The hotel sectors in Japan and South Korea experienced vastly different fortunes in August 2015.
According to the latest monthly data from STR Global, Japan experienced rising occupancy, rates and revPAR (revenue per available room) last month, with double-digit growth in the latter two measurements. South Korean hotels however, experienced sharp declines in all three performance metrics, including double-digit declines in terms of occupancy and revPAR.
In Japan, the devaluation of the yen has led to an increase in international visitor arrivals. This factor, combined with only a small amount of extra room supply (+1.3%) entering the market, has caused demand for existing Japanese hotels to soar.
The country’s occupancy hit 87.0% in August 2015, up 1.3% year-on-year, while average daily rates (ADR) surged 13.3% to JPY16,455 (approx. US$137). This pushed Japanese revPAR up 14.7% to JPY14,321.
South Korea however, experienced a 14.4% slump in occupancy, to 70.1%, and a 7.5% drop in ADR, to KRW176,180 (approx. US$147). RevPAR plunged 20.8% to KRW123,508.
These poor results were caused by a sharp fall in demand for South Korean hotel rooms following the MERS outbreak. Demand for South Korean hotel rooms has now fallen 24.1% in the first eight months of 2015, according to STR Global. South Korea was declared MERS-free on 28 July.
In contrast to Japan and Korea, the combined hotel performance of Asia Pacific saw much smaller fluctuations. For August 2015, the region’s occupancy increased 1.3% to 72.7%, while ADR rose 1.0% to US$109.21. This allowed revPAR to increase 2.3% to US$79.41.
And for the first eight months of 2015, Asia Pacific’s occupancy has averaged 67.8%, up 0.5% year-on-year, while ADR dipped 0.6% to US$107.95 and revPAR remained almost flat at just over US$73.
Bangkok hotels boom despite bomb
Bangkok’s hotels experienced rising occupancy, rates and revPAR in August, despite the bombing. Occupancy jumped 10.4% to 76.3% while ADR increased 5.1% to THB3,235 (approx. US$89) and revPAR surged 16.0% to THB2,470. The results were helped by a weak month in August 2014, which allowed performance to remain comparatively strong even after the 17 August bomb.
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