Home sales remain strong

More than 1,000 private homes sold for the second month in a row in March.

THE bumper private property sales recorded in February were no fluke.

For a second straight month, home hunters defied the weakening economy to buy more than 1,000 units last month.

Property consultants say buyers are attracted to what they regard as good buys in the moderately priced mass market.

Still, they warn that these strong buying levels are probably not sustainable.

Last month, property developers sold 1,220 new private homes, just shy of the 1,332 units sold in February.

It was the first time in over a year that the market has seen two consecutive months with more than 1,000 units sold. Sales for both months were a stunning contrast to the dismal 108 in January.

Another striking figure: First-quarter new private home sales hit 2,660 units, representing 62 per cent of all new homes sold during the whole of last year.

February sales – boosted mainly by two new launches Alexis and Caspian – were the highest since August 2007.

Figures compiled by the Urban Redevelopment Authority also showed 832 new housing units were launched last month, compared with 1,072 units in February and just 204 units in January.

Most units sold last month were in the mass market, along with a few city-fringe small-format apartments at condominiums such as Domus and The Mercury.

HDB upgraders were the hottest group of buyers. CBRE Research said that last month alone, they bought 550 to 600 units at mass market projects such as Caspian, Double Bay Residences, Kovan Residences, Livia, Mi Casa and The Quartz at median prices of $610 per sq ft (psf) to $740 psf.

A survey of first-quarter caveats lodged for this market segment indicated an average price of $695,000, said CBRE Research executive director Li Hiaw Ho. ‘This is probably a good time for HDB home owners to upgrade to private property as the price gap between private properties and HDB resale flats has narrowed.’

Said Colliers International director for research and advisory Tay Huey Ying: ‘Developers have lowered their price expectations for new launches and generally cut prices of unsold units. Buyers are biting as there is pent-up demand.’

The top three sellers in March were Double Bay Residences, Mi Casa and The Arte. About 85 per cent of units sold last month were priced below $1,000 psf, said PropNex chief executive Mohd Ismail.

The high-end showed some life with 70 units launched and some sales, including one Orchard Scotts unit at $2,220 psf.

But overall, only 100 prime units were launched in the first quarter, or just 4.7 per cent of all units launched, well down from the 39.4 per cent of all units launched in the fourth quarter last year.

Knight Frank director of research and consultancy Nicholas Mak said this was partly due to the retreat of foreigners from the luxury market.

Preliminary data suggests foreign deals stood at 16.8 per cent in the first quarter – a level last seen when Sars badly hit the market in 2003, he said.

Market analysts say it is a good start to the year, but they do not expect the strong buying to continue long-term.

‘In the short term, this rate of buying can continue provided developers lower or maintain their prices,’ Chesterton Suntec International’s research and consultancy head Colin Tan said of March sales.

But in the long term, it is not sustainable, he said. ‘The last time the market sold so many new units (14,811 units) was in 2007. That was when the deferred payment scheme was available. And it has since caused indigestion in the top end of the market.’

Unless the Singapore economy and employment market improve significantly this year, only 6,000 to 7,000 new private homes are expected to be sold, said Mr Mak.

He said healthy demand for mass market homes is likely to continue only as long as average HDB resale prices do not fall by more than 7 per cent year on year.

‘Many in the mass market segment are buying now and banking on their future earnings to service their loans as they are afraid of missing the boat,’ said Mr Mak

 The Straits Times  April 16 2009

Property valuers feel the buzz

Recent strong home sales, refinancings help boost demand.

Away from the glare of the market, valuations departments of property consultancy groups here have been quietly doing brisk business despite the property slump.

Valuers attribute this in part to a pick-up in sales at private residential property launches since February. Also contributing to demand are buyers who are getting loans for units bought earlier on Deferred Payment Schemes (DPS), and borrowers who are seeking better refinancing packages and switching banks.

Some property consultants say banks are requesting more frequent valuations of properties in their loans portfolio, given declining property values. ‘It’s not just for housing loans, but offices, factories, etc. I suppose banks have to monitor if the properties are in negative equity,’ says DTZ Southeast Asia’s CEO Ho Tian Lam.

Said Joseph Wong, OCBC Bank’s group chief credit officer (consumer credit risk), group risk management: ‘We conduct regular reviews on our loan portfolio which cover various factors including update of valuation of properties.’

