According to STR Global, a hotel industry consultant, China’s hotel occupancy and average daily rate (ADR) showed a dramatic decline in September this year compared to the rest of Asia, which generally enjoyed increases on both fronts.
The study, which looked at 15 countries within the region, examined Shanghai’s market, one of the most competitive in China, and found that occupancy had fallen by 16.5 percent to 62.7 percent for the year ending in September and ADR was down to CNY804.56 (US$126). Countrywide occupancy on the whole stood at 63.4 percent.
In contrast, average occupancy for hotels within the Asia-Pacific region hit 68.1 percent and ADR increased by 6.6 percent to US$140.06.
The most robust markets that clocked the highest occupancy rates were Bangkok, with a 68.5 per cent occupancy rate, Jakarta, at 71.2 per cent, and Kuala Lumpur, 77 per cent. Singapore did the best with 85.2 per cent occupancy.
This news comes at a time when international hotel brands are all aggressively expanding in Mainland China. Marriott recently opened its 100th hotel in the country – a 345-room JW Marriott in Shenyang – with plans to add one hotel every month over the next three years (see story here). Starwood, on the other hand, has a pipeline of 90 hotels for China while InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) has unveiled a unique brand specifically for the Chinese market (see story here).
For more information, visit www.str.com
Alisha Haridasani
