International tourist hotels in Taipei are seeking to boost occupancy and room rates this year as the government reveals plans to ease quarantine restrictions on arrivals, possibly starting next month.
Tourist-focused hotels took a harder hit from the COVID-19 pandemic last year than in 2020, with revenue per available room (RevPAR) falling to less than NT$2,000, Chinese-language Commercial Times reported yesterday.
RevPAR is a key performance measure used in the hospitality industry.
Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) yesterday said that the government would shorten quarantine periods from 14 to 10 days, starting in the middle of next month.
Chen had said that the government could lift border controls in the second half of the year, as other countries choose to coexist with COVID-19.
International tourist hotels in Taipei breathed a sigh of relief at the news, which could allow their occupancy rates to recover to 60 percent of pre-pandemic levels, the Commercial Times reported, citing several hotels that said the target would suggest a significant improvement over last year.
For example, the occupancy rate at W Hotel Taipei (台北W飯店) in the city’s prime Xinyi District (信義) shrank to 26 percent last year, while RevPar was NT$1,690 against room rates of NT$6,500, the report said.
Nearby Grand Hyatt Taipei (台北君悅酒店) had an occupancy rate of 25 percent with RevPar of NT$1,050, after charging room rates of NT$4,800 per night, while Shangri-La’s Far Eastern Plaza Hotel (香格里拉遠東國際飯店) in Daan District (大安) had an occupancy of 40 percent and room rates of NT$4,700, giving the five-star facility a RevPar of NT$1,880, the report said.
Hotel Royal-Nikko Taipei (台北老爺酒店) in Zhongshan District (中山) had an occupancy rate of 37.5 percent with room rates of NT$3,100, suggesting a RevPar of NT$1,162, while occupancy rates at Regent Taipei (台北晶華酒店) hovered at about 40 percent with room rates of NT$3,600, giving it a RevPar of NT$1,440, the report said, adding that the worst is likely over for the hospitality industry.
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