There has been a slow recovery in the China hospitality market, according to the latest figures from STR.
Addressing the Hospitality Tomorrow conference this morning, Jesper Palmqvist, area director in Asia Pacific for the analytics company, said there had been a return to some “normal patterns” at properties in the country.
This meant a weekday recovery, with hotels filling up with business travelers.
However, occupancy levels remain subdued, with hotels currently around 40% full.
Over the last seven-to-ten days, and the Labour Day weekend, occupancy returned to 50% in some areas, he added.
This was focused on leisure markets, around lakes and mountains, for example.
Looking ahead, STR questioned whether demand will flatten at this level, or continue to grow.
The market is driven exclusively by domestic demand, with no international flights, meaning there is a ceiling that can be reached.
Only when airlift is reintroduced can the market fully recover, Palmqvist said.
He explained that economy and mid-scale hotels had been the first to recover.
"The industry is too strong not to rebound – China is really pulling ahead, and the rest of the world is looking in this destination to see how we might get beyond Covid-19."
This tentative optimism was mirrored by Marriott International, which released its first quarter results earlier.
“The resilience of travel demand is evident in the improving trends we see in Greater China,” said Arne Sorenson, chief executive of Marriott International.
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