THE performance of Hong Kong hotels in September was below expectations, recording an average room occupancy of 83 per cent, a fall of three percentage points from the same month last year.
Analysts were disappointed because a stronger performance was forecast in view of the decline in supply of new hotel rooms.
Another factor expected to boost levels was the recent closure of properties as owners opted to redevelop prime sites as commercial buildings.
Sassoon Securities analyst Vivian Kwok said room supply was expected to decline 1.3 per cent this year.
'In view of those factors, room occupancy was expected to be given a boost,' she said.
The performance of the hotel industry is even more disappointing given that September is the start of the high season where average room occupancy in the territory starts picking up.