Mr Ho said the volume of valuations at DTZ has risen more than 10 per cent in the past one or two months compared with the same year- ago period. The firm has redeployed two senior marketing executives from its investment sales department to its valuations department.

Knight Frank managing director Tan Tiong Cheng told BT the number of valuation instructions for private residential properties clinched by his firm has increased 36 per cent in Q1 this year compared with the preceding quarter. For March alone, the figure has gone up 59 per cent from the preceding month. These instructions, which are requested either by lending banks or borrowers, refer to paid valuations and not indicative ones, which are often provided to banks for free or for a token sum.

Jones Lang LaSalle’s head of valuation advisory services Tan Keng Chiam said his firm has seen a 10-20 per cent rise in the number of weekly valuation enquiries since late March compared with the January-February period. ‘But this has not translated to huge volumes of business,’ he added.

Mr Tan said there have been ‘more enquiries for refinancing purposes as well as a noticeable, though slight, increase related to home purchases’.

Despite higher business volumes, none of the firms, citing competition, has any plans to raise its valuation fees, which can be as little as $300 to $500 for valuing small apartments. Commercial buildings cost several thousands to tens of thousands of dollars to value, depending on the size and complexity of the valuation required, which also depends on the lender’s profile. Package fees for valuing an entire portfolio of buildings for a property group or real estate investment trust (Reit) can run into hundreds of thousands of dollars.

‘For Reits, in particular, valuations are a lot more meticulous. We have to go through individual tenancies and do more checks in general. And we don’t just use the comparables method but also discounted cashflow to arrive at the property valuations,’ Knight Frank’s Mr Tan said.

Most valuers BT spoke to say a key reason they have been kept busier lately is the gush of private residential property launches of affordably priced mass- market and small-sized apartments. With fewer launches these days offering DPS, buyers have to sign up for a housing loan soon after their purchase – whether they are opting for interest absorption or taking a normal progress payment scheme.

For projects sold earlier on DPS that are nearing completion (when DPS expires), buyers need to get their home loans in place, and this has also led to more valuations required, explains Mr Tan of Knight Frank.

In addition, the increase in primary market home sales by developers has spilled over into the secondary market, and this has been another source of higher demand for valuations.

The head of another property consulting group told BT that some real estate funds have been asking for monthly valuations of their property portfolio to ‘track the market more closely instead of relying just on annual valuations’.

DTZ’s Mr Ho says Reits seeking refinancing have also contributed to an increase in valuation requests at the firm.

Valuers note that besides Reits, other property owners who have opted to refinance mortgages – for their homes, for instance – because of more attractive packages offered by rival banks have also raised demand for valuation services.

DTZ’s Mr Ho said that the firm’s professional services – which besides valuation include research and consultancy, property management and project/ facilities management – account for about 30-40 per cent of revenue in normal times, with agency activities like property sales, leasing and investment sales taking the lead.

The Business Times , April  2009

Investors pick up higher-end condos ..

Value buys in prime areas available even though property market still weak.

SOME high-end condominiums recorded sparkling weekend sales even though the overall property market was generally quiet in terms of new launches.

Of the two new previews, Illuminaire on Devonshire sold out its 72 units at $1,630 to $1,730 per sq ft (psf), while Verdure in Holland Road sold 14 units of 34 launched units at $1,400 psf.

The 12-year-old Gallop Gables saw far stronger than expected demand, with investors picking up 28 units, even though they are about $3 million or more each.

Previously, the new projects that have attracted fairly strong interest, given today’s climate, were not in such prime areas. But some investors may be looking around now that the market has fallen quite a bit.

Mr Peter Ow of Knight Frank, which is marketing Verdure and Gallop Gables, said the response at these two sales showed individual investors are back.

‘These buyers are savvy investors who are already staying in prime areas,’ he said. ‘Generally, the property market is still weak, but there are value buys around. And people are beginning to see value in well-located projects.’

Of 14 Verdure units that Bukit Sembawang has sold during the preview, a few are penthouses. While the overall project is priced at $1,350 psf on average, the 14 were sold at an average of $1,400 psf, or from $1.5 million to $2.8 million.

