Asia Pacific hotel transactions are seeing a boom, with sales expected to reach some US$3.7 billion or S$5.2 billion – or 29 per cent of global sales – in 2010.
This is according to Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels, which said that global transaction volume is forecast to reach US$12.8 billion or S$18.1 billion this year.
Jones Lang LaSalle said Asia Pacific even exceeded the Americas by some 46 per cent with total sales volume of US$3.2 billion or S$4.5 billion for the first time ever in 2009.
A sentiment survey by the company said Asia Pacific investors’ expectations on hotel performance over the next six months to two years continue to trend upwards.
Investors’ expectations for Singapore and Sydney were the strongest in terms of market sentiment.
Meanwhile, Jones Lang LaSalle added that Asia has bucked the downward trend in the last two years, growing 22 per cent while global sales fell.
The company said this is due to a higher level of confidence in the region, as well as an overall stronger balance sheet for investors during the downturn.
Jones Lang LaSalle said mid-scale and budget hotel segments are starting to capture the interest of Asia Pacific investors.
It believes that, going forward, investors will see these assets as having the capacity to deliver significant returns in a market which is under-supplied across much of the region.
Source : Channel NewsAsia – 1 Jun 2010