| by Murray Bailey, March 2009
Macau�s strip mining
The opening of the Venetian complex (hotel, casino, MICE, entertainment)
in August 2007 signalled to us the arrival of the new Macau - what we call
the V-factor. That is a partial mining of the Las Vegas leisure strip and
its marketing prowess.
Table 1
Expected hotel expansion in Macau
| Year |
Hotels |
Rooms |
Rooms/hotel |
| 2008 |
56 |
17,651 |
315 |
| 2010 |
80 |
39,388 |
492 |
| 2013 |
123 |
50,575 |
411 |
| 2018 |
128 |
52,373 |
409 |
Source: Macau Government Tourist Office, Travel Business Analyst.
-Main openings in 2007:
-
Crown R (= rooms) 216, casino.
-
Grand Lisboa R429, casino.
-
MGM Grand R597, casino.
-
Venetian R3000, casino.
-Main openings in 2008:
-
Ponte 16. Inner harbour; hotel with R423; casino with T (= tables) 105,
S (= slot machines) 297.
-
Four Seasons. Cotai Strip. R360; shopping mall; casino T175 S213.
Although there are four main projects on the reclaimed area known as Cotai,
the 50ha trade-marked �Cotai Strip�, centred on the Venetian, is just one
part of this area; other developments have different names. Almost certainly,
most will use �Cotai Strip� to mean the whole of Cotai, trade-marked or
not.
Table 2
Hotel projects on Cotai, Macau
| Name |
Project |
| Cotai Strip: Sites 5&6; |
1st / Shangri-La & Traders; Sheraton & St Regis. |
| Cotai Strip:7&8; |
2nd / Conrad & Hilton; Fairmont, Raffles & Swissotel. |
| Cotai Strip: Site 3; |
3rd / Holiday Inn & InterContinental; Far East�s Cosmopolitan. |
| Galaxy World |
Two hotels with R2500, casino T700 S4000. Was �Galaxy Mega�. |
| City of Dreams |
Crown Towers, Hard Rock, Hyatt. R2200, casino T550 S1500. |
| Studio City Tang; |
Marriott, Ritz-Carlton, & W. R2000, casino T400. |
Notes: See text for clarification and amplification. R = rooms, T = tables,
S = slot machines. Source: Travel Business Analyst.
In theory, all hotels are due by end-2009, but today�s financial realities
may slow this timetable, as well as practical matters - such as a shortage
of construction workers.
See below for more details of the Venetian�s Cotai Strip complex.
-Other developments, due now-to-2013:
-
Science Centre. Includes exhibition and conference facilities.
-
New ferry terminal. On Taipa, adjacent to airport. 16 berths handling
400 passengers, three handling 1200; helipad; immigration desks.
-
Airport. Expansion - longer runway, bigger terminal, more aircraft
parks - but details unclear.
-
Border gate; land crossing from China. Capacity up from 300,000 people
daily to 500,000; immigration desks up from 56 to 98; automatic immigration
desks up from 34 to 80.
-
Light transport system. 20km, 23 stations, 8000 passengers/hour.
Border gate-downtown-Taipa-airport-Cotai-ferry.
-
Bridge Macau-Zhuhai-Hong Kong (Lantau island, near HK airport). 30km,
six lanes.
-Venetian, the �V-factor�. The Venetian�s impressive list of facilities
includes:
-
8 hotels (see above and Table 2) on the trade-marked �Cotai Strip�, including
the 2900-room Venetian itself, with near-22,000 rooms - twice the number
in all Macau just two years ago.
-
55,000sqm of meetings and exhibition space. For 50,000 people and 5000
exhibition booths.
-
25,000 seats for live entertainment - such as concerts, sport presentation
games, Cirque de Soleil permanent theatre, etc.
-
140,000sqm of gambling rooms and halls (800 tables, 3400 slot machines).
-
10 boats operating 24-hour service to Hong Kong; another 10 ordered.
An early survey indicates the V�s guests are different from Macau�s profile
- and thus may indicate patterns for the future. V�s sources are Hong Kong
41%, China 26%, Macau 19%, Taiwan 6%. It hopes that eventually 40% will
come from outside China.
Of V�s guests, 60% go to Macau for the V itself (the �V-factor�), 60%
go with their family, and they stay 2.8 days (compared with Macau�s 1.5,
itself growing partly because of a longer stay at V).
Gambling revenue share is 80% (which compares with only 40% in Las Vegas).
Although part of the reason is that Asian (mainly Chinese) gamblers spend
more, V is working to increase the non-gambling share, through MICE and
event business.
China; new hotels, new style
As the hotel sector in Beijing matures, three newly-opened hotels mark
a change in style:
-
The 43-room Aman at Summer Palace (Aman Resorts� first in China) is a conversion
of a 19th-century palace just outside the wall of the Summer Palace�s Garden
of Harmonious Interests in the northern tip of the park. The Summer Palace
is a Unesco heritage site, and until recently Beijing authorities would
have been wary of allowing a hotel development � however sensitive the
design may be - in the vicinity.
-
The 99-room Opposite House (of the Swire Hotels group) is a modern design
by Japanese architect Kengo Kuma, in Sanlitun, Beijing�s popular bar and
restaurant area. With an exterior covered in emerald-coloured glass, and
restaurants and bars by top international chefs, the hotel is targeting
the top end market with rack rates starting at US$472 (Y3220).
-
The minimalist 55-room boutique hotel, The Emperor, is the first urban
hotel in China with membership of Design Hotels (a representation and marketing
group). Close to Tiananmen Square and surrounded by traditional Chinese
low-rise houses and courtyards, the hotel has a classic Chinese-style exterior,
but contemporary orange and white interiors, and a glass-floored restaurant
serving so-called fusion food.
|