A scheme offering interest absorption was available without any extra charge. The project, which has 68 units, will be launched this weekend.

Over at Gallop Gables near Botanic Gardens, Straits Trading sold 26 units – 16 more than its target. It had offered only 10 units with a guaranteed rental yield of 7 per cent for two years. The rest were purchased without the 7 per cent guarantee, but mostly with existing tenancies offering a rental yield of 3 to 5 per cent.

The buyers paid between $3,075,200 and $3,840,000, or an average price of $1,220 psf for the units, which averaged about 2,800 sq ft.

The buyers were mainly residents ranging in age from the mid-30s to the late 70s who bought for investment purposes, said Straits Trading, which had earlier said the sales would generate cash to allow it to invest in distressed assets.

A few buyers, it added, said they may live in the apartments after the end of the two-year rental guarantee period.

At Illuminaire, the affordable price drew both investors and speculators, industry experts said. As it has only one- and two-bedroom units, ranging in size from just 441 sq ft to 721 sq ft, the total price was kept low – from $749,000 to $1.21 million.

EL Development managing director Lim Yew Soon said he had changed the design of the project from a 36-unit development to a 72-unit one last September. By then, a three-bedroom showflat had already been completed – and had to be reconfigured into a smaller unit.

‘I realised the market would prefer small units,’ he said.

Mr Lim, who bought one unit for himself and kept two for business associates, said most buyers were keen on the interest absorption scheme, which was offered at no additional cost.

Some buyers also liked the unusual automated car parking system. There are two car lifts that will store cars in an adjoining multi-storey carpark block.

 
The Straits Times,  April 2009

Landed home values hold up well

However, rental yield may be lower than that of similarly priced private apartments.

Owning a piece of land in land-scarce Singapore is something many here dream of.

A landed home often offers more space as well as a certain prestige.

Its value also typically holds well over the years as the market has a limited supply of landed properties.

The landed home market does not attract many speculators because it is relatively small. Foreigners are not ordinarily allowed to buy landed homes.

Many landed home sellers also have better holding power and can wait for a better price, said Mr Steven Tan, executive director, residential, of property firm OrangeTee.com.

At the moment, landed home prices are still falling, although at a smaller extent than apartments.

In the first quarter, landed home values slipped by an average of 1.5 per cent to $542 per sq ft for leasehold houses and fell by 2.2 per cent to $1,193 psf for prime freehold houses. In comparison, private flats fell by a greater margin of 2.6 to 3.6 per cent, according to DTZ data.

Still, what is music to the ears of owner-occupiers may not sound as sweet to the ears of investors.

For one thing, few landed home investors make the type of quick and sometimes very high returns that have been witnessed in the condominium market, experts said. Rental yields are also comparatively lower.

Renting out a house

If you want to keep your house for rent, it would be great if you can hit a yield of at least 3 per cent. The average is about 2 per cent, said Ms Mary Sai, Knight Frank’s director and auctioneer.

If you buy a 2,000 sq ft four-bedroom condo unit located in a convenient area for $1.5 million, or $750 psf, you can, in good times, rent it out for about $6,000 a month, she said. That would give a rental yield of 4.8 per cent.

In comparison, if you spend your $1.5 million on a terrace house in say, Watten Estate in Bukit Timah, you may get a lower rent of $4,000 a month. This works out to a 3.2 per cent yield.

Generally, people prefer to rent a condo unit as the development comes with a host of facilities that they can enjoy. They also do not have to worry about the maintenance of a house, which may include work like mowing the lawn.

On the flip side, there are people who favour landed properties because the rent can be comparatively lower, said Ms Sai.

Mr William Wong, managing director of RealStar Premier Property Consultant, said: ‘My advice to most is to go for those with a rental yield of 3 per cent to 4 per cent, which is still above the mortgage interest quoted by the banks.’

Generally, houses in districts 9, 10 and 11, as well as 15 and 16 in the east, can command better rental returns.

Buying a house

Most investors who buy landed property for investment are looking more into capital appreciation than long-term rental income, industry players said.

Over a longer period, houses can prove to be better investments value-wise.

One distinct difference between landed homes and private apartments is that the former do not necessarily depreciate in value over time.

This is because the land – and not the building – constitutes the major part of the total value, said Mr Wong.

