Lodging in Asia Pacific

Delivery

This report comes in PPT.

Key Findings

Lodging recording growth…

As investments continued to be seen in transportation infrastructure and lodging facilities, as well as the continued growth of Airbnb and local short-term rentals players in the region, lodging sales were recording consistently positive annual growth in Asia Pacific over the review period.

…until COVID-19 hits the region

However, 2020 resulted in an unprecedented decline in the region’s lodging sales as the travel industry was rocked by the pandemic. Travel, including lodging, was one of the worst-affected industries by the virus and the measures implemented to contain its spread. This saw, for example, the lodging occupancy rate in China fall close to zero in February 2020.

Pandemic helps drive digitalisation

Enhancing digitalisation strategies will be a key factor in 2020-2025. COVID-19 familiarised growing numbers of consumers with online channels for a wide range of needs, their convenience, competitive pricing and reduced risk of public exposure to the virus. Lodging players will therefore need to work on making their websites and apps effective touchpoints and booking channels.

Short-term rentals remain strong

Short-term rentals was the most dynamic area in the lodging industry in 2015-2020, which is expected to remain the case over the forecast period. In China, for example, increasing investment from Airbnb, which is implementing a localisation strategy in the country, and Xiaozhu, a leading local player in short-term rentals, will support expansion between 2020 and 2025.

Recovery expected over the forecast period

After 2020’s sales slump, lodging is expected to quickly rebound in the region over the forecast period. While, initially, domestic travel(lers) will be a key focus for industry players, as borders reopen and international tourism begins recovering, this should guarantee healthy growth rates throughout 2020-2025.