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SINGAPORE: Visitors are still taking a wait-and-see attitude when it comes to booking hotel rooms for the upcoming Formula One SingTel Grand Prix in Singapore.
The 28 hotels which started a Best Rate Guarantee Scheme last month for those who book ahead have not seen significant impact in take-up rates.
There still isn't enough interest to drive up demand for hotel rooms this year.
Naumi, a boutique hotel and the only trackside one to offer the Best Rate Guarantee scheme even to those who pre-booked way before, only saw more enquiries and minimal increase in bookings.
Hament Rai, hotel manager, Naumi, said: "People are just shopping. They knew that even after last year, there were still plenty of rooms available in town for them to choose from. So knowing that fact, this year, it's going to be much harder. Clients are generally going to start bookings, realistically in mid-August to late-August and early-September."
Last year, the 40-room hotel was fully booked three months before the race at an average rate of about S$1,200 per night.
Despite bringing down rates by some 40 per cent, there are few takers this time round.
When contacted, the other 27 hotels under the Best Rate Guarantee Scheme said they face the same problem.
The scheme which started in early July expires at the end of August.
H P Loi, CEO, Tourism Management Institute, said: "With the uncertainty, the financial crisis and also H1N1, I think a lot more people are more hesitant. So unless the rates you offer is so attractive like 50 per cent off, I think that people will really come forward and book in advance.
“The other issue is ‘will there be a cancellation clause? How much penalty you have to pay if in the end they cannot come?’ So I think these are the factors that are holding people back."
But hotels still have some hope. Industry watchers said based on last year's trends, a high percentage of bookings will only come in nearer to the race. - CNA/vm
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