Hotel room rates in Singapore may weaken as travel slows

Hotel room rates in Singapore may weaken as travel slows

By Cheryl Frois,

SINGAPORE: Moving into 2009, hotels in Singapore are expected to suffer as travel slows and room rates weaken.

This year, average room rates increased by about 8 per cent, reaching S$240 a night.

But with room occupancy rates dropping and tourist arrivals declining since June, hotels have to start making themselves competitive by pricing sensibly.

Tourism Management Institute of Singapore’s CEO, H P Loi, said: “Next year, room rates will have to drop, if you look at, not just Singapore, (but) at the region; you have to compare with the region, and also look at the present financial crisis which is worldwide, whereby people have less purchasing power to travel. Singapore cannot afford to price itself out by having hotels that are too expensive. I foresee that probably, conservatively, a 10% drop in hotel room rates may be necessary.”

With the full economic impact likely to be felt next year, analysts say companies can be expected to pull back on travel spending.

Mr Loi said: “The best hotel, at this stage, that I think that will do well will be basically the mid-tier hotel. Why I’m saying that is because during a crisis, people will not go for the high end. For corporate travellers, they will not go to the extreme low end; they will strike a balance and I think the mid-tier hotels will do an excellent job.”

Ibis, one of the five largest worldwide hotel operators, says it is well positioned to ride out the storm. Its 3-star hotel, which opens in February next year, has over 500 rooms, all of one category, charging one standard rate that includes free Wifi access.

Ibis Hotel’s general manager, Puneet Dhawan, said: “We will be the first and, for the time being, the only international economy hotel in Singapore. With the location, we can actually promise international quality of service as well as a great special opening rate of about less than $150, which even today is difficult for somebody trying to book a hotel on the Web or trying by looking at various ads, to find a decent international hotel in a good location in Singapore for under S$150.”

To date, Singapore has over 200 hotels and some 37,000 rooms. More rooms are in the pipeline.

In mid-December, the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) released for sale a site at the Stamford Road/North Bridge area. This land parcel is to include a hotel component which will synergise with existing hotels in the area.

By March 2010, 60 per cent of the integrated resorts in Singapore will reportedly be ready, including four of their six hotels. This will put another 1,400 rooms on the market.

And, 15,000 new rooms will be added over the next three to four years.

The Singapore Tourism Board says that while tourism outlook in the short term poses a challenge, the mid- to long-term outlook remains positive.

- CNA/ir

Source : Channel NewsAsia - 28 Dec 2008

Singapore Property - Buy, Sell, Rent, Invest

Mindy Yong

(+65)91002985

mindy@mindyyong.com

New small flats to have features for aged, disabled

New small flats to have features for aged, disabled
Two-room HDB units to be built mainly in non-mature estates
By Mavis Toh

The two-room flats that the Housing Board is building again will mainly be in non-mature estates and will come with elderly- and disabled-friendly features.
These 45 sq m units will have ramps at the main entrance and the toilets, and have wider toilet doors for easier wheelchair access.

SPECIAL FEATURES FOR 2-ROOMERS

Ramps at the main entrance and toilets

The eye-viewer at the front door will be larger than current ones while switches and electricity outlet points will be placed higher so the elderly do not have to stoop to reach them.

Lifts will stop at every floor and larger fonts will be used in signs around the blocks.

Moving across blocks will also be easier as ramps and wider walkways will be installed for the wheelchair-bound.

These features are not found in existing smaller HDB flats.

The HDB gave these details to The Sunday Times in response to queries about recent news that the board will be ramping up the supply of three-room and smaller flats to around 4,000 over the next two years.

The HDB had stopped building two- and three-room flats in the 1980s as Singaporeans had wanted bigger flats. But these cosy units made a comeback in 2004 because of renewed demand.

National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan told Parliament last month that more of such small flats will be built next year. They will help more low-income families own homes and also enable those who need to downgrade because of financial difficulties to do so, he said.

Noting that the smaller flats cater mainly to lower-income families, the HDB spokesman said: ‘To ensure that they remain affordable to the lower income, they would mainly be offered in non-mature estates where the selling prices are lower.

‘The smaller flats would be offered in a variety of estates so as to offer buyers a wider choice.’

A gauge of the demand for smaller flats can be seen in recent sales launches.

Under the HDB’s quarterly sale exercises in July and October this year, the take-up rates for three-room and smaller flats were 100 per cent and 97 per cent respectively. There are currently about 6,000 two-room and 210,000 three-room units in the open market. They cost between $77,000 and $275,000 each.

Besides catering to the lower income, small flats will meet the needs of an ageing population too. With the first batch of baby boomers due to hit 65 by 2012, the HDB expects the number of elderly folk to increase rapidly.

‘The smaller flats will provide an avenue for the increasing elderly population to monetise their existing larger flat by downgrading to smaller flats,’ the spokesman said.

It is thus timely for HDB to start stocking up on smaller flats now, considering it will take a few years for the flats to be built, she added.

This is good news for housewife Doris Leong, 57, who lives with her husband in a five-room flat in Hougang. Their three daughters have moved out after getting married.

Mrs Leong, who suffers from arthritis and has problems climbing stairs, said moving to a small unit is an option and welcomed elderly-friendly features like lifts that stop at every floor.

‘We don’t need a big flat for two people,’ she said. ‘With the extra money from the sale of our flat, we can live comfortably and maybe even make trips overseas.’

SPECIAL FEATURES FOR 2-ROOMERS
Ramps at the main entrance and toilets

Wider toilet doors for easier wheelchair access

Switches and electricity outlet points will be placed higher so the elderly do not have to stoop to reach them

Lifts will stop at every floor

Signs around the blocks will be in larger point sizes

Ramps and wider walkways to make moving across blocks easier for the wheelchair-bound

Source : Straits Times - 28 Dec 2008

Singapore Property - Buy, Sell, Rent, Invest

Mindy Yong

(+65)91002985

mindy@mindyyong.com