Business leader defends Pom hotel room rates

The National National

By MARK HAIHUIE
HOTEL room rates in Port Moresby are reasonable considering the high utility cost operators are burdened with, says Port Moresby Chamber of Commerce president Rio Fiocco.
He said it was important to note how a number of operators had set up their operations in the country in recent years, which was a positive development.
He said it resulted in reduced room rates, “but any further reduction will require an overall price decrease in goods and services that hoteliers and most businesses depend on”.
“The hotels’ pricing for rooms is based on supply and demand factors, and is not different to anywhere else in the world in that regard,” Fiocco said.
“The market forces will have to correct the situation in that there has to be a reasonable supply with steady demand for prices to come down. There are certainly a lot more hotel rooms in the city compared to even 12 months ago.
“Accordingly you will find that room rates have fallen on account of a greater supply of hotel rooms.”
He said the Port Moresby market right now “is very well served”.
“Soon we will have the Hilton Hotel opened. And that will mean having a number of five-star hotels in Port Moresby.”
He said there were a lot of hotels in the four-star and three-star range.
The room rates per night in the major hotels in Port Moresby are:

  • Hotel A: Standard K878, Suite K1650;
  • Hotel B: Standard K522, Suite K891;
  • Hotel C: Standard K775, Suite K2000;
  • Hotel D: Standard K415, Suite K615;
  • Hotel E: Standard K436, Suite K1050

He said comparisons to overseas hotels should be done while noting the business setting in PNG.
“When you compare the prices in US dollars the room rates are quite reasonable given the high cost of electricity, security, food and other things a lot of which have to be imported,” Fiocco said.
“The pricing is quite reasonable when you consider the high costs hotel and businesses in general have to pay to do business here.”