New hotels coming up on Orchard Rd
Channelnewsasia.com | Posted:
29 March 2013 0012 hrs
SINGAPORE
: Singapore's prime shopping belt Orchard Road is set to see its first new
hotel in two years.
The
new Holiday Inn Express is slated to open in the second quarter this year.
Another
new 500-room hotel located at the upcoming new mall Orchard Gateway is expected
to receive its first guests in the second quarter of next year.
After
a number of new shopping malls have set up shop along Orchard Road in the last
few years, new hotels are now coming up along the prime shopping belt.
Slated
to open in the second quarter of next year is the hotel in Orchard Gateway to
be managed by Traders Hotel.
Analysts
said the global financial crisis and the manpower constraints in the
construction industry have contributed to the lack of new hotels coming up on
Orchard Road in the past few years.
However,
patience does pay off.
Robert
McIntosh, executive director for Asia Pacific at CBRE Hotels, said: "The
same quality of hotel, they would have marked it up 10 to 20 per cent premium
on the room rates in Orchard Road.They are definitely more attractive than some
other location.
"There
is a lot of extra supply, about 6 per cent annually in the next couple of
years. But the demand is coming through pretty strongly as well. We think it is
going to balance out.'
Last
year, Singapore attracted a record 14.4 million visitors who spent S$23 billion
in tourism receipts. Despite a slowing global economy, officials are still
confident of tourist arrivals growing by up to 7.6 per cent to 15.5 million.
With
the increased supply of hotels in Singapore, analysts expect the occupancy rate
or the number of rooms that will be taken up to come down.
Alan
Cheong, research head at Savills Singapore, said: "The occupancy (rate)
will hit towards the 80 to 82 per cent levels in the next three to four years.
But the average room rate would be S$230 to S$240 per night for some hotels,
which is the current level.
"Anything
above 80 per cent is good for hoteliers. If your room rates hit about 60 per
cent or 70 per cent like in Bangkok, Beijing, you will charge about US$100 per
night."
A
slight dip in occupancy rate may not be all bad for hoteliers.
Analysts
said this will help maintain room rates and help the hotels to continuously
generate revenue.
Revenue
Per Available Room should continue to hold at a steady pace.
Martin Koh | 86666
944 | R020968Z
Sherry Tang |
9844 4400 | R020241C
Senior Sales
Director
DTZ Property
Network Pte Ltd (L3007960A)
Email: marshe_inc@yahoo.com.sg