Bangkok facing hotel room overload

The hotel sector in Bangkok may soon be facing an oversupply problem if the 10 new properties planned to built in the Thai capital before year-end are completed as planned. The Bangkok Post has reported that the new hotels will add 2,700 new rooms into the city’s inventory, and according to property consultancy firm, CB Richard Ellis.
“Should all these hotels be completed as scheduled, it will raise concerns about oversupply given current global economic conditions,'” the company said in its latest research on Bangkok luxury hotels
The first phase of the Centara Grand at CentralWorld was completed in the second quarter, adding 418 rooms to raise supply to 24,498 rooms, spread across 77 hotels, up 6.9% year-on-year. Of these 16% are in the luxury category, 20% first class, 51% mid-scale, and 13% economy.
Currently tourist arrivals to Bangkok have not been seen to deteriorate, despite the capital’s troubles. The numbers of visitors to Bangkok remained healthy during the first half with Suvarnabhumi Airport handling 8% more international arrivals, year-on-year, than in 2007.
“However, considering the economic environment in Western nations, along with current projections for hotel completions over the next two years, we remain concerned about sector performance,” CBRE said.