REIT ASIAPAC
Interview
JAPAN ’ S ICHIGO HOTEL SEES SLOW RECOVERY , TAPS AI TO SEEK OPTIMAL ROOM RATES
With next year ’ s average daily room ( ADR ) rates projected to be 40-50 % below the 2019 level , REITAsiaPac asked Yasushi Ohta , the Head of Investor Relations at Ichigo Investment Advisors , how the hotel REIT is battling the downturn .
Photo : Ichigo Investment Advisor Investor Relations head , Yasushi Ohta
Q
What has been the impact of Covid on the Japanese hospitality market ? What are the trends for revenue per room ( RevPAR ), average daily rate ( ADR ) and occupancy from pre-Covid in 2019 to the present period ?
We feel that the Japanese hospitality market hit bottom in May 2020 . Since then , demand has temporarily recovered due to the “ Go-to Travel ” campaign during the autumn of 2020 . In 2021 , demand continued to recover gradually on the back of the vaccine roll-out but slowed down due to increased Covid cases , resulting in additional state of emergencies declared by the Japanese government . With respect to Ichigo Hotel ’ s portfolio , RevPAR decreased by 60 %, ADR 47 %, and Occupancy 25 % compared to 2019 . This is comparing numbers for the July 2019 to July 2021 fiscal period .
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