Hotel room rates in hotels in Asia Pacific have continued to slide in 2014.
According to the latest data from STR Global, the region’s hotels experienced a 3.5% decline in average daily rates (ADR) in the first two months of the year, from slightly above US$128 in 2013 to just US$123.87 in January and February 2014. This offset a 1.5% rise in occupancy levels, which averaged 64.4%. RevPAR (revenue per available room) slipped 2.0% to US$79.78.
Elizabeth Winkle, managing director of STR Global, said the performance of hotels across the region varied significantly from market to market, and was impacted by a range of factors.
“Asia Pacific saw positive occupancy growth this month, primarily driven by Northeast Asia – and particularly China. The timing of the Chinese New Year positively impacted performance celebrations occurred in January and February, [but] Bangkok has been impacted by the political situation, so we are seeing a significant decline in occupancy. However, we have not seen a significant impact on the beach markets,” Ms Winkle said.
“The Australia and Oceania markets are hitting high occupancy levels, approximately 90%, including Auckland (91.2%), Sydney (90.1%) and Melbourne (86.0%),” she added.
Taking February 2014 alone, China experienced a 16.3% rise in revPAR, driven by surging occupancy levels. The New Year holidays helped boost Chinese hotel occupancy by 20.3%, to 59.2%, but the country’s ADR fell 3.3% to CNY617.38 (approximately US$100). Singapore also saw strong revPAR growth (+17.5%), but this was largely driven by ADR, which climbed 10.8% to SG$318.29 (approx. US$250). India’s ADR slipped 2.4% to INR4,440.75 (approx. US$73) while Australia rose 2.5% to AU$184.40 (approx. US$167).
In protest-hit Bangkok, occupancy levels slumped 34.0% to just 54.7%, although the city was largely able to maintain its rates.
In 2013, Asia Pacific suffered a 4.1% drop in ADR, which led to a similar decline in revPAR.
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