For the first time, hotel sales across the Asia-Pacific have overshadowed that in the Americas, as investors continue to flock to the region, a study showed.
According to the report by Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels (JLLH) Hotel Investment Highlights, the Asia-Pacific had recorded hotel sales of US$3.3 billion in 2009, outstripping the US$2.2-billion sales of the Americas. Also, the region was the only one to have a growth of 19 percent.
Transactions in the Middle East, Africa and Europe slipped 65 percent and 78 percent for the Americas.
This year, sales in the Asia-Pacific are expected to grow US$3.7 billion, 29 percent of the US$12.8 billion global total.
“After a year of stagnation, rebounding confidence in the trading outlook has translated into an increase in buy sentiment,” said Mike Batchelor, managing director for investment sales JLLH Asia.
“Buying is now the most favoured investment strategy across the Asia-Pacific which bodes well for an inevitable impact on pricing as investors compete to secure only a limited number of assets in the second half of the year,” he added.
According to the report, markets in the Asia-Pacific that were highly ranked by hotel investors include Hong Kong (45.5 percent), Perth (45.5 percent) and Singapore (44.4 percent).
“Hotels in the Asia-Pacific are again in demand,” said Mr Batchelor. “We expect the overwhelming majority of Asian owners to continue to be the most active hotel buyers in the world.”
Despite the slide down of global hotel sales in 2008 and 2009, Asia went against the grain rising 22 percent during that period. This only mirrors the confidence of inventors in the region and the stronger balance sheets of its companies and individuals during the recession.