2018: Hotel Valuation Index (Asia Pacific – Select Markets)

By Jeremy Teo, Ho Mei Leng and Chee Hok Yean
With Notable contributions from Larissa Lam, Fan Yang, Kok Xin, Hemant Chawla, Stacey Zhu,Chloe Pang and Deborah Rolland.

The Hotel Valuation Index analyses economic as well as hotel-market specific demand and supply dynamics to derive indicative values and future growth trends for the top 25 hotel markets in 12 countries in the Asia Pacific Region.
 
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Worldwide Hotels Acquires ibis Styles Brisbane Hotel in Brisbane, Australia

United Arab Emirates-based Action Hotels (“Action”) has sold the ibis Styles Brisbane Hotel in Brisbane Central Business District to Singapore-based Legend Land Brisbane Pty Ltd (“Legend Land Brisbane”), a subsidiary of Singapore-based Worldwide Hotels (“Worldwide”) for an undisclosed sum. This is the group’s second Australian hotel acquisition this year following the 186-key Holiday Inn Perth City Centre in April. Opened in March 2016, the 367-key ibis Styles Brisbane hotel is situated at 40 Elizabeth Street with unobstructed views of Brisbane River and the South Bank cultural precinct. The hotel is in close proximity to Queen Street Mall, Eagle Street Pier, Treasury Casino and the Convention Centre. Ibis Styles Brisbane features a restaurant, a bar, a fitness centre, 190 square metres of meeting and conference facilities. Worldwide Hotels currently owns and manages six hotel brands in Singapore, including Hotel 81, Hotel Boss, Hotel Mi, V Hotel, Value Hotel and Venue Hotel. The group’s portfolio comprises of 43 hotels with more than 8,000 rooms across Asia Pacific.

KKR, IGIS and NPS Acquired Prime Real Estate Asset in Seoul’s Central Business District

US-based investment firm KKR& Co LP (“KKR”), South Korea-based integrated real estate investment and management firm IGIS Asset Management (“IGIS”), and South Korea-based public pension fund National Pension Service of Korea (“NPS”) have made an investment to acquire a mixed-use real estate project from a consortium led by South Korea-based engineering firm Daor E&C Co Ltd (“Daor E&C”). The project is expected to cost approximately USD1.9 billion, inclusive of purchase price and further cost to complete. The asset currently under development is in Gangnam, Seoul’s Central Business District, on the former Renaissance Hotel site. Once completed, the development will feature a gross floor area of 239,188 square metres and net leasable area of 121,707 square metres, divided between prime grade office space, amenity retail space and a five-star hotel. South Korea-based hotel operator Shinsegae Chosun Hotel (“Shinsegae Chosun”) has already signed a 20-year master lease agreement for the 263-key hotel. Funded by the USD9.3 billion KKR Asian Fund III, this is KKR’s third real estate investment in South Korea. Its partner, IGIS, is known as the largest real estate investment and asset management firm in South Korea as it manages more than USD20 billion of real estate assets.

Qatar Airways Increases Flight Frequency to Maldives

Qatar Airways has launched an additional daily flight between Doha and Maldives from 28 October 2018, increasing the flight frequency to thrice daily. The five hour flight, serviced by A330-300 and A320-200 aircrafts, provides passengers with more flexibility and choice, as well as enhanced connectivity to destinations such as London, Berlin, Paris, Milan, Rome, Frankfurt, Zurich, Moscow, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Nairobi via Qatar Airways’ hub, Hamad International Airport. The move comes soon after Qatar Airways upgraded its double-daily A330 service with an A350 aircraft, which features a total of 283 seats, with 36 Business class seats and 247 in Economy Class. With the additional service to Malé Velana International Airport, the number of weekly flights from Qatar to Maldives will increase from 14 to 21.

Alibaba Opens Its First Hotel in China

China-based Alibaba Group (“Alibaba”) recently announced the opening of its first property, FlyZoo Hotel (internally referred to as an Alibaba Future Hotel), in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province of China. Located at the east wing of Alibaba Xixi Park, the hotel is committed to providing a smart hospitability service experience for guests through a series of technological innovations. Without human staff throughout the whole operation, the hotel uses robots for all check-in/out and in-room services. FlyZoo Hotel will also feature seven theme-rooms, equipped with the latest technology and cutting-edge features, such as smart speakers ‘Tmall Elfs’ and other intelligent equipments. Through voice-activated technology, hotel guests will be able to control the room’s temperature, light intensity and household appliances. FlyZoo Hotel is an incubation project of Alibaba, and the group is expected to extend to other hospitality business with its hotel experience.

Absolute Share Price Performance, as on 2 November 2018