Hotel room rates in major Asian cities are largely trending upwards, led by Singapore, Hong Kong and Tokyo.
Overall, room rates in Asia grew 3.1 per cent for the first half on a year-on-year basis, according to corporate travel firm Hogg Robinson Group.
And industry experts expect the rates to increase further – to a maximum growth rate of 5 per cent for the full year. They agree that the better economic conditions are driving prices up in the region.
Moscow remains the most expensive city in the world, with room rates at US$407, while Hong Kong took a surprising leap from last year’s tenth spot to third.
Together with traditionally expensive cities Geneva (2nd), Paris (4th) and New York (5th), they round up the top 5 cities.
Asian cities are generally getting more expensive, with Tokyo going from 15th to 12th and Singapore moving 19 spots to 25th.
However, some Chinese cities like Beijing and Shanghai saw a drop in room prices as they face an oversupply in rooms and lower demand.
The Middle East wound up with the biggest fall in hotel room rates, dropping by 14.5 per cent.
Last year, global hotel room rates fell by 14 per cent from already weak 2008 figures, bringing prices back to levels before 2003, according to hotel.com’s Hotel Price Index.
Meanwhile, big mega theme events are expected to raise hotel room rates as demand surge.
In Singapore, the F1 race in September last year saw average room rates hit about S$206, according to the Singapore Tourism Board. That was a sharp 17.4 per cent increase from the previous month.
And this September, the trend is expected to continue in the city state.
Source : Channel NewsAsia– 31 Aug 2010