Wharf closes Prince Hotel in Tsim Sha Tsui for renovations amid speculation of privatisation by its parent Wheelock

Wharf closed Prince Hotel in Tsim Sha Tsui for 15 months of renovations until the third quarter of 2021

Prince would be the first of a trio of Wharf hotels to undergo refurbishments amid business lull created the Hong Kong protests and coronavirus outbreak

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Prince Hotel, part of the Marco Polo group of hotels owned by Wharf Holdings, at the Harbour City commercial complex in Tsim Sha Tsui in Kowloon. Photo: Handout

Published: 6:45pm, 24 Feb 2020Updated: 3:51pm, 26 Feb 2020

Wharf Hotels said it closed the Prince Hotel for renovations, making use of the business lull created by months of anti-government protests and the coronavirus outbreak for refurbishments, amid market talk that its parent Wheelock was planning a privatisation.

The hotel, located in the Habour City commercial complex in Kowloon, will undergo 15 months of renovations until the third quarter of 2021, the first in a trio of Wharf’s properties in the Canton Road vicinity of Tsim Sha Tsui – the other two are Gateway Hotel and Marco Polo Hongkong Hotel – to be refurbished to create a “sustainable long-term economic future” for them, the company said.

“The Prince Hotel’s renovation programme … underlines the long term future of tourism to this city,” said Jennifer Cronin, president of Wharf Hotels, in a press release. “We look forward to rebuilding and strengthening Hong Kong’s reputation long into the future with the new Marco Polo Prince Hotel.”

Occupancy rates among Hong Kong’s hotels have plummeted to record lows, after the latest coronavirus outbreak added to many months of anti-government protests in keeping visitors away from the city, particularly the mainland Chinese tourists and shoppers who used to be the biggest contributors to the city’s economy. Daily visitor arrivals fell to 3,000 in February, from about 100,000 in January and 200,000 last year, according to Hong Kong’s government data.

“Hotels have larger holding costs [and] considerably more potential exposure” to adverse business environments, said Tim Alpe, chief operating officer of the Ovolo Group, which owns hotels and restaurants in Hong Kong. “We will be one of the first hit, but we will take the longest to bounce back.”

There is little domestic tourism so Hong Kong is heavily dependent on visitors such as those from across the border in mainland China. Hundreds of major conferences, trade shows and athletic events have been cancelled since anti-government protests broke out last June, with more being scrapped as the coronavirus outbreak deterred public gatherings.

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