The Formula One (F1) night race in Singapore is less than two weeks away and hotels in the Marina Bay area are filling up fast, with some predicting a full house over the race weekend.
Most of the fencing has gone up in the downtown circuit area, as organisers and businesses gear up for yet another weekend of high-speed action.
With the newly-opened Marina Bay Sands integrated resort and Fullerton Bay Hotel, there are now 15 trackside hotels, offering a total of 10,000 rooms.
Last year, with the world in recession, the take-up rate for rooms was sluggish.
It is a different story this year, with many expecting occupancy rates of over 90 per cent.
Reservations also started coming in earlier compared to last year, and many hotels expect bookings to pick up pace as the race weekend nears.
A spokesperson for the Pan Pacific Hotels Group said occupancy rates are over 85 per cent, “picking up well above last year’s rates”.
The Marina Mandarin hotel is also seeing good response.
Ernawati Setiji, who is director of Marketing Communications at Marina Mandarin Singapore, said: “We are still getting a lot of bookings, a lot of enquiries. So we are quite hopeful that the weekend would be very healthy, if not close to full occupancy.”
An F1 package at the Marina Mandarin starts from S$1015++ per person, which includes a three-day grandstand pass. The package is valid for a minimum of two nights’ stay.
The hotel said prices are on par with last year’s rates.
Over at the Swissotel The Stamford, a room facing the circuit would cost about S$1,200 for a minimum of three nights’ stay, but tickets are not included.
Koo Sok Hoon, associate director for Marketing Communications at Fairmont Singapore & Swissotel The Stamford, said: “Even though the economy is doing well, we were not sure of the pick-up rate, and so we have kept our rates comparable to last year’s F1 weekend.
“Currently, what we are seeing is very positive response for both Fairmont Singapore and the Swissotel The Stamford’s F1 packages. In fact the take-up rate is very good, with few rooms left.”
Even non-trackside hotels are also seeing rooms fill up fast. The Mandarin Orchard’s spokesperson Lim Ee Jin said occupancy rates are up, from 80 to 85 per cent on average weekends to over 90 per cent, even though prices are 50 per cent higher.
While things are looking up for hotels, retailers in the vicinity are worried that the race will once again put a brake on business, with some expecting their takings to drop by about 20 per cent.
Most are located in the Suntec area, and had previously been affected by road closures.
One eatery said it plans to roster only half its workers during the race period of September 24-26.
But with the Singapore economy on the mend, businesses said the situation will not be as bad as last year.
Source : Channel NewsAsia – 13 Sep 2010