Travel demand fuels a boom in Asia Pacific - in hotel rates
Finding a great hotel deal may be harder than ever before. Hotel rates are at an “all-time high,” Alan Watts, Hilton’s Asia-Pacific president, told “Squawk Box Asia” on Thursday. Rates are being fueled by travel demand that is like “a feast … to offset the famine,” he said, referencing the pandemic. According to earnings reports, Hilton’s average daily rates increased by 8% in the fourth quarter of 2022, compared with the same period in 2019. Similarly, Marriott and IHG hiked prices by 13%, while Hyatt had a 14% daily rate increase. That’s globally. In parts of Asia Pacific, hotel rates are climbing even higher.
Rates in Asia are skyrocketing
The travel boom in Asia Pacific has been “phenomenal,” said Watts.
Data shows this is especially true in places where Chinese travelers are going.
Average hotel rates across Southeast Asia have gone up more than 10% since 2022, according to data from the travel booking company Traveloka.
But rates have climbed more than 45% in destinations that are attracting the most Chinese travelers, said the company’s chief strategy officer, Joydeep Chakraborty.
“The most significant increase was recorded in Bali, Bangkok, Phuket and Singapore, with Bangkok topping the charts at over 70% and Singapore coming in at over 40%,” he said.
Ctrip, the leading travel booking website in China, also told CNBC that average hotel booking prices in Bangkok jumped by around 70% in late January.
