Harbour Plaza Hotel Management (International) - the hotel arm of Cheung Kong (Holdings) and Hutchison Whampoa - believes the luxury-hotel sector is unlikely to see a substantial fall in room rates this year following a dramatic correction last year.
Group managing director Dominic Lai said: 'I am cautiously optimistic about the sector's outlook in 1999.' Mr Lai said the number of tourist arrivals from North America and Europe had shown signs of recovery in the last two months of last year.
These tourists tended to stay in four or five-star hotels and their rise in numbers would help the sector find bottom, he said.
Mr Lai said hotel owners were unwilling to see prices drop further as profits were already under considerable pressure.
Harbour Plaza Hotel Management was established in March last year to manage and operate a number of hotels under the ownership of Hutchison and Cheung Kong in Hong Kong and the mainland.
Mr Lai said Harbour Plaza Hong Kong, a Hunghom hotel owned by Hutchison, had reduced rates last year but the decline was slightly below a market average of 40 per cent.