Also, landed homes are scarcer. Foreigners are not allowed to buy a landed home unless they have a special permit.

A condo or apartment may still fetch a good value if it is less than five years old, said Mr Wong. Once it reaches the five-year mark, ‘in general, its value will depreciate unless there is an opportunity to go en bloc, which is highly unlikely nowadays’, he said.

To make sure you land a house that could appreciate in value over a three- to five-year period, choose one that has an excellent land shape, is on a hilltop or has redevelopment potential, he said.

A site with redevelopment potential could be one that can be developed into a low- to mid-rise apartment block or a pair of semi-detached houses, he added.

Patience may pay off for landed homes owners. ‘Landed properties generally double in value every seven to 10 years,’ said Mr Wong.

ST,  April  2009

Resorts World at Sentosa to open four new hotels next year

Singapore’s second integrated resort operator, Resorts World at Sentosa, has refuted accusations that more than half of the 10,000 jobs available would go to foreigners.

Its management says Singaporeans remain its top priority when hiring, and it is receiving up to a thousand applications a day.

The comments were made at the media preview of four new hotels that will be opening on the island next year.

The Maxims Tower, Hotel Michael, Festive Hotel and Hard Rock Hotel are just four of six hotels that locals and foreigners alike can look forward to staying at.

Each hotel has a unique theme designed to cater to the needs of a particular set of guests.

For example, the Maxims Tower is an all-suite hotel with 24-hour butler service, built directly above the casino.

It is an exclusive by-invitation-only hotel intended for high-rollers, royalty and VIPs.

The six hotels can accommodate up to a total of 1,800 guests.

According to Resorts World at Sentosa, about 40 per cent of the 10,000 people hired will be working in the hotels.

And its management is confident the rooms will be filled, in spite of the uncertain times.

Vice-president, Rooms at Resorts World at Sentosa, Andrew Hickey, said: “Having six hotels plus all the other amenities around the hotels… That’s going to be very, very attractive. And we’re very certain there will be high demand.”

The remaining 60 per cent of 10,000 strong staff will be distributed evenly between the casino and Universal Studios.

Eighty per cent of the 500 people already hired are locals, and Resorts World at Sentosa says that the bulk of the jobs will continue to go to Singaporeans, with the exception of specialist jobs that require experience in gaming and international theme parks.

The Festive Hotel, with its family-themed focus, boasts of loft beds for parents travelling with children. The Festive Hotel, alongside the Maxims Tower, Hotel Michael and the Hard Rock Hotel, will open early next year.

The Resorts World at Sentosa says it is already receiving enquiries about booking reservations.

Source : Channel NewsAsia – Apr 2009

 

Sentosa dream gets hazy

It was supposed to be Asia’s answer to glitzy Monaco, but plans to remake Sentosa into an island playground where rich foreigners and locals live and play are going to take longer than expected to materialise.

While key hotel projects and the Resorts World at Sentosa integrated resort are largely on schedule, things are not going as well at Sentosa Cove, the stretch of land on the island set aside for mainly residential use.

The plan was for some 2,500 oceanfront villas, waterway bungalows, hillside mansions and upscale condominiums to be built on the 117-hectare site. Earlier projections were that the bulk of the new homes would be ready by 2010.

But industry sources now say fewer than 1,000 homes are likely to be completed by the end of this year, and several developers are expected to delay their projects further.

City Developments, for example, has postponed its $580 million project comprising luxury apartments, shops and a five-star, 320-room Westin Hotel, originally slated to open this year.

One problem is that sales and prices of new homes on the island have dropped sharply in the last two quarters, exacerbated by the number of foreigners leaving Singapore.

Sentosa Cove was popular with foreigners as they could get permission to own land there with relative ease.

‘The bulk of purchasers of luxury homes, both on the mainland and on Sentosa, were foreigners,’ said Tay Huey Ying, director for research and advisory at Colliers International.

Colliers’ data, based on caveats lodged, shows that only one non-landed residential unit in Sentosa was sold in Q4 2008. In the first three months of this year, the number rose slightly to eight.

This is a far cry from transaction volumes at the height of the property boom in 2007. In Q1 2007, some 279 non-landed homes were sold in Sentosa. In Q2 that year, the transaction volume was 243.

