Business travel segment upbeat despite sagging economy

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Singapore ranks among the cities with the highest average room rates

HOTEL room rates for corporate bookings continue to rise significantly even as economic sentiment remains gloomy in the Asia-Pacific region, according to a study by HRS.

The HRS Hotel Price Radar Q1 2016 report showed that the cities of Tokyo, Sydney and Singapore have the highest average room rates, costing S$287 (US$207), S$264 and S$271 on average per night respectively.

Of the three cities, Tokyo sees the highest growth with rates raised by 19 per cent compared to last year, and Singapore by 6.9 per cent. Sydney, meanwhile, maintained its rates.

Throughout Asia-Pacific, Bengaluru experienced the greatest surge in room rates with costs going up by 32.6 per cent on average this first quarter compared to 1Q2015.

Not all results were positive however, with Beijing and Kuala Lumpur seeing declines of 1.2 per cent and 9.8 per cent in average room rates respectively. HRS expects corporate booking rates in Beijing to rise in the following quarters as government infrastructure spend comes into play.

Todd Arthur, managing director for HRS in Asia-Pacific, attributed the overall positive changes to developments in the MICE segment.

“Insights indicate that business travel in the region has stayed resilient, even though the year has so far been characterised by uncertainty for most economies, and this could be largely attributed to positive movements in the MICE industry,” he said.

“We are observing an increasing take-up of MICE opportunities, especially, with countries channelling investments towards developing (them) in the form of new tourism policies, increased business events, high-level dialogue sessions and overall travel infrastructure. We anticipate stronger business tourism in the upcoming quarter.”

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