China govt travel rules seen to benefit serviced residences

CHINA'S anti-corruption crackdown, which has seen it cut government officials' travelling and entertainment budgets, may actually be a good thing for serviced apartments, Ronald Tay, the chief executive officer of Ascott Reit's manager, told the media and analysts yesterday.

This is because many of the enforcement actions are likely to turn the bureaucrats away from luxury hotels to serviced apartments instead.

"(The crackdown) has anecdotally impacted hotels more, rather than serviced residences. We don't have many restaurants and banquet facilities like in four and five-star hotels. Many restaurants and F&B businesses in hotels have been very negatively affected because of the crackdown, which directly affects the profitability of hotels too.