Investors’ outlook for Asia-Pacific hotels rosier, survey finds

Investors have become more upbeat about the trading performance of Asia-Pacific hotel markets, with expectations for Tokyo the highest in the short term (six months) and Melbourne in the medium term (two years), a survey shows.

The stronger trading sentiment is underpinned by improvements in the global economy, burgeoning travel markets and a moderation in the number of Asian development projects, JLL said in its latest Hotel Investor Sentiment Survey, which covers investors and owners in about 100 hotel and resort markets worldwide.

Sentiment in the short term catapulted 26.3 percentage points from a survey six months earlier to 51.8 per cent, and medium-term sentiment rose 13.7 points to 54.2 per cent.

Each figure is obtained by subtracting the percentage of respondents who responded negatively from the percentage who responded positively.

In JLL's April survey, released on Monday, Tokyo ranks the highest among 24 cities for performance in the short term, at 89.5 per cent, while Melbourne is most favoured over the medium term, at 94.3 per cent.

Beijing ranked the lowest in the short term, at minus 50 per cent, while Shanghai ranked the lowest in the medium term, at about minus 10 per cent.