Fresh pipeline data for Caribbean/Mexico and Central/South America has arrived from STR and STR Global.
Caribbean/Mexico: The Caribbean/Mexico hotel development pipeline comprises 137 hotels totaling 17,208 rooms, according to the July 2010 STR/TWR/Dodge Construction Pipeline Report released this week.
Among the countries of the region, Mexico reported the largest number of rooms in the total active pipeline with 10,819 rooms, with nearly 50 percent of its rooms in the In Construction phase (5,121 rooms). The Dominican Republic (1,929 rooms) and Puerto Rico (1,210 rooms) also reported more than 1,000 rooms in the total active pipeline.
Central/South America: The Central/South America hotel development pipeline comprises 133 hotels totaling 20,770 rooms, according to the July 2010 STR Global Construction Pipeline Report released this week.
Among the countries in the region, Brazil reported the largest amount of rooms in the total active pipeline with 7,042 rooms, followed by Panama with 5,400 rooms. Two other countries ended the month with more than 1,500 rooms in the total active pipeline: Argentina (1,700 rooms) and Colombia (1,509 rooms).
European hotels have managed to hold their value reasonably well during the downturn and have thus caught the eyes of investors, according to a Bloomberg report.
Hotel acquisitions in Europe will total about US$5.5 billion in 2010, compared with US$4.5 billion in the Americas, according to Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels. The United States will account for about 90% of purchases in the Americas, the London-based hotel investment-services firm said.
Hotel values fell more in the U.S. than in Europe last year as new buildings added to the number of properties on the market, according to Real Capital Analytics. At the same time, occupancy and room rates in Europe increased at a faster pace than in the U.S., propelled by Germany and France.
Hotels on Hawaii’s Oahu Island are showing signs of a rebound following a downturn that began in September 2008, reports HotelNewsNow.com’s Patrick Mayock.
The market posted gains of 7.1% in occupancy and 2.6% in RevPAR for June year-to-date, according to STR. While ADR figures for the same time show a loss of 4.2%, decreases in the metric have been slowing: After an 8.2% drop in January, declines have since lessoned to 0.1% during June.
“Since the tail end of 2009 and especially going into this year, we began to see occupancy firm up,” said Joseph Toy, a hospitality expert in the region and president and CEO of Honolulu-based Hospitality Advisors. “… We’re still in a very fragile recovery, but at least it’s coming back.”
Here’s some good group news. U.S. hotels are reporting an uptick in group business, according to USA Today.
The U.S. Travel Association forecasts a 7% increase in meeting and convention spending this year, to US$90.7 billion. That follows a 15% decline in 2009, when organizations canceled meetings, sent fewer employees to trade shows and insisted on bare-minimum amenities.
"It's been crazy, great crazy," says Andrea Strauss, owner of the meeting planning firm Classic Conferences. "It's coming back quick and strong.”
Room rates are on the rise in Singapore, according to the Straits Times.
Rates are up approximately 20% to US$219 in June in year-over-year measurements. Trade and Industry Minister Lim Hng Kiang said the general rebound in the global economy and Asia has boosted visitor arrivals since the end of 2009.
He added that 6,000 hotel rooms will be added by the end of the year in Singapore.
Compiled by Shawn A. Turner.
