Kuala Lumpur Halts Hotel Project Pipeline

Making international news out of Malaysia, is the city of Kuala Lumpur who has put a freeze on new hotel licenses for an unspecified period.

 This includes all tiers from budget to luxury properties, but excludes those hotels which have obtained approval yet have not commenced construction.

 Meanwhile Bali Update has reported that the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce has written to the governor of the island asking for a moratorium on new hotel projects due to an oversupply of rooms.

 Certainly Asia’s primary urban and resort destinations have experienced a significant surge of new hotels over the past five years and there are now concerns about a glut in many markets.

 Here in Phuket, the important issue of zoning and long-term planning seems to have been put on the back-burner as the government continues to focus hitting the 30 million and above tourism market.

 We continue to see stressed independent properties on the island looking for commercial relief by branding and  the incoming supply continues to mount.