Hotel revPAR continues to decline in Asia

Hotels in the Asia Pacific region experienced another month of falling revPAR (revenue per available room) in November 2014.

According to the latest data from STR Global, the region’s revPAR declined 3.4% to US$83.48 last month. This was driven by a 3.0% drop in average daily rates (ADR), to US$115.70, and a 0.4% dip in occupancy, to 72.2%.

But STR Global’s managing director, Elizabeth Winkle, said the US dollar figures don’t tell the full story.

“In US dollar terms, Asia Pacific as a region is showing a decline on revPAR rates. However, when looking at it on a constant-currency basis, the region has increased by 0.7%.” she said. “Australia has performed very well in 2014 and will end the year on a positive note, with strong performance in cities such as Melbourne and Sydney reporting year-to-date revPAR growth of 5.8% and 4.6% respectively, when reported in local currency.”

Other markets performing well in their local currency include Osaka, where revPAR jumped 25.7% to JPY13,565 (approx. US$113), Mumbai (+17.0% to INR6,3701, or approx. US$100), Auckland (+11.7% to NZ$146, or approx. US$113), Taipei (+11.7% to TWD5,183, or approx. US$163), Shanghai (+11.2% to CNY531, or approx. US$86) and Hanoi (+11.1% to VND1,968,215, or approx. US$91).

Seoul (-8.0% to KRW165,288, or approx. US$150) and Phuket (-7.4% to THB2,995, or approx. US$91) reported the largest revPAR decreases in November.

Year-to-date, the Asia Pacific region has now experienced a revPAR decline of 2.2% in US dollar terms, to US$79.82, with a 2.5% drop in ADR, to US$116.00, offsetting a 0.5% increase in occupancy, to 68.8%.

Ms Winkle revealed the regional trends leading to this result.

“In the first 11 months, China was able to increase occupancy by 2% to 66.2%… however, the market is still struggling with rate, resulting in a 1% revPAR decline (when reported in local currency),” she explained.

“Japan has remained flat from an occupancy perspective, however rate still grows, due to ongoing government economic policies, most significantly the weakness of the yen.

“As a result of last spring’s military action resulting in uncertainty in the minds of tourists, Thailand has seen demand declines of 11.3% November year-to-date, which has negatively impacted occupancy (-12.9%). In spite of declining demand and occupancy, the country grew rates by 2.9%, when reported in local currency.”