Hong Kong airport hotel operator Regal staring at abyss as it takes a blow from coronavirus and protests
- Regal Hotels International Holdings, which owns nearly 5,000 rooms across nine properties in the city, says coronavirus outbreak is weighing on its outlook
- The company’s profit fell 17 per cent to HK$454.6 million (US$58.6 million) on revenues of HK$2.2 billion
Regal Hotels International Holdings, which owns the airport hotel in Hong Kong, said that the double whammy of coronavirus outbreak and social unrest could prove disastrous for the company, as one in five rooms at its properties remains unoccupied.
“Unless the further spread of the coronavirus can be promptly contained, business outlook for this year would not be optimistic,” the company said in its annual result filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange late on Thursday.
Regal, chaired by property magnate Lo Yuk-sui, has nearly 5,000 rooms across nine hotels in the city through its 74.6 per cent owned subsidiary Regal Reit.
Hong Kong’s hotel and tourism industry has suffered from the months-long social unrest that started last June, as it drastically reduced the number of visitors to the city as the protests escalated. Now, a complete travel ban on tourists entering the city to prevent the spread of the coronavirus that has killed more than 23,300 people worldwide and infected over 510,000 people will further weigh on the sector.
Other countries including China are taking similar steps to keep out the virus.
“With the recent outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic in over 100 [160] countries worldwide, the social and business activities around the world as well as cross-border traffic have been drastically affected,” Lo said in the statement.