Sofitel Macau has long been an outlier within Macau’s peninsular properties but given its location near the heart of the city’s heritage hub is proving an advantage. In a flash Q&A with the General Manager of the non-gaming hotel, part of the Ponte 16 property which also includes a satellite casino, we question how the year is going so far and how it’s overcoming difficulties, from labor shortages to a policy shift to garner more foreign tourists.
Sofitel Macau at Ponte 16 General Manager Vinzenz Rosa de Pauli took the time to sit down with AGB following a panel session by Macau Business at the Rui Cunha Foundation.
How was May occupancy and how do you expect the second quarter to go?
The second quarter was very good, same as the first quarter. In May we reached an occupancy of above 80 percent, which was very good already, same as in April.
We’re expecting June now, before the summer holidays, to be a bit softer, but with a huge demand in July and August during the summer holidays.
Has there been a big shift in the demographics?
It depends on the season, it depends on the workday, it depends on the rate. We still get a lot of younger people, we still get a lot of elderly people, we get a lot of families. But it depends on the day of the week and the holiday period.
Of course, during the summer holidays the families will come and in the shoulder season now maybe the elderly generation will come.
But it’s similar to before, not much younger – as many of my peers say.
Eighty percent, or 75 percent, still come from mainland China, 20 percent from Hong Kong and below 5 percent international.
So which foreign visitor market are you trying to target?
We, as a small hotel, cannot really target the guests. You get what the market gives you. But Sofitel and Accor have a very good reputation in Southeast Asia. We’re very present there, we’re very present in Korea, very present in Thailand, very present in Malaysia and Singapore, so it’s a very recognized brand there. Maybe not so much in Japan. So our focus is in Southeast Asia, even though we don’t restrict anyone, we welcome anyone and we have lots of Japanese customers that love our brand and our hotel and especially our location in the city center and the cultural center.
Have you moved past the labor shortage?
We’ve been through the worst, so the worst is behind us. We are on a good track now. We are almost to full recruitment now. We’re getting ready for summer and we will be able to occupy 100 percent of the rooms in July and August, if that’s the market demand.
But not yet this quarter?
We could operate 100 percent, but the market doesn’t supply enough guests yet.
Given the increased heritage tourism demand, does Sofitel have an advantage given its proximity?
Definitely. Especially in our location. Being in this cultural center of Macau attracts a lot of culturally interested tourists that come here maybe not for the Cotai Strip and just shopping, or just gambling, or just attractions that you can experience there, but more on the cultural side. And Macau peninsula is definitely the cultural part of Macau and we are right in the center of that – that is a huge advantage when it comes to cultural tourism for us.
There have been changes to satellite casino legislation, meaning that satellites can no longer supply credit to clients. Do you foresee that having any impact going forward?
Well, for me, we are just operating Sofitel as a hotel, so it’s not so much involved in the casino part.
But there’s an obvious synergy between having a casino associated with the property. So, would you see that would influence the amount of gaming clients which would then be coming to Sofitel?
I’m sure that the market and the casino operators have their strategies to maybe balance the doubt from the previous past [style of] how they operated. And I’m sure they’re still very confident in the future of their businesses in Macau.
Do you see any big threats on the horizon?
No, I don’t see any threat, but I see a lot of competition around the world. Singapore is a hotspot, Bangkok – Thailand itself, Vietnam. But then of course the Middle East and in Europe, there are lots of travel destinations that are not Macau that visitors want to go to. So, we really need to attract the people to come to Macau, to Hong Kong, and to our Greater Bay Area, or south China, to benefit the most. Competition is huge.
Do you think that we’re going to get back to the same levels that we had?
Definitely. It will take maybe another year – mid-next year.
