Tribute Hotel Hong Kong

Tribute Hotels in partnership with developer District 15 will open the doors of its first property in Yau Ma Tei, Hong Kong, in April 2015. The 24-room boutique hotel will be the brand’s first property, occupying what once used to be an office building. Tribute Yau Ma Tei aims to be a select service lifestyle hotel that offers a social and casual environment. The opening of Tribute Hotel follows the trend of hotels expanding into fringe locations along new MTR lines and Kowloon Bay. The average occupancy in Hong Kong stands at 88.8% with an ADR of HK$1,484 generating a RevPAR of HK$1,318.

Four Seasons Bangkok Rebranded as Anantara

Four Seasons Hotels Ltd. and Minor Hotel Group (MHG) have announced the rebranding of the Four Seasons Bangkok to MHG’s luxury brand, Anantara Hotels, Resorts & Spas. The rebranding will come into effect as of 1 March 2015. Four Seasons however has plans to re-enter the market with Country Group Development in 2018, with a 300-room hotel and 350-unit private residences along the Chao Phraya River. The luxury segment in Bangkok has remained strong and recorded gains in both occupancy and ADR, leading to an increase of RevPAR by almost 10%, from 2012 to 2013. Bangkok is expected to see an increase in the amount of demand generators with the development of Icon Siam, EmQuartier and Asiatique Phase 2.

Kuala Lumpur - Singapore High-Speed Railway

Low cost carriers and inter-country coach services may see increased competition in the near future with the development of a high-speed railway between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore, due to be completed in 2020. The RM38.4bn investment will provide commuters an alternative option with overland travel time expected to reduce from 7 hours to just 90 minutes. A total of seven stations are expected: Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya, Seremban (Negeri Sembilah), Ayer Keroh (Malacca), Muar (Johor), Batu Pahat (Johor), Nusajaya (Johor) and Singapore. Construction of the railway will not only benefit both terminal cities but a number of cities in between that previously did not have access to such high-speed transportation. Established destinations such as Malacca will most likely experience an increase in appeal backed by this improved ease of access. Construction of the railway is expected to commence towards the end of 2015.

Asia Pacific Hotel Watch 2015: Maldives Outlook

The Maldives reached its target of one million international visitors for the first time when 1,125,202 tourists visited the country in 2013 mainly spurred by the rise in spending power of the Chinese. Year-to-date tourist arrivals as of November 2014 reached 1,101,113 - a 7.9% increase from the year before. With the increasing affluence of visitors from APAC and the Middle East, in addition to the proactive support from the Ministry of Tourism, the Maldives is geared towards welcoming a record number of tourists in the years to come.  As an island-paradise destination, the Maldives hotel market continues to grow with new developments and brands being introduced into the market. With strong tourism fundamentals and growing visitations, we believe that the Maldives will continue to attract the interest of investors from across continents.
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2014 Share Prices

In 2014, the 35 companies that this newsletter has been historically tracking reported better annualized returns with an average annual return of 22% as compared to 3% the year before. Volatility of the portfolio’s weekly returns also showed improvements, with 25 companies experiencing lower volatility compared to the previous year. Companies such as Guangzhou Dong Fang Hotel Co Ltd, Oberoi Hotels & Resorts and Taj Hotels Resorts & Palaces recorded the highest gains, reporting annual returns of more than 100%. These results could be a reflection of the increasing popularity of hotel developments in Asia Pacific with transactions peaking in the first and second quarter of 2014, at US$12 bn and US$11.8 bn respectively, finally surpassing the 2008 high of US$11.7 bn.

Absolute Share Price Performance, as on 9 January 2015