The hotel market in Asia Pacific showed signs of slowing in July, as revenue per available room (revPAR) declined for the first time since October 2009.
According to the latest monthly data from STR Global, the region’s occupancy dropped 2.2% to 68.3% last month, while average daily rates (ADR) crept up just 0.2% increase to US$136. This caused the region’s revenue per available room (revPAR) to fall 2.1% to US$93.
In terms of individual markets, Hanoi saw to strongest occupancy growth, rising 23.7% to 64.8%. Jakarta (-10.3% to 73.1%) and Kuala Lumpur (-10.0% to 78.4%) however, both experienced double-digit declines. In US dollar terms, Taipei experienced the biggest ADR gains, climbing 14.0% year-on-year to US$185, ahead of Beijing (+13.1% to US$107). India’s hotels continued to struggle however, with ADR in Delhi (-27.3% to US$112) and Mumbai (-22.1% to US$133) falling rapidly from the inflated levels of previous years, as hotels come under pressure from an influx of new room supply, especially in the midscale market.
Three Asian markets achieved revPAR growth in excess of 15%: Hanoi (+22.3% to US$68), Phuket (+20.9% to US$73) and Tokyo (+17.6% to US$145). Delhi (-30.7% to US$61) and Mumbai (-19.6% to US$74) posted the largest revPAR decreases for the month.
Despite the regional decline, STR Global’s Managing Director Elizabeth Randall said there were successes in certain countries, most notably Thailand which is seeing a strong recovery from the problems of recent years.
“Thailand had its best July occupancy performance since 2006, with 67.8% for July 2012, just beating its July 2006 performance of 67.1%,” Ms Randall observed. “We have seen demand for hotel accommodation across the country increasing for the seven months this year (+10.3%) resulting as well from the increase in international visitors, especially from China.”
The four major markets of Australia, China, India and Singapore however, all posted monthly occupancy declines, with only Australia seeing revPAR growth.