Prices have also come down. Colliers’ data shows that the transacted price of non-landed properties at Sentosa Cove averaged $1,318 per square foot (psf) in Q1 2009 – down 45.8 per cent from the peak average of $2,431 psf recorded exactly one year ago in Q1 2008.

It should be noted, however, that these averages are based on small transaction volumes of eight units for Q1 2009, and 33 units for Q1 2008.

Occupancy levels are low too. Even for properties that are completed and fully sold, not every unit is occupied, said Nicholas Mak, director of research and consultancy at Knight Frank. At the fully sold The Berth by the Cove, which obtained its temporary occupation permit in 2006, occupancy is at 93-94 per cent, but market watchers say islandwide, the occupancy levels are much lower.

The picture is, however, somewhat brighter for other new and upcoming developments on the island.

Luxury hotel Capella Singapore, which opened its doors last week, is seeing strong demand – despite the fact that room rates start at $750. ‘Response in our first week has been very positive, with an average of about 70 rooms per night,’ revealed general manager Michael Luible. The hotel has 111 rooms.

Mr Luible acknowledged that the hotel would not escape the effects of the economic slowdown, but pointed out that its guests are high net worth individuals who will continue to travel. ‘We will, of course, monitor the economic situation carefully and plan our strategies accordingly,’ he added.

Resorts World at Sentosa remains on-track for its soft opening, which will see Universal Studios, four of its six hotels as well as the casino ready in Q1 2010.

The four hotels – Hotel Michael, Maxims Tower, Festive Hotel and Hard Rock Hotel – will add about 1,350 rooms to Singapore’s inventory. The rest of the resort, which includes a spa and Maritime Museum, will open progressively thereafter.

Indeed, hopes are now pinned on the integrated resort which is designed to draw in visitors.

According to Suzanne Ho, deputy director of communications for Sentosa, foreign visitor arrivals have dipped since last September, in line with the downward trend of tourist arrivals into Singapore.

The lower visitor numbers are affecting food and beverage operators adversely. Ken Hasegawa, manager of Japanese restaurant Si Bon, reckoned that revenue has fallen by about 20 per cent recently.

Similarly, at Cool Deck, a bar along Siloso Beach, business is slow. Selina Huang, Cool Deck’s assistant manager, attributed the decrease to falling tourist arrivals. Just three months ago, close to 90 per cent of the bar’s clientele were tourists, most of whom stayed at the Rasa Sentosa Hotel. Now, only 40 per cent of patrons are tourists, she noted.

The decrease in demand is prompting some outlets to modify their pricing. Even il Lido Italian Restaurant has cut prices by about 20 per cent on average in response to a 40 to 50 per cent decrease in revenue over the past three months. Its seven-course meal now costs $120 instead of $180, and it has removed some expensive items – such as truffles and caviar – from the menu.

Source : Business Times – Apr 2009

Private home prices take double-digit dive

Private home prices plunged 13.8 per cent in the first three months of this year – a record quarterly drop as developers and other market players slashed their expectations.

It was the third quarterly fall in prices – and much steeper than the 6.1 per cent drop in the preceding Q4 2008, according to advance estimates released by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) yesterday. Private home prices dipped 1.8 per cent in Q3 2008 after 17 straight quarters of growth.

Prices of resale HDB flats, which seemed to defy gravity and grew throughout 2008, also fell in Q1 2009 – by 0.6 per cent – after nine quarters of growth.

Analysts were expecting a significant drop in private home prices, but the actual fall was bigger than thought. In recent months, developers have cut the selling prices of new homes and sellers of secondary properties have also trimmed their asking prices.

‘The fall is not surprising as a lot of developers have reduced prices to move new units, and in the resale market, people are now asking for more reasonable prices,’ said DTZ’s senior director Chua Chor Hoon.

DMG & Partners Securities’ analyst Brandon Lee said that new projects and units in previously launched but unsold projects, were being launched or relaunched at 10-30 per cent discounts to the original intended selling prices. Also, there were distressed sales in the secondary market.

Aggressive price cutting by developers seems to have paid off. An estimated 2,100-plus new homes were sold in Q1 – the highest level since the market was hit by the US mortgage crisis in the last quarter of 2007 and more than four times the number of new units sold in Q4 2008. But the pick-up in sales volume was at the expense of prices.

