GGRAsia – Countdown hotel at CoD Macau closes for renovation

Countdown hotel at CoD Macau closes for renovation

Apr 01, 2021 Newsdesk Latest News, Macau, Top of the deck

The Countdown hotel, located at the City of Dreams casino resort in Macau, is closed for renovation “until further notice,” GGRAsia confirmed in a Thursday call with the hotel’s operator. The website’s guest room booking system is no longer available starting this month, and the website states that several facilities within the hotel tower are “under redevelopment”.

Casino investor Melco International Development Ltd said in a Wednesday filing that the Countdown hotel (pictured) would “be closed for renovation as part of its rebranding.” Hong Kong-listed Melco International is the parent of Melco Resorts and Entertainment Ltd, the operator of City of Dreams. Both companies are controlled by entrepreneur Lawrence Ho Yau Lung.

The Melco group had said previously that the Countdown hotel would be rebranded as “Libertine”, and converted into an all-suite, five-star product. The launch of the revamped property is targeted for 2023, said Mr Ho on Melco Resorts’ fourth-quarter earnings call, in late February.

Nüwa, a hotel also at the City of Dreams property, has reopened yesterday (March 31), after more than a year of renovation works. The hotel is accepting bookings from tomorrow (April 2), the operator confirmed to GGRAsia.

Melco International posted on Wednesday a loss of nearly HKD12.38 billion (US$1.59 billion) for full-year 2020, compared with a profit of HKD1.77 billion a year earlier. Net loss attributable to shareholders in the reporting period was HKD6.34 billion, compared with a profit of HKD689.8 million in 2019.

The company reported revenue of HKD13.42 billion for full-2020, down 70.2 percent from the previous year. The decrease in net revenues was “primarily attributable to softer performance in our casino and hospitality operations as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, which resulted in temporary casino closures and a significant decline in inbound tourism,” stated the company.

The group generated negative adjusted earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of HKD1.20 billion in 2020, compared with a positive figure of HKD12.50 billion a year ago.

Melco International is an investor in casinos in Macau, the Philippines and in the Republic of Cyprus, which are operated via Melco Resorts.