Thailand’s luxury hotels growth outpaces London and Singapore

The average daily rates for Thai luxury hotels rose 5.3% year-on-year in 2024, with occupancy rates also climbing across key tourist cities

Thailand’s luxury hotels have experienced strong growth in average daily rates (ADR) throughout 2024, increasing by 5.3% year-on-year and 42.7% compared to 2019, according to STR, a global leader in hotel industry research. 

This growth outpaced hotels in London and Singapore, which saw an increase of 34% and 37% respectively, Jesper Palmqvist, STR’s vice president for Asia-Pacific, said.

Despite London and Singapore’s luxury hotel ADRs (US$604 and $427, respectively) being triple and double that of Bangkok’s ($200), Palmqvist noted that this trend indicates a significant growth potential for luxury hotels in the Thai capital, which also enjoy a competitive pricing advantage. 

Palmqvist also said that occupancy rates in seven of Thailand’s tourist cities showed steady growth throughout last year, signalling the continued recovery of the Thai hotel industry. STR reported that Chiang Mai experienced the largest year-on–year occupancy increase, at 15.1%, followed by Krabi (13.2%), Samui (11.9%), Hua Hin (7.7%), Bangkok (6.5%), Pattaya (4.7%) and Phuket (4.4%).

Cities that saw the largest increase in ADR year-on-year were Samui (9.2%), followed by Phuket (7.8%), Bangkok (7.4%), Pattaya (6.3%), Krabi (5.1%) and Chiang Mai 3%. Hua Hin was the only city to experience a dip in ADR, down 1.3% year-on-year in 2024.Palmqvist predicted that while the rate of ADR growth will gradually slow in the coming years – a trend seen globally – Thailand’s hotel market will continue to expand, with a larger share of new hotel developments falling into the luxury category. Around 58% of new hotels are expected to be luxury properties. 

“Thailand’s ADR growth rate will gradually slow down, which is a normal phenomenon seen in all countries, except for Japan,” Palmqvist said, pointing out that Japan has seen its ADR increase due to a weakening yen and rising flight numbers. 

Despite the expected slowdown, he remains optimistic about the overall hotel industry’s prospects, citing the country’s strong economy and sustained international tourist demand. An STR survey also indicated that Thai hotels are expected to achieve higher occupancy rates in the first quarter of 2025 compared to the same period in 2024.  

"Thailand remains a top destination that tourists worldwide want to visit, but the hotel industry still faces a key challenge: managing costs, which should be a critical focus,” he said.

(2025/01/31-00:00)