As Singapore revs up for yet another Formula 1 Singapore Airlines Grand Prix this weekend, hotels, especially those close to the race circuit, are enjoying an influx of visitors paying record rates and splurging on dining and entertainment at the world’s only F1 night race.
Hilton Singapore, for example, is reporting an uptick in guests, with travellers from the US leading the charge.
Ben George, senior vice president & commercial director, Asia Pacific, Hilton, said that bookings across Hilton’s hotels in the city are rising for race weekend.
He reported that “almost 4,000 Hilton Honors members chose to stay in our Singapore hotels during the five days, with travellers from the US, Singapore, China, and Japan leading the charge”.
“More than seven million points have been redeemed for Hilton Honors Experiences ahead of the races, many vying for a chance to join the McLaren F1 team in their garage during race weekend.”
Singaporeans are also getting in on the action, making up 12% of bookings during this period, he said.
“Interestingly, we’ve seen a 9% increase in demand for premium experiences, with more guests opting for suites at Conrad Centennial Singapore and Conrad Singapore Orchard, and others choosing Confirmed Connecting Rooms – suggesting that many are planning to enjoy the races with family or larger groups of friends,” said George.
Hilton is the Global Hotel Partner of the McLaren Formula 1 team and in 2024 is celebrating its 18th consecutive year of partnership with the team.
Trip.com Singapore is also reporting an uptick in bookings.
Edmund Ong, general manager, said, “Based on the booking numbers on Trip.com Group’s platforms, we believe there will be healthy growth in F1 attendance numbers this year. We have observed an almost 60% increase in the total booking volume for all products in Singapore for this year’s F1 week (16-22 September 2024) compared to last year’s F1 week (11-17 September 2023), with the number of inbound flight bookings for the week spiking by almost 90%.
“Perhaps unsurprisingly, we see more males making bookings for the F1 week period (47%) compared to the weeks immediately before (46%) and after (43%). However, we believe interest in F1 is increasing among women – bookings made by females for last year’s F1 week stood at 49%, compared to this year’s 53%.”
STR data shows Marina Bay Sands in pole position
Sharing data from STRCoStar Group, regional vice president Asia Pacific, Jesper Palmqvist, said, “Current race week hotel occupancy on the books is back at high 2019 levels (for reference, it’s not back generally during normal weeks in Singapore) – But only until Friday, for the actual showdown Sat-Sun it drops off slightly.
“The green areas show occupancy on the books as it builds up, listed from Aug 12th up until this week on Sep 16th, just before the race. As seen, for every week it climbs up from around 50% a month ago, it reached 70% 2 weeks ago, and this week hit almost 90%. The dots show what the actual occupancy was for those days in 2019 and 2023.”
He noted a massive uplift compared to 2023, but “mostly during weekdays, which arguably means it’s less about the race, and more about year-over-year improvements.
“The real test then is against 2019, where we see unusually high occupancy beating historic highs up until weekend and then drops to sit 10% points behind on actual race night Sunday.
“So even if we may not have the same super-peak as in 2019, it does appear to show that we have race weekend dynamics back, with high midweek and almost peak towards the end.
“In addition, remember that this is business on the books as of 16th, and one thing that has changed is booking windows in Singapore – it’s shorter than ever. Last minute people coming in could maybe bring those weekend numbers up slightly, let’s see what they are once the dust settles.”
In summary, he reported:
– Marina Bay is in pole, following overall trend
– Orchard acts like nothing is going on
– River Valley and Regional areas are driving growth
– Sentosa lives for the weekend (generally, not just this weekend)
Since the Singapore Grand Prix began in 2008, it has brought over half a million visitors to Singapore and earned around S$2 billion in incremental tourism receipts, according to the Ministry of Trade and Industry.
