Taiwan’s major hotel operators reported gains for last quarter, reversing losses in the preceding three months caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, and are positive about business moving forward.
The Leofoo Tourism Group (六福旅遊集團) posted NT$13.88 million (US$481,159) in net income in the quarter ending in September, or earnings per share of NT$0.88, as it benefited from a boom in domestic tourism, the company said.
That is the best performance in the past five years, even though travel restrictions caused a sharp drop in foreign tourist arrivals, it said.
Occupancy at the Leofoo Hotel (六福客棧) in Taipei’s Zhongshan District (中山) was almost full after it was designated a quarantine facility, while occupancy rates averaged 70 percent at the Leofoo Resort (六福莊) in Hsinchu County’s Guansi Township (關西) near Leofoo Village Theme Park (六福村), the group said.
The theme park saw 600,000 tourist visits during the summer with about 30 percent more return customers, it said.
Business at the Courtyard by Marriott Taipei (六福萬怡) in the city’s Nangang District (南港) still leaves much to be desired with occupancy rates of 50 percent on weekends and 20 percent on weekdays, as border controls diminish international travel, Leofoo said.
The group is upbeat about its business prospects after selling NT$42 million in hotel and restaurant vouchers at the Taipei International Travel Fair that ended on Monday last week, expecting the vouchers to boost occupancy rates in the coming months.
The sales represent an 18 percent increase from a year earlier, it said.
Leofoo said it is also designing promotional packages featuring in-depth travel experiences that might generate higher profit margins for the current quarter and early next year.
FDC International Hotels Corp (雲品國際) posted NT$31 million in net profit between July and September, or earnings per share of NT$0.41, up 3.56 percent from the same time last year, and ended three month of losses from April to June, the company said in a statement.
Travel subsidies and the Triple Stimulus Vouchers supported the robust showing, it said, adding that pent-up vacation demand and assorted promotional campaigns also helped.
Occupancy at Nantou County’s Fleur de Chine Hotel (雲品溫泉酒店) soared from 72 percent last year to 90 percent this year, as packages pitching bicycle tours in the Sun Moon Lake area proved popular, it said.
FDC said it is confident that operations this quarter would return to pre-pandemic levels, despite lingering economic uncertainty.
Formosa International Hotels (晶華國際酒店集團) posted net income for last quarter of NT$202 million, the highest quarterly revenue this year, resulting in earnings per share of NT$1.59.
Formosa Hotels said that it has inked an agreement with Fubon Life Insurance Co (富邦人壽) to turn its branch in Taipei’s Beitou District (北投) into a hot-spring resort hotel with 126 rooms and two restaurants.
The new hotel would open in the second quarter of 2024, Formosa Hotels added.
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