Singapore hotel occupancy hits 65.3% in H2 2021

This is a 6.5% increase from the same period in 2020.

Singapore’s borders were still closed for the majority of 2021, so the hotel market was largely supported by the domestic tourism sector. This was boosted by the SingapoRediscover scheme launched by the government. 

According to a CBRE report, hotel performance started to improve in H2 2021 following the opening of Singapore’s borders through the implementation of the VTL scheme, with over 100,000 travel passes issued as of the end of 2021. This helped push up average hotel occupancy to 65.3%, an increase of 6.5% over H2 2020. 

Here’s more from CBRE:

As Singapore opened its borders to short-term travellers, hotels began to increase room rates. Average ADR increased to SGD 168.1 in H2 2021, a rise of 23.8% over the same period of 2020. 

With occupancy rates and ADR strengthening in H2 2021, RevPAR grew by 35% y-o-y to end the year at SGD 111.4. Luxury hotels registered the strongest increases in RevPAR while those in the economy segment posted the weakest performance, indicating that the premium segment of the market is leading the recovery. Although these are encouraging signs of recovery, the revival is still only in its early stages, with 2021’s RevPAR approximately 59.8% below 2019’s figure. 

CBRE expects the hotel market to recover steadily in 2022 along with the inclusion of more countries in the VTL scheme. However, the re-entry of hotel supply to the market as government contracts expire will create some headwinds for market performance. Nevertheless, with Australia, one of Singapore’s major source markets, opening its borders in early 2022, the hotel market is poised for a steady rebound.