Sun Hung Kai Properties, Hong Kong’s largest developer, says situation ‘Sars-like’ with hotels revenue down by 50 per cent
- Revenue per available room dropped by 40 per cent to 50 per cent year on year in November and December
- As Alva Hotel by Royal is launched in Sha Tin, team already under pressure, executive director says
Sun Hung Kai Properties, Hong Kong’s biggest developer by value, said revenue at its hotels division had plummeted by up to half in November and December, as the city’s tourism industry struggled to stay afloat amid seven months of anti-government protests and the US-China trade war.
Revenue per available room dropped in these two months by 40 per cent to 50 per cent year on year, Adam Kwok, the company’s executive director, said on the sidelines of the launch of Alva Hotel by Royal in Sha Tin on Friday.
The 350,000 sq ft hotel was built at the cost of about HK$2.8 billion (US$359 million), including the cost of land.
“The hotel market is poor, there is no doubt about it … there is definitely a hit. But there is no reason to [not open] the hotel after planning for so long,” Kwok said. “I think we are in a difficult situation, so we can only try our best to operate it. The team is under a lot of pressure.”
Quite a few package tours that booked with the company’s hotels previously had cancelled their bookings. “But we always encourage hotel staff to try hard for all possibilities [of bookings],” he said.
