Keeping the amusement

MACAU
A flurry of luxury hotel openings
Despite a raft of new hotel openings in Macau, particularly in the luxury segment, tourism players believe there is still room for more integrated resorts (IRs) in the territory.

The US$3.4 billion MGM Cotai – the company’s second property in Macau – officially opened in February this year, offering 1,390 rooms and suites, plus a wide array of retail and F&B offerings in a 35-storey, multi-hued exterior that resembles stacked jewellery boxes.
The centrepiece of MGM Cotai’s entertainment attractions is the Spectacle, a 2,000-seat theatre with the world’s largest permanent indoor LED screens.

Two unique luxurious hotel types, Skyloft and the Mansion, are expected to be ready later this year, both featuring a hotel-within-a-hotel concept first introduced at MGM Grand Las Vegas.

Melco Resorts’ US$1.1 billion Morpheus, which opened its doors on June 15, marked a cornerstone of City of Dreams’ Phase III development. Designed by the late Zaha Hadid, the luxury hotel has been dubbed an architectural icon for Macau with 770 rooms, suites and villas wrapped in a free-form exoskeleton-bound high-rise structure.

Morpheus also makes a clear play for the premium market through its dining and leisure amenities – including an entire floor is dedicated to two Ducasse restaurants and a bar; the Pierre Hermé Lounge, the first collaboration between Maison Pierre Hermé Paris and a hotel in Greater China; Morpheus Spa, featuring an in-house spa butler concept and a snow garden installation; plus a sky-high pool perched 40 stories above the ground.

Melco Resorts & Entertainment’s CEO Lawrence Ho commented: “Looking back a decade ago, nobody believed Macau needed 30,000 to 40,000 hotel rooms. Today, the city is home to almost 40,000 rooms, with occupancy rate well above 90 per cent, so I believe there is still capacity for IR growth in future.”

The recent boost in Macau’s hotel supply has not exerted a downward pressure on room rates, asserted Gray Line Tours’ managing director Andy Wu.

Wu said: “Average occupancy hit over 80 per cent, even with a length of stay of less than two days. If tourists stay longer, there will not be enough rooms, so additional IRs are needed.

“However, it would be healthy to have more three- to four-star hotels since over 50 per cent of Macau’s 40,000 rooms fall into the luxury five-star grade.”

And given Macau’s proximity to China, a huge market source, Ho believes that Macau will remain “the number one IR destination”.

Furthermore, Macau is set to “benefit immensely” when the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge opens this year, he stated. – Prudence Lui

SINGAPORE
Established icons keep innovating
Eight years since they began operations, Singapore’s two major IRs, Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) and Marina Bay Sands (MBS), are pulling out all the stops to stay ahead of the game.

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