URA’s non-landed private home price index for the Core Central Region, which includes the prime districts, financial district and Sentosa Cove, fell 15.2 per cent quarter-on-quarter in Q1. In the Rest of Central Region, prices fell 17.2 per cent. And in the Outside Central Region, which is a proxy for suburban mass-market locations, they fell 7.5 per cent.

The drop in HDB resale prices took some observers by surprise, as analysts tracking the sector had said that they would continue to rise in the first half of this year, though at a slower pace than in 2008.

‘HDB resale prices increased some 32 per cent since Q1 2007 before reaching a new peak in Q4 2008,’ said ERA Asia-Pacific associate director Eugene Lim. The marginal decrease in Q1 shows HDB resale prices are now moving in tandem with the deteriorating economic and unemployment conditions.

Analysts said that the main cause of the fall in HDB’s resale index is the lower cash-over-valuation (COV) amounts that buyers are now willing to pay. ‘The slight dip is probably due to more buyers of HDB flats being resistant to paying high levels of COV,’ said PropNex chief executive Mohamed Ismail. ‘While demand for HDB resale flats is evidently still strong, sellers in this economic climate are realising the weaker buying power of consumers.’

Private home prices are expected to continue falling in the rest of the year. ‘While the fall in prices of private residential properties in the first quarter was acute, the drab economic situation is expected to continue to place downward pressure on home prices in 2009,’ said Nicholas Mak, director of research and consultancy at Knight Frank.

But the pace of decline is expected to taper off. ‘Developers have already made a quantum leap in reducing prices in Q1 2009 and although further declines in launch prices can be expected, the incremental drop is likely to be marginal and more gradual,’ said Tay Huey Ying, director for research and advisory at Colliers International. Ms Tay expects the rate of decline in the URA price index to taper off to about 8 per cent in Q2 2009 and then 3-5 per cent for each of the subsequent two quarters.

For the full year, analysts put the overall drop in private home prices at 20-30 per cent, with homes in the suburban areas taking the smallest hit.

The fall in HDB prices, on the other hand, is expected to pick up steam in the rest of 2009. Analysts expect that HDB resale prices will fall by between 5 and 15 per cent for the whole of 2009.

Source : Business Times – Apr 2009

Top-end hotel Capella opens on Sentosa

THE ultra-luxurious Capella Singapore on Sentosa opened its doors yesterday.

With room rates starting at $750 a night, it is the only top-end hotel to open here this year.

Despite the poor economic conditions and global paring down of travel budgets, the hotel’s general manager, Mr Michael Luible, expressed optimism that it would do well because it was a ‘unique product’.

He said the hotel would run on the philosophy that whatever guests want, they will get. For example, they can check in whenever they want.

This week, the Capella will be where British carmaker Rolls-Royce launches its new model 200EX; fashion house Gucci will also flaunt its spring collection there.

The 111-room hotel sits on a site more than 12ha in size. It has 61 ’standard’ rooms and 11 suites, and each of its 38 villas has its own swimming pool.

A standard room, at $750 a night, is 77 sq m in size – almost twice the size of an average 40 sq m hotel room here.

The private villas, starting at about $1,800, offer at least 133 sq m of space.

The property is the first for the luxury brand in Asia and will be its flagship in the region, said Mr Horst Schulze, the chairman and chief executive officer of the West Paces Hotel Group, the parent company for the chain.

Deputy Prime Minister S. Jayakumar was the guest of honour at the opening of the hotel, which departed from the practice of having a soft opening ahead of its official debut.

To mark its opening, the hotel is offering guests who are staying two nights an extra night free. This deal is available till the end of May.

Source : Straits Times -  Mar 2009

Hard Rock Hotel to open on Sentosa in 2010

A HARD Rock Hotel will be one of four hotels to open at Resorts World at Sentosa (RWS) in the first quarter of 2010.

Collectively, the four hotels will provide about 1,350 rooms. The other three slated to open in Q1 2010 are Maxims Tower, Hotel Michael and Festive Hotel.

‘The Hard Rock Hotel Singapore is a welcome addition to our portfolio,’ said Hard Rock International’s CEO Hamish Dodds.

