UOL's Singapore hotel occupancy slashed to half in Q1

RevPaR also crashed to $140 from $230 in Q4 2019.

UOL saw the occupancy rate of its hotels and serviced apartments in Singapore fall to 50% in Q1 from 85% in Q4 2019, according to its quarterly business updates.

Hotel portfolio’s occupancy rate in Oceania likewise crashed from 84% to 72% over the same period, whilst occupancy of its hotels in China, Vietnam, Malaysia and Myanmar slid to 41% from 69%.

In addition, the revenue per room (RevPaR) of its SIngaporean hotels hit $140 from $230 in Q4 2019.

So far, Singapore hotels and serviced suites have been supporting the government’s efforts by housing returnees serving the Stay Home Notice, foreign workers and healthcare workers. Four of five of its Australian hotels are also supporting the local government’s efforts in housing their returnees. Meanwhile, the group’s hotels in China have re-opened and there have been indications that demand is slowly picking up, UOL says.

UOL’s other properties showed minimal changes in terms of occupancy. Its office portfolio in Singapore dipped to 95.2% in Q1 from 95.6% in the previous quarter. The retail properties’ occupancy rate remained unchanged at 95.2%, despite a 12.4% slip in shopper footfall in Q1.

Some initiatives UOL took for cost management includes a salary reduction of up to 18% for managers and above since 1 April, deferment of non-essential capital expenditure, reducing operating expenses across all asset classes and value-engineering for project development and asset enhancement initiatives.