• About Us
  • The Team
  • Advertise with Us

The latest news on the gaming industry in Asia

() () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () () ()
  • Home
  • Macau
  • Philippines
  • Singapore
  • Japan
  • Rest of Asia
  • World
  • Industry Talk
  • Trends & Tech
  • iGaming
  • follow
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • RSS Feed
    • LinkedIn

Macau casino hotels ramp Golden Week ‘cheapies’

Sep 29, 2016 Newsdesk Latest News, Macau, Top of the deck  


Macau casino hotels ramp Golden Week ‘cheapies’

Hotels in Macau’s casino resorts are likely to be near full during the coming Golden Week holiday surrounding China’s National Day on October 1. But rooms bought via advanced booking were commanding a lower price judged year-on-year, according to some local travel trade bodies and some investment analysts.

Occupancy levels for the city’s casino hotels appeared likely to be strong for Golden Week, according to a Tuesday note from brokerage Sanford C. Bernstein Ltd in Hong Kong. That view was supported in commentary given to GGRAsia by two local travel trade chambers: the Macau Hoteliers and Innkeepers Association and the Travel Industry Council of Macau.

It is expected that Macau’s casino resorts will have the highest hotel occupancy rates in the local market during the period: in the range of 80 percent to 90 percent, the two trade chambers separately predicted.

“I think the casino resorts here will attract a stronger occupancy compared to the non-casino hotels for the upcoming holiday period, because they [the casino operators] have done a lot of promotions and discount packages in advance,” said Andy Wu Keng Kuong, president of the Travel Industry Council of Macau.

“The opening of the new casino resorts in Cotai has attracted the curiosity of some mainland Chinese visitors, especially those that travel under the Individual Visit Scheme [IVS],” stated Mr Wu. “…I believe that will boost the IVS visitors’ incentives to look at Macau as an outbound destination,” he added.

In the second half of this year, Macau has seen the launch of two new Cotai casino resorts. Wynn Palace, a 1,700-room facility promoted by Wynn Macau Ltd, opened on August 22. The Parsian Macao, the latest Macau gaming and entertainment resort from Sands China Ltd – and which adds 3,000 hotel rooms and suites to the local market – opened on September 13.

GGRAsia respectively approached Sands China and Wynn Macau seeking comment on the volume of advanced Golden Week bookings for rooms at the Parisian Macao and Wynn Palace, but had not received replies from the companies by the time this story went online.

Pressured room rates

Given the new casino resort attractions that have been introduced to the city, Macau is likely to experience only a mild year-on-year increase in visitor volume from mainland China during the Golden Week holiday, the Travel Industry Council’s representative suggested.

“Since last year, we’ve seen a double-digit decrease in the number of Chinese package tour visitors that came here, and the trend is continuing,” Mr Wu said. “I’d expect the overall number of Chinese visitors coming here during the Golden Week to be similar to last year, or at most we’ll only see a slight increase,” he noted.

Kenny Cheung Kin Chung, vice president of the Macau Hoteliers and Innkeepers Association, told GGRAsia he believed average room rates in Macau would remain under pressure, given the significant increase in hotel room supply following the opening of new casino resorts on Cotai.

“It’s possible that we can see average hotel room rates here drop by 10 percent [year-on-year] for Golden Week,” Mr Cheung stated. Room rates at Macau four-star and three-star hotels that don’t have casino facilities have been falling, in response to the increasingly competitive rates offered by the city’s casino resorts, he added.

In a note issued on Monday, brokerage Wells Fargo Securities LLC said its proprietary, forward room rate survey indicated prices in Macau were likely to be down 50 percent year-on-year across the market during Golden Week.

“Surveyed rates during Golden Week haven’t ‘spiked’ that much relative to September and the rest of October and November. This is important as the big holidays and ‘compression periods’ have become periods of relative strength as the market has turned down,” wrote analyst Cameron McKnight.

An estimated 589 million Chinese will travel overseas and domestically for leisure during the upcoming holiday period, according to a report by the China Tourism Academy quoted by Bloomberg News on Friday.


  • tweet
Related articles
  • Parisian quarantine hotel as Macau Covid cases near 360
    Parisian quarantine hotel as Macau...

    Jun 27, 2022  

  • Some non-gaming at Macau resorts shut, hotels running
    Some non-gaming at Macau resorts shut,...

    Jun 20, 2022  

More news
  • Macau drops 48hr nucleic acid test for casino staff, guests
    Macau drops 48hr nucleic acid test for...

    Jun 30, 2022  

  • Universal hopes Okada Manila biz listed before Sept 30
    Universal hopes Okada Manila biz listed...

    Jun 30, 2022  


Latest News

Macau drops 48hr nucleic acid test for casino staff, guests

Macau drops 48hr nucleic acid test for casino staff, guests

Jun 30, 2022  

The Macau government announced on Thursday the cancellation of a plan for a nucleic acid test certificate requirement with 48 hour validity, for casino staff, casino customers and official visitors...
Read More
Universal hopes Okada Manila biz listed before Sept 30

Universal hopes Okada Manila biz listed before Sept 30

Jun 30, 2022  

5-casino Thai market ok says National Assembly committee

5-casino Thai market ok says National Assembly committee

Jun 30, 2022  

Sign up to our FREE Newsletter

UB8V5.qr.16(Click here for more)

Pick of the Day

"During our six years in office, we were able to record more than PHP300 billion [in revenue]"

Andrea Domingo

Chairman of the Philippines’ gaming regulator Pagcor



Most Popular

  • 5-casino Thai market ok says National Assembly committee5-casino Thai market ok says National Assembly committee June 30, 2022
  • LVS full recovery may take until 2024: Moody’sLVS full recovery may take until 2024: Moody’s June 29, 2022
  • China quarantine easing good signal for Macau: analystsChina quarantine easing good signal for Macau: analysts June 29, 2022
  • Only 2 Macau satellites closed as concessions extendedOnly 2 Macau satellites closed as concessions extended June 29, 2022
  • Macau Legend US$152mln loss, eyes Macau ops after 2022Macau Legend US$152mln loss, eyes Macau ops after 2022 June 29, 2022
Copyright 2014-2022 TEAM Publishing and Consultancy Ltd / All rights reserved
  • Code of Ethics
  • Privacy Policy
  • Useful Links
  • Contact Us