Tourists benefit as budget hostels mushroom in S'pore
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Cheap and cheerful hostels that offer a bed for as little as S$25 (Bt628) a night are thriving in the island state as tourists look for alternatives to pricey hotel rooms.
The number of hostels around town has shot up over the past year, with Little India and Chinatown the most popular areas.
“As of July 2013, there were a total of 56 licensed hostels in Singapore, compared with 46 in 2012,” said Heng Li Lang, director in charge of hotels at the Singapore Tourism Board (STB).
Pricing is clearly driving growth with a stay in a hotel costing on average S$261 a night, said property consultant Knight Frank.
But other factors are at play as well, including a change in the kind of travellers coming here and more attractive hostel services on offer, such as bike rentals.
“More hostels have now observed the different needs of the evolving traveller, such as flashpackers, and are enhancing their services to provide their guests a good experience,” Heng said.
This recent surge of hostels, defined as having four or more rooms and licensed by the Hotels Licensing Board under STB, may be squeezing profits.
Heng Choon Boon, manager of Wink Hostel in Chinatown, started his business two years ago. “There was a clear gap in the market for good-value accommodation,” he said, but then he started witnessing the “bubble-tea phenomenon” where new players quickly emerged, hitting revenue.
Property consultancy Knight Frank sees a 20 per cent-plus rise in the number of hotel rooms over the next three years.
