While there is still some hopes that the market can finish the year strong, weak average daily rates are proving to be a challenge in key Asian markets like Singapore and Malaysia.
Speaking on the latest episode of the Hotels News Now podcast, STR's Jesper Palmqvist shared insights from across the Asia-Pacific region, including why there's an increasing amount of concern that those markets will fail to hit expectations for the year.
"We still think [the fourth quarter] will save [Singapore], but there's a very small ADR decline in October and slightly softer in November when you look at the first couple of weeks," he said, noting the market is heading into a "maybe more precarious 2025."
Malaysia is also facing a noticeable slowdown.
"We're keen to see those markets and how they develop as they haven't grown in a decade, really," he said.
Markets in the region that have a more favorable trajectory include South Korea and Thailand, which are seeing significant increases in occupancy, and Vietnam, although that country's growth has been largely around city center locations.
One question that remains across Asia is just how long Japan can maintain its momentum, fueled by favorable currency rates for international travelers. Although conventional wisdom says performance in that market will eventually have to slow down, Palmqvist says there's still no signs of it happening in the immediate future.
"It has to stop at some stage," he said. "But we're not seeing a drastic drop off yet at all in what tourism organizations and the authorities consider for the next quarter or so."
For all of HNN's discussion with STR's Jesper Palmqvist and Matthew Burke, which also includes discussion on performance in countries like Japan, South Korea and Indonesia, listen to the podcast above.