Ascendas Hospitality Trust snags $69m Seoul hotel amid tourism recovery

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Singapore-listed Ascendas Hospitality Trust has snapped up the Ibis Ambassador Seoul Insadong hotel in the South Korean capital for KRW77.5bn (US$69m), as the city’s tourism market rebounds.

The 363-room property was acquired at a 3.1% discount to its latest valuation, reflecting a net property income yield of 4.6%, according to an A-HTRUST announcement.

The deal follows the trust’s recent purchase of the Splaisir Seoul Dongdaemun hotel, its first deal in the city.  

The hotel is well-located for both business and leisure travellers, situated near the Jung-gu business district, as well as tourist destinations including the Insadong retail precinct and Changdeokgung Palace.

The asset is operated by Ambasstel, a subsidiary of Ambassador Hotel Group, which operates more than 20 hotels across South Korea.

“The hotel market in Seoul has benefitted from the strong recovery in inbound arrivals as a result of, amongst others, marketing campaigns and the draw of Korean culture (Hallyu or Korean Wave),” said A-HTRUST CEO Tan Juay Hiang.

“Inbound to South Korea for year-to-date September 2018 climbed 12.1% year-on-year, while visitors from its top source market, China, grew 9.4% year-on-year during the same period.”

Completed in 2013, the hotel also features a restaurant, bar, meeting rooms, gym and sauna.

The trust specialises in hospitality-related real estate and owns more than 4,000 rooms across Australia, South Korea, Japan and Singapore.

A-HTRUST is managed by Ascendas-Singbridge Group, which has more than US$14.6bn of assets under management.