Hong Kong hotels entice women with beauty packages and spa treatments to fill rooms devoid of tourists

Hong Kong’s nearly 2 million working women had a total disposable income of around US$72 billion last year, according to Euromonitor
Hong Kong’s tourism industry has been badly hit by the coronavirus pandemic, with arrivals sinking 92.4 per cent in the first nine months of the year

Luxury Hotels

Cheryl Arcibal

Published: 8:30am, 11 Nov 2020

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Reeling from a lack of tourists, Hong Kong hotels first launched staycation packages targeted at families to stay afloat. Now, they have set their sights on the city’s working women, launching promotions aimed at capturing a portion of their estimated US$72 billion disposable income.

The Park Lane Hong Kong recently launched a “beauty-cation” package. Two guests can enjoy beauty treatments and services such as a one-on-one skin consultation, laser treatment, hair diagnosis, hand treatment, discounted prices for nail treatments, on top of a one-night accommodation, a dining credit and access to fitness centre for HK$2,799 (US$361). The hotel is limiting the sale to only 100 packages.

While The Park Lane is a relative newcomer to this segment, other hotels have been targeting women with packages for some time now. At the Cordis Hotel in Mong Kok, the BFF package offers four guests a one-night stay in two connecting rooms for HK$2,148. Guests are entitled to balloon decorations, cake and wine, and spa credits, among others. The Kerry Hotel in Hung Hom has a “Girls’ Night In” promotion, while the Ritz-Carlton in Tsim Sha Tsui has come up with a “Ladies Night In” offer.

“Many luxury and upscale hotels have launched staycation packages to retain domestic customers,” said Emily Leung, analyst at Euromonitor International. “Among those, spa and afternoon tea packages are examples that better target women customers.”

Customers at The Park Lane’s rooftop restaurant Skye. The hotel has launched a limited promotion targeting women. Photo: Edmond So

As of 2019, there were 1.99 million working women in Hong Kong, according to government data. While this is a fraction of the 56 million tourists that arrived last year, their disposable income has been increasing. In 2019, their disposable income stood at US$36,122, an increase of 17.5 per cent from US$30,740 in 2015, according to Euromonitor.

These promotions were launched after Hong Kong practically shut its borders to guests and tourists since February to contain the spread of the coronavirus, which has so far infected 50.4 million people worldwide and claimed 1.26 million lives, according to the World Health Organization. Tourist arrivals to the city slumped 92.4 per cent year on year to 3.55 million in the first nine months of the year.

This gives hotels scope to tap this segment to offset some of their losses this year, which were only able to sell a little over a third of their rooms from January to September, according to hotel data-tracking firm STR.

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“Historically, the local market was largely ignored by many hotels in Hong Kong since international demand was so robust,” said Corey Hamabata, senior president of JLL’s hotel and hospitality group. “In these times you’re seeing great innovation across the industry in crafting experiences to attract the local customer.”

The packages give hotels “volume” that allow them to recover some of their high fixed costs, Hamabata said.

Edmond Wong, director, valuation and advisory services for hotels at CBRE Hong Kong, said these promotions are unlikely to help the hotels make money.

“With the government’s employment support scheme ending this November, hotels might be under financial pressure again,” said Wong.

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