The city will see continual improvement in the hotel occupancy rate in August, although the rate could still show a year-on-year drop of 5 to 10 per cent in this peak travel month, Macau Hoteliers and Innkeepers Association forecast. This, according to trade chamber president Chan Chi Kit in speaking to Chinese-language media outlet Macao Daily News, which cited him as saying that the increased hotel room inventory accounted for the expected fall in occupancy rate. In August last year, when the city had 27,900 rooms in hotels and guesthouses in operation, the occupancy rate hit a high 90.1 per cent, led by 5-star hotels at 91 per cent and 4-star properties at 92.3 per cent, the Statistics and Census Service data shows. Mr. Chan also noted that the average occupancy rate for the city’s 3-star to 5-star hotels exceeded 80 per cent from mid-July to the present. In July last year the occupancy rate of 3-star to 5-star hotels exceeded 84 per cent, data from the Statistics and Census Service indicates. Summer By the end of June this year, there were a total of 29,900 rooms from the 102 hotels and guesthouses in operation, representing a year-on-year increase of 7.2 per cent. The growth has been led by more 5-star and 4-star hotel rooms available in the market, the data from the census Service shows. Macau has seen new additions to its hotel room inventory following the opening of Galaxy Macau Phase II on May 27. The new hotel complexes at the casino-resort site include the 1,000-plus rooms and suites at JW Marriott Hotel Macau, and over 250 suites at the Ritz-Carlton Macau, and 320 hotel rooms at Broadway Macau. The president of the hoteliers’ association remarked that full bookings for hotel rooms here may not be seen in August, as many clients immediately move on when they do not see their desired room rate for staying here over weekends. Mr. Chan was also quoted as saying that the average hotel room rate for summer this year shows a year-on-year drop of 15 per cent to 20 per cent, as the casino operators here have continued to offer discount packages for attracting guests. The average room rate of 3-star to 5-star hotels here was MOP1,611.5 (US$206) in August last year, and that of a 5-star even reached MOP1,902, according to data from Macau Hotel Association.
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