Over 20 luxury hotels in Macau – all housed within casino resort complexes – appear to have sold out their rooms for at least five nights of the upcoming October Golden Week holiday. For residents of the Chinese mainland it covers eight days this time, i.e., October 1 to October 8 inclusive. The snapshot of consumer demand for rooms during that period is based on GGRAsia checks of the official booking engines of those hotels.
The research covered 34 luxury hotel brands that are represented within properties promoted by the six Macau gaming operators, and are mostly in the Cotai district.
At the time this story went online, Super Typhoon Ragasa was due to pass possibly within 100 kilometres (62.1 miles) south of Macau late on Tuesday and in the early hours of Wednesday (September 23), with winds of hurricane force 12 or higher, according to Macau’s Meteorological and Geophysical Bureau.
That indicates wind speeds of 117.5 kilometres per hour (73 mph) or above, combined with a ‘red’ storm surge warning, creating the potential for damage and disruption for several days afterwards, and which could impact travel plans for mainlanders in the lead up to October Golden Week.
Nonetheless, as of Monday, eight out of the 34 hotel brands had actually sold out for all eight nights of the upcoming holiday. Although GGRAsia focused on the standard room category accommodating two people, some of the hotels surveyed are suite-only properties.
This year, China’s State Council has designated October 1 to October 8, as the break period, encompassing both the National Day holiday on October 1 and the Mid-Autumn Festival on October 6.
Venues indicating no rooms for any of the nights of the holiday period included: Grand Lisboa, the Macau peninsula flagship property of SJM Holdings Ltd; as well as Wynn Macau on the city’s peninsula, and Wynn Palace in Cotai, venues promoted by Wynn Macau Ltd.
Also full for all the holiday nights were: Banyan Tree Macau, Hotel Okura Macau, the Ritz-Carlton, Macau, and JW Marriott Hotel Macau, all located at Cotai casino resort complex Galaxy Macau, promoted by Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd; The Grand Suites at Four Seasons, in Cotai, promoted by Sands China Ltd, also indicated no availability for booking throughout the golden week period.
A total of 21 of the 34 surveyed hotels was sold out for at least five nights. The venues include: The Karl Lagerfeld, and Palazzo Versace Macau, both located at SJM Holdings’ Cotai resort complex, Grand Lisboa Palace.
Also full for five nights or more were: the hotel at MGM Macau, on Macau peninsula; and MGM Cotai accommodation branded respectively as M Tower, Emerald Tower, and Skylofts. The two resorts are run by MGM China Holdings Ltd.
Additionally flagging no space for at least five nights was Star Tower at Studio City, promoted by Melco Resorts and Entertainment Ltd.
Also in that situation were: Galaxy Hotel, Andaz Macau, and Capella, all part of Galaxy Macau; as well as Four Seasons Hotel Macao Cotai Strip, The Londoner Hotel and Londoner Court, all Cotai hotels promoted by Sands China.
The rates of the still-available Cotai hotel rooms indicated a pricing peak on October 4; a Saturday, and midpoint of the October Golden Week. Most of the guest rooms or suites that were still open to accommodating two adults were priced at more than MOP6,000 (US$749.7) a night, excluding taxes and other service charges.
