Equatorial, Conrad, Regent, Jumeirah, SO Sofitel, Park Hyatt and Kempinski have began, or are expected to begin, operations within the next 5 years.
STR's preliminary April 2019 data for hotels in Melbourne indicates lower performance. Based on daily data from the month, Melbourne reported the following in year-over-year comparisons:
Despite travel warnings most notably in China, Mount Agung's continued explosive activities and Lombok's earthquakes, Bali weathered the storm in 2018 although with slower growth after two years of double-digit growth in international arrivals.Within the next 5 years, Bali is expected to add approximately 7,000 rooms, with about 80% of the rooms being 3 and 4-star, in line with the greater mass-market dynamic.The hotel residence market remains flattened. With over 4,000 hotel branded residence units on the market for sale, developers have been pushed to offer a higher owner's revenue share and the choice of high guaranteed return.
Tourist arrivals to the Maldives grew at a CAAG rate of 8.1% from 2008 to 2018. By end of 2018, total arrivals exceeded 1.4 million. As the highest rate-yielding market in Asia, developers are all vying for a share of the pie. In 2019, the Maldives is expected to witness 17 new resort openings, adding over 2,100 keys to the resort market. Is there room for more resorts in the Maldives?
Lifestyle branded hotels are becoming more mainstream and increasingly accounting for a larger share of the hotel universe, with several big hotel operators launching or purchasing their own boutique hotel brands over the past five years.
Hua Hin's top-tier hotel market is slowly coming out of stagnancy. Past years were disrupted by a sequence of negative incidents from a military coup, a zero-dollar tour crackdown and the passing of the late King on the back of several hotel openings. The market performance recovery in the foreseeable future will be supported by improved business and tourism sentiment, coupled with moderate supply pipeline. However, uncertainty looms over a long-term vision of the Thai Riviera and potential resurgence of new hotel developments and alternative accommodation.
STR's preliminary March 2019 data for hotels in Sydney indicates lower performance. Based on daily data from March, Sydney reported the following in year-over-year comparisons:
Over the last 10 years the Melbourne hotel market has recorded solid performance levels with occupancy consistently in the 80s and with ADR recording moderate increases year-on-year. The market has a reputation of having been able to overcome supply growth in the past through its strong year-round events calendar and it is with this in mind the industry is confident that the current burst of hotel supply additions will be able to be successfully absorbed without causing any major stress to the market.
After a long hiatus Indiawide ADRs in 2018 grew at 6.25%, resulting in a RevPAR growth of 9.6%. We anticipate RevPARs in 2019 to grow by 9.5% on the back of growth primarily in ADR.