EVENT
Sheraton Saigon, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam 10-12 November 2011
As Asia continues to grow faster than any other region in the world, the third edition of HI Design Asia proved to be a must-attend event for those working in the hospitality industry.
Words: Catherine Martin Photography: Richard Pereira
Decision Makers’ Forum in Vietnam last November in a sell-out event. Following the concept of the well- established HI Design EMEA, HI Design Asia brought together 215 hotel design and development professionals from Japan, India, China, Thailand and beyond for two days of business meetings, educational seminars, and networking.
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A demanding schedule of one-to-one meetings between supplier and buyer enabled the likes of Apaiser, Artemide, Dornbracht, Interna Contract, and P/Kaufmann to introduce their products to hotel operators and purchasing companies such as Benjamin West, Onyx Hospitality Group, Shangri- La Hotels & Resorts, and InterContinental Hotels Group, in addition to the impressive line up of senior representatives from interior design firms including Aedas Interiors, Bilkey Llinas Design, Chhada Siembieda & Associates, Hirsch Bedner and LTW.
onfirming Asia’s importance on the global hospitality stage, a record number of industry leaders attended HI Design’s
To complement the programme, four seminars across the two days addressed issues facing the industry through presentations, interviews and a panel discussion. Setting the scene, Jonas Ögren, Area Director for Asia at STR Global made his return to HI Design to present performance figures for Asia Pacific. For the year-to-September 2011, the region recorded an 11.9% increase in revPAR, compared to 8.2% in North America, 6.9% in Europe, and -2.9% in Middle East and Africa, a further indicator to the strength of Asia’s hotel market. A closer look at major markets within the
region showed that at year end-2010, HI Design’s host Ho Chi Minh City saw a decline in average room rate but was boosted by a rise in occupancy. Growth across the board was largely driven by occupancy with Shanghai, Hong Kong, Beijing and Singapore leading the pack. Year-to-September 2011 data proved to be a little more volatile yet still largely positive with a trend towards ADR growth. Bangkok recorded strong occupancy growth following a difficult 2010, while Shanghai struggled to retain rates and occupancy
098 JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2012
WWW.SLEEPERMAGAZINE.COM
achieved during its hosting of Expo 2010. According to Ögren, pipeline too was looking healthy with the number of projects under development matching pre-crisis peak levels. As of August 2011, STR Global recorded a total of 377,440 rooms, or 1,290 hotels in construction, final planning, planning, and pre-planning stages. Of those, three quarters are in China and India. Ögren revealed that Asia Pacific will see 106,000 rooms come on line in 2012 leading to a predicted supply increase of just under 14% over the next 4-5 years. Examination of property size in the leading markets, of particular interest to the suppliers in the audience, revealed that on average, China is building hotels of 330 rooms, compared to India’s 180 room average. In fact China boasts six properties with over 1,000 rooms, leading Ögren to urge those who don’t have a presence in China to do so, as “there’s a lot of business to be had”. The afternoon’s seminar session offered a rare opportunity to get close to one of the industry’s leading names. Interviewed on stage by host Guy Dittrich, Michael Bedner,
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