The Howard Plaza Hotel Taipei (台北福華飯店) forecasts a 50 percent spike in food and beverage sales this year, while occupancy rates averaged above 60 percent, as Taiwanese resumed dining out, but foreign tourist arrivals are not yet apparent, hotel general manager Richard Saul said yesterday.
The forecast would represent a drastic improvement from last year, but remain below pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels, Saul said on the sidelines of a public function.
Reaching the goals is doable, aided in part by a low base last year, when COVID-19 restrictions and high case counts weighed on dining activity, Saul said, adding that Howard Plaza Taipei shut down some eateries and would reopen them later this year to meet rising demand.
The seasonal offers of assorted glutinous rice dumpling ahead of the Dragon Boat Festival in June should help boost revenue in the first half of this year, he said.
Occupancy rates reached 65 percent last month and would likely remain at that level for the rest of the year, supported primarily by domestic travelers, Saul said.
Daily room rates average NT$4,500, he said, adding that the hotel has no intention of raising them further, as foreign tourist arrivals are not yet evident and many Taiwanese might prefer to travel abroad.
Japanese, who accounted for the largest share of foreign guests at Howard Plaza Taipei, have mostly opted for domestic travel, as the Japanese government offers travel subsidies, he said.
The hotel is collaborating with several wholesale channels to attract Japanese travelers, but the effort might need more time to bear fruit, he added.
South Koreans have also displayed interest in visiting Taiwan, as well as Thais and people from other Southeast Asian countries, but their numbers pale in comparison with Japanese tourists, Saul said.
Howard Plaza Taipei is the flagship property of Howard Hotel Group (福華飯店集團), which operates more than 20 hotels in Taiwan, making it the largest hospitality company by the number of hotel rooms.
The group in 2018 signed a cooperation agreement with Japan’s JR-East Hotels to share resources on sales, membership and employee training, as it seeks to double the number of Japanese guests at its facilities.
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