Demand for hotel rooms remained robust last year amid a stable supply of new rooms and healthy tourist arrivals.

This is according to a report done by property consultancy Knight Frank. It found that average room rates grew 5.7 per cent year-on-year between 2009 and last year, from $190 in 2009 to $261 last year.

More hotel rooms will be available in the next two years, said Knight Frank. It estimated that the number of hotel rooms will grow by more than 20 per cent between 2012 and 2015 with a total of 53,000 hotel rooms available in 2015.

However, with a flood of new rooms in the market over the next two years, the consultancy added that it expected average room and occupancy rates to weaken marginally. Mid-tier hotels, such as Dorsett Regency Hotel, Ramada Singapore, and Changi Cove Hotel, will form almost 50 per cent of the total future supply, it said.