Asia Pacific hotel performance update

Analysis by Chris Klauda and Claudia Alvarado Cruz

Note: Beginning with this January 2025 version, monthly “bubble chart” updates will reflect a more granular, regional focus on performance. Each month will focus on a different world region with more analysis as opposed to the global view from previous years.

December provided a strong end to 2024 across the Asia Pacific region with 16 of the 20 largest countries (based on hotel room supply) reporting year-over-year growth in revenue per available room (RevPAR). 

New Year’s Eve was the top performing day in terms of actual RevPAR across all but one country (Nepal). 

While December is generally the slowest month of the year for most countries, except for those in the southern hemisphere, a strong finish bodes well for the region moving into 2025. 

Vietnam and Japan on top for most of 2024

• Vietnam earned top honors with the greatest RevPAR increase in December, lifted by strong growth in both occupancy and average daily rate (ADR). The country held a top five spot among the region’s 20 largest countries each month since August and for nine of 12 months in 2024. Vietnam was one of the slower markets to recover from the pandemic, so the comparison to 2023 provided easier growth opportunity. In December, both of the STR-defined markets in the country posted strong growth with Vietnam Central/North seeing the third highest RevPAR increase across the 28 largest markets in the APAC region. Double-digit growth occurred across most of the country (six of seven submarkets). 
• Japan, in second place, continued to experience strong RevPAR growth placing in the top five every month in 2024. The top four markets in Japan saw strong RevPAR performance due primarily to ADR, with Japan’s largest market, Tokyo, producing room rates that were the second highest among the top 28 markets, while also posting occupancy above 80%. 
• Both Japan and Vietnam’s performance is buoyed in part by a favorable exchange rate for travelers who lean on the dollarized economy, which is most currencies, and the reputation of both countries for being welcoming and safe. News | Can Japan's hotel industry continue its streak of hot performance? 
• Thailand’s strong performance was boosted by all four of its markets, including the largest, Bangkok, producing the fourth highest RevPAR increase among the top markets.
• Rounding out the top performing countries was India, the second largest country in the APAC region. Fifteen of the 17 submarkets in India posted double-digit RevPAR growth, with Mumbai realizing the highest RevPAR increase (+20.0%) in the country and the second highest RevPAR gain across the top 28 largest markets after Tokyo, with occupancy over 80%. Nearby Maldives also experienced strong RevPAR performance while Sri Lanka and Nepal reported RevPAR declines.
   

Southeast Asia experienced RevPAR growth across all but one top country 

• In addition to Vietnam and Thailand, of the six other highlighted countries in Southeast Asia, all but one reported a gain in RevPAR. 
• The Philippines advanced RevPAR entirely due to ADR. The country’s largest market, Metro Manila, led this growth. 
• Indonesia hotel RevPAR grew, lifted by strong ADR gains in Bali and Jakarta. 
• Singapore also increased RevPAR with occupancy growth offsetting flat ADR. Singapore was the highest priced market across the top APAC markets, which makes it harder to move the RevPAR needle. 
• Similarly, Cambodia and Myanmar both experienced double-digit occupancy growth, softened by an ADR decrease.  
• Malaysia was the one country to see a RevPAR decline, albeit slight.
   

China makes up over half of the region’s supply and demand 

Performance across China was subdued all year, impacted by the economic and political challenges facing the country. December was no exception with RevPAR down 4.3% due to declines in occupancy and ADR. Of the top five major markets in China, only Shanghai saw a RevPAR increase, lifted entirely by ADR. Only eight of the 43 markets in the country noted RevPAR increases in December. 
 

Most positive results elsewhere in the East

• South Korea experienced political challenges in December with a short-lived declaration of martial law and changes in leadership. While the impact on future hotel performance remains to be seen, December produced respectable RevPAR growth, the result of strong ADR gains and a slight occupancy decline. Incheon and Seoul, the largest market in the country, drove RevPAR, while the rest of the country experienced flat RevPAR.
• Taiwan reported strong RevPAR growth entirely due to ADR, while occupancy remained flat.
  Summer in the southern hemisphere
  Australia and New Zealand, the two largest countries in the southern hemisphere, each posted respectable RevPAR gains in December lifted equally by ADR and occupancy. Across the four largest markets in Australia, performance was mixed with Sydney and Queensland Southeast advancing RevPAR, while New South Wales and Melbourne experienced declines. 
• In New Zealand, both North Island and South Island experienced gains with South Island earning the top spot. 
• Across other countries in this area, Fiji produced the greatest RevPAR gain of the four countries highlighted, entirely driven by ADR, while Guam saw a decline with both ADR and occupancy retreating.