HCM City (VNA) - Revenue per available room (RevPAR) for four and five-star hot🎀els and resorts showed a sharp increase i🌄n H1 compared to a year earlier, rising 13.7 percent to 69.1 USD, according to consulting firm Grant Thornton Vietnam.

This was due to an increase in both room rents and occupancy rates — by 6.5 percent and 3.7 percent respectively — according to a recent study by the firm that analysed RevPAR by hotel brand. International brands saw RevPAR increase 8.3 percent, and domestic brands, 20.1 percent. RevPAR of four-star hotels increased by 11.4 percent to 67 USD, due to an increase in both room and occupancy rates. For five-star hotels it rose by 9.4 percent to 80.2 USD due to an increase of 5.8 percent the occupancy rate though there was a slight decline in room rates. There was a significant increase of 6.5 percent in overall average room rates at high-end hotels. Room rates saw mixed fortunes as four-star hotels showed an upturn of 6.3 percent while five-star hotels suffered a drop of 2.5 percent. This was probably due to new supply and increasing competition in the latter segment and the decrease in international arrivals. There was always a substantial gap between international and domestic brands in terms of average room rates, with the former charging 22 USD more than the latter (103.5 USD vs 80.7 USD) in 2015. Domestic brands increased their room rates dramatically (by 17.8 percent). International brands' occupancy rates decreased by 0.9 percent. There was a 16 percent increase in average room rates in the central and Central Highlands regions to 110.2 USD. In contrast, in the north and south rates decreased by 1.7 and 1.1 percent to 90.3 USD and 98.2 USD. This year Vietnam had more holidays than previous years, and people took these opportunities to travel. In addition, a domestic tourism stimulus programme undertaken since October 2014 by VNAT contributed to a sharp increase in domestic tourism, resulting in a rise in occupancy rates.-VNA