CHECKING OUT: The Vietnamese guests leaving the mid-priced Link Hotel may be all smiles, but not all tourists feel the same as some have to settle for budget accommodation or even staying in Johor Baru. -- ST PHOTO: DESMOND FOO, ST FILE PHOTO

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But not everyone is celebrating. The hotel room crunch has worsened, say travel agents, and those most badly affected are tourists who stay at mid-priced hotels.

Business travellers and top-tier tourists can stay at five- or six-star hotels and budget travellers have their pick of no-frills hotel chains such as Hotel 81 and Fragrance Hotel.

But for tourists who are willing to fork out $150 to $230 a night, there is just no room at the inn.

Travel agents say mid-priced hotels such as Windsor Hotel in MacPherson Road, The Elizabeth Hotel in Mount Elizabeth, Allson Hotel and Hotel Royal@Queens in Victoria Street and Lion City Hotel in Tanjong Katong Road are fully booked most of the time.

Out of the 200 hotels in Singapore, about 45 are mid-priced ones.

A spokesman for World Holidays travel agency, which has put up Taiwanese tourists at Hotel Royal@Queens, says: 'Rooms at these hotels are really hard to find because there is more demand than supply available. We often have to book at least two months ahead.'

The newly opened Link Hotel in Tiong Bahru, which has set aside one block of rooms for mid-tier tourists from China, Indonesia and Vietnam, is running at 80 per cent occupancy rate and has room reservations stretching to next year.

Room rates are from about $200 to $480. General manager George Chen says demand from mid-tier tourists is so strong that the hotel has had to put up some of these guests in the block set aside for business travellers.

What is worrying travel agents is that demand for mid-priced hotel rooms comes from fast-growing markets such as Vietnam and Myanmar. If these tourists cannot find a room in Singapore, they will take their business elsewhere or spend less time here.

Mr Robert Khoo, CEO of the National Association of Travel Agents Singapore, says there is a shortage of tourist-class hotels because in land-scarce Singapore, most developers prefer to build high-end hotels as they give better returns. 'There have been very few new tourist-class hotels being built. The current ones have been around for a long time.'

He adds that with a shortage of tourist-class hotels, fewer tourists may come to Singapore.

As it is, travel agents have been forced to look for alternative accommodation for their mid-tier tourists. Some downgrade to budget hotels.

Ms Ruth Lim, spokesman for SA Tours, says the agency has placed tourists in no-frills budget hotels in selected business districts, especially for those who book last minute. She declined to name the hotels but adds 'they cost less than mid-priced ones yet serve the same purpose'.

The company says it informs customers about the budget accommodation and the location before putting them up there. Ms Lim says nobody has complained so far.

Other agents house the tourists in Johor Baru where room rates are about RM150 to RM180 (S$66 to S$79).

Mr Michael Soh, vice-chairman of China inbound division at Singapore Travels and Tours, says the agency organises day tours to Singapore for tourists staying in Johor Baru.

Another travel agent, who does not want to be named, has also done the same. He says: 'We would prefer to put them up in Singapore as this also means they can spend more money here, but we really have no choice.'

China tourist Chen Miaoling was none too pleased when she learnt that she would be staying at a budget hotel in Geylang when she visited Singapore last December.

The 25-year-old nurse paid $600 for her four-day holiday. Her local agent had told her about the hotel but still it surprised her: 'It's so tiny and sparse, and the location doesn't feel safe.'

She says it will be many months before she decides to visit Singapore again.

More hotels on the way

BUT there is light at the end of the tunnel. Travel agents say the shortage of tourist-class hotels may ease with the opening of two hotels next year.

One is the 538-room Ibis Bencoolen in Bencoolen Street, which will open early next year.

The Ibis brand is known for running tourist-class hotels in major cities such as London and Paris. Room rates have not been confirmed but Life! understands that they will probably be under $150.

The worldwide chain is owned by Accor, a European leader in hotels. Ibis Bencoolen will be the largest Ibis hotel in Asia Pacific.

Mr Michael Issenberg, chairman of Accor Asia Pacific, says the chain decided to set up business in Singapore because 'there is an urgent need for quality, affordable accommodation in the heart of the city with Singapore's growing status as Asia Pacific's tourism hub'.

The other tourist-class hotel slated to open next year is at Belililos Road/Klang Lane in Little India. The as-yet-unnamed hotel will have 328 rooms and is developed by Hotel Grand Central, which owns and operates hotels in South-east Asia, Australia and New Zealand.

Its founding hotel is the mid-priced Hotel Grand Central in Cavenagh Road.

Some mid-priced hotels are also planning extensions. The 628-room Carlton Hotel in Bras Basah Road will add 288 rooms by next year on a 35,639 sq ft space next to its current site.

The Singapore Tourism Board, mindful of the projected 17 million visitors target by 2015, says it works closely with the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) to identify sites for hotel development. So far this year, the URA has released two such sites: in Race Course Road/Bukit Timah Road and in Balestier Road/Ah Hood Road.

Industry players say that given the locations, the two sites are suitable for building large mid-priced hotels.

Looking at the bigger picture, Singapore can expect an additional 12,330 hotels rooms for all price categories in the next four years.

Mr Khoo says that with a shortage of tourist-class hotels, visitors may look upon Singapore as an expensive city which only business travellers can afford to visit.

'Hopefully we do not get branded as an expensive destination,' he says. 'Once this happens, it may take years to reverse the image.'

taysc@sph.com.sg