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Briefs: Game on in Japan? | Q2 for Europe, U.S.

Airbnb fight in Maryland: Two Baltimore, Maryland, city council members introduced a bill that would apply the city’s 9.5% hotel tax to short-term rentals such as Airbnb and other home-sharing services, and require those properties to be licensed; they say the legislation, which would help generate up to US$1 million in tax revenue if approved, is necessary to ensure neighborhoods don’t become overly transient and would help eliminate problem hosts. Opponent say the restrictions would put them out of business.

 


Casino bill poised for passage. Japan’s Upper House will pass casino legislation before the week’s end, according to investor website Seeking Alpha. The next step is selecting the sites for three initial licenses (HOTELS contributor Asterisk weighed in recently on which cities have the best odds), which are expected to be awarded in mid-2019. Japan’s gambling market is expected to hit US$15 billion a few years after that.

 


Europe hotel performance: Europe’s Q2 performance is positive, according to STR: Occupancy rose 1.1% to 75.5% year over year; ADR was up 3.8% to €115.54 (US$134.35); and RevPAR up 4.9% to €87.20 (US$101.39). In Dublin, the absolute values for occupancy (89.6%), ADR (€155.75, or US$181.10) and RevPAR (€139.51, or US$162.22) were each the highest for any Q2 in STR’s Dublin database. Moscow also saw a jump due to the World Cup.

 


… Meanwhile, in the U.S.: The U.S. hotel industry broke quarterly records as well. Q2 2018 numbers: Occupancy rose 1.1% to 70.2%; ADR rose 2.9% to US$131.02; and RevPAR was up 4.0% to US$91.94. Demand grew 3.1% year over year; supply increased 2.0% for the second consecutive quarter. Overall, each of the key performance metrics were the highest for any Q2 on record, according to STR.

 


MCR in Rhode Island: New York-based owner-operator MCR acquired the 160-room Hilton Garden Inn Providence Airport/Warwick in Rhode Island for US$19.1 million, from owner Joe Piscopio. MCR operates 11 hotels in the U.S.

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