United Kingdom
United States
Asia Pacific
Will greed cook the goose for Singapore?
SINGAPORE – A prominent Australian travel wholesaler was reflecting this week on why he won’t be taking any of his large incentive groups to the Singapore F1 Grand Prix next year.
Quite simply, he blames greed on the part of the Lion City’s hotels.
“Rates have gone way beyond what most large corporate groups can afford,” he told Travelmole. “A $400 room today will be $1200 during the Grand Prix,” he said.
“And when I complain to the hotels, they tell me, ‘There’s not much we can do because the government is taking 30 percent of the room rate’.”
In her weekly column in this Travelmole newswire, Yeoh Siew Hoon also has something to say about Singapore hotels.
“Rates are soaring to stratospheric levels,“ she writes. “I got rate quotations from a four-star hotel which went from S$340 to $480 to $800 in a week – for the same room type.
“I fear these wild fluctuations – which sent my heart into palpitations – could soon lead to bar room brawls and street fights between customers/travel agents/event organisers and hoteliers.
“It’s not just that rates are soaring that is the problem; it’s that it’s happening at a time when service levels are dropping off.
“Taxi drivers misbehaving badly, sloppy service in restaurants, patchy service in hotels – the customer experience isn’t getting better; yet rates are rising.”
Ian Jarrett
Mark Jaronski of Explore Georgia on FIFA World Cup 2026
Connecting Small Businesses to Global Tourism Markets: Nate Huff of Tourism Exchange
North Carolina’s Resilience: Wit Tuttell on Recovery and Tourism
Kittipong Prapattong’s Plan for Thailand’s Tourism Growth: Taxes, Visas, and Campaigns
James Jin: Didatravel’s Journey from China to Global Reach and the Impact of AI on Travel
Darien Schaefer on Pensacola’s Evolution: From Small Town to Global Destination
Florida Tourism’s Next Frontier: Dana Young on Expanding Beyond the Classics
Patrick Harrison on Tampa Bay Tourism’s Resilience and Marketing Strategy
Bubba O’Keefe on Clarksdale’s Vibrant Music Scene
Commemorating Elvis and Embracing Tupelo’s Culture with Jennie Bradford Curlee
Craig Ray and the Expansion of the Blues Trail
Presenting Mississippi’s Cultural Trails with Katie Coats
Dozens fall ill in P&O Cruises ship outbreak
Turkish Airlines flight in emergency landing after pilot dies
BA suspending all Heathrow to Abu Dhabi flights
Unexpected wave rocks cruise ship
Woman dies after going overboard in English Channel