Hotel sector needs to get creative as travellers take a break

Nisha Ramchandani

Published Mon, Jun 22, 2020 · 09:50 PM

AGAINST a backdrop of unprecedented border restrictions, local hotel operators will need to come up with some new and better revenue generation ideas if they hope to improve their dismal numbers for the year.

Under Phase 2 of Singapore's reopening, which kicked in on Friday, spas and restaurants are now re-opening. Hotels, however, are still unable to accept local residents as hotel guests. They are limited for the most part to housing returnees serving a stay home notice (SHN) or those travelling under the fast lane arrangements set up to support essential travel between Singapore and certain parts of China.

Since the Singapore government closed the country's borders to tourists in late March, the average occupancy rate at hotels has slumped significantly. Occupancy for March was 40.5 per cent. April was marginally higher at 41.1 per cent, likely held up by those serving out SHN periods. But this was still a far cry from the 84.3 per cent and 85.4 per cent that hotels saw in March …