The five-star, US$223 million hotel will have 360 rooms, conference facilities and a ballroom that can seat up to 7,300.

Room rates are likely to be 30 per cent dearer than hotels in the surrounding area, as is usually the case with hotels in other theme parks, said RWS chief executive Tan Hee Teck.

Mr Dodds acknowledges the travel slump sparked by the global economic downturn has hit hotel room rates and occupancy levels, but is confident the Hard Rock brand will outperform its competitors in the four to five-star category.

Hard Rock International, which now has 124 Hard Rock Cafes and nine hotels/casinos, is expanding in the US and overseas.

Major projects are on the way in Macau and Penang – scheduled to open this year – as well as in Palm Springs, Atlanta and Panama in 2010. Hard Rock Hotels will also open in Dubai in 2011 and Abu Dhabi the following year.

Despite the tough economic environment, Hard Rock International grew its top and bottom lines last year. Top line was up 7-8 per cent, said Mr Dodds, who declined to reveal figures.

The $6.59 billion RWS project will have a total of 1,800 rooms spread over six hotels, plus a casino and attractions such as South- east Asia’s only Universal Studios theme park.

The project expects to generate more than 9,000 jobs by the end of this year and a total of 10,000 when it is fully up and running. It expects 15 million visitors in its first year.

Source : Business Times -  Mar 2009

Premium for convenience at Resorts World

GUESTS will be charged a premium for a night’s stay in the hotels in Resorts World at Sentosa, when it opens next year.

Yesterday, the casino-resort’s chief executive officer Tan Hee Teck said that hotels in theme parks overseas typically charge a higher rate than similar properties in the city.

This is because they offer visitors a range of attractions within walking distance, including Singapore’s first Universal Studios at Resorts World.

Family travellers with young children will enjoy the convenience of being able to take their tired kids back for a rest before coming back out again, without having to incur extra transport costs.

Minimum rates at five-star properties on Sentosa can range from $375 to $650.

Although Resorts World at Sentosa room rates have not been firmed up, The Straits Times understands that hotels in theme parks can charge up to 30 per cent more than the same class of hotel outside.

However, Mr Klaus Kohlmayr, director of service for hotel consultancy firm Integrated Decisions and Systems International, said it might not be a wise move to do so in such a weak market.

He said: ‘Leisure markets are the most price-sensitive, especially for families. They might decide it is cheaper to stay outside and take a taxi in for the day.’

Still, Resorts World at Sentosa is confident of drawing the crowds when it opens its doors next year.

The 49ha integrated resort on Sentosa – Singapore’s second after the Marina Bay Sands project – expects 15 million visitors in its first full year of operation. Mr Tan said the resort, with its theme park, casino, shopping and other attractions, is a destination in itself where people can stay for five to seven days.

The project is on schedule to open in the first quarter of next year, he said.

Of the resort’s six hotels, four – Hard Rock Hotel, Maxims Tower, Hotel Michael and Festive Hotel – will be ready by the first quarter of next year.

Some 1,350 out of 1,800 rooms will be available for the resort’s soft opening, with rooms going on sale by the end of the year.

Yesterday, the media was given a glimpse of the interior of the US$223 million (S$338 million) Hard Rock Hotel. It will have 10 suites, 350 rooms, 26 meeting rooms and a ballroom that can accommodate up to 7,300 people.

Guests will be able to take in live performances in an outdoor venue from the comfort of their room balconies.

In a nod to the resort positioning itself as a family destination, Hard Rock Hotel will have rooms that can accommodate up to six people.

In keeping with Hard Rock’s music industry theme, the hotel will be decorated with guitar-shaped and other musical motifs. Bathroom mirrors adorned with light bulbs will give guests the feel of being in a rock star’s dressing room.

Together with the opening of the new Hard Rock Hotel, Singapore will also get another Hard Rock Cafe, announced Mr Stephen Lau, who heads HPL Hotels & Resorts, the main franchise owner of the Hard Rock brand.

The new cafe, which will be slightly smaller than the one in Cuscaden Road, will be on Resort World’s Festive Walk, a pedestrian mall lined with shops and restaurants.

Mr Lau said the 19-year-old outlet off Orchard Road will also be refurbished.

Source : Straits Times – Mar 2009