After enduring three years of sliding RevPAR, Singapore hoteliers are expecting the tide to turn in their favour this year.
RevPAR fell consecutively in recent years, from S$204 (US$156) in 2014 to S$183 last year. However, hospitality players and experts at the recent Hotel Investment Conference Asia Pacific (HICAP) 2018 expressed confidence that numbers will pick back up.
“The environment is starting to get better. The past few years were devastating, and it was on the back of the government believing that demand (for rooms) would continue to come in, and this resulted in a big imbalance,” commented Gerald HK Lee, CEO of FEO Hospitality Asset Management.
“I think that will be addressed this year, as we clocked in about six per cent of arrivals last year. If we can achieve (more) growth in arrivals, at least the equation will be turned around,” he surmised.
Chee Hok Yean, managing partner, Asia Partner, HVS, concurred. She predicted: ”This year, occupancy will probably inch up, room rates will probably stay flat, and the refurbishment of major hotels bodes well for performance.”
Experts and operators predict that RevPAR growth will bounce up to three per cent from last year. This recovery is also anticipated due to lower operating costs, including labour, speculated Lee.
The industry has already seen a “good trend for the first months of 2018”, said KC Moy, executive vice president, Capella Hotel Group.
Since 2014, there has been little deviation in Singapore’s average occupancy rate, with 84.7 per cent recorded for last year. Meanwhile, total gazetted hotel room revenue hit a five-year high of S$3.7 billion last year.
Global luxury travel network Virtuoso has made two key promotions to support its Australian base while expanding further into Asian markets.
Evan Pierce will relocate to Singapore to become the regional director, Asia, and lead the Asia team in Virtuoso’s expansion into China, Singapore, Taiwan, South Korea and Japan.
Meanwhile, Cristina Magni Cristina will remain in Sydney as regional director, Australia and New Zealand, where she will continue to drive the growth of the member network.
Virtuoso Asia-Pacific managing director, Michael Londregan said: “Virtuoso has witnessed strong performance in the Asia-Pacific region over the past five years and Virtuoso has made the commitment to reward this success by further investment in our in-market resources.
“In 2017 we saw more than 20 per cent growth in our regional network, much of which was the result of existing members growing their business through expansion, acquisition and efficiencies.”
Photo caption: (From left) Evan Pierce, Cristina Magni and Michael Londregan