Macau hotels saw their first significant signs of recovery in October, with hotel occupancy rates climbing to 42.8% according to figures published by the Macao Government Tourism Office.
Although still well down on occupancy of 88.6% in October 2019, the figure was the highest since March and represented a huge improvement over September when Macau’s hotels reported occupancy of just 16.4%.
It included occupancy of 40.0% in 5-star hotels compared with 12.6% in September, 45.0% in 4-star hotels versus 26.7% and 51.8% in 3-star hotels compared with 22.1% in the previous month.
Room rates also increased to MOP$1,039.40 compared with average rates of just MOP$789.10. The average rate in October was down 24.9% compared with the same month last year, although 5-star hotels reported a decline of only 19.4%.
Average room rates at 5-star hotels were MOP$1,291.60 compared with MOP$1,080.60 in September, with 4-star hotels improving from just MOP$292.90 to MOP$331.80 and 3-star hotels from MOP$654.50 to MOP$786.60.
The figures were sourced from 38 hotels listed as members of the Macau Hotel Association.
As reported by IAG, Macau’s gross gaming revenue grew 229% month-on-month in October to MOP$7.27 billion (US$911 million) due to eased border restrictions with mainland China.
