JLL has reported an impressive USD 1.9 billion in hotel sales over the last two decades in the Maldives.
The real estate conglomerate and prominent broker in its “Maldives Investment Guide” said that Maldives is a resilient destination that has withstood “multiple global crises.” JLL noted that Maldives witnessed a shift in international visitation patterns as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic led border closure of China.
Noting the visitation pattern change, JLL observed the remarkable growth of India at 1.8 times year-on-year, which eventually helped the market to surpass China as the leading source market in 2022.
JLL further said Maldives has consistently been the highest-rated market in the Indian Ocean with an overall trading performance driven by impressive growth in average daily rate (ADR).
On the other hand, regardless of the market adjusting and normalizing as competing markets opened, the market-wide revenue per available room (RevPAR) in the Maldives in 2022 was at a 10% premium above 2019 level.
JLL said that the RevPAR in 2022 for the Maldives stood at $393 whereas regional tropical island competitors including Mauritius and Seychelles observed RevPAR at $188 and $388 respectively last year.
Additionally, the RevPAR for Maldives is comparatively higher so far in 2023 at $401 whereas for Mauritius and Seychelles RevPAR stand at $206 and $379 respectively.
Since 2012, the number of completed hotel transactions increased significantly leading to the total hotel sales surpassing USD 1.9 billion as of September 2023. JLL also said that there have been three transactions per year in the market during this period at an “average price per key of USD 807,000.”
One of the notable transactions according to JLL was the sale of Cheval Blanc Randheli in 2017, which set a global record for one of the highest prices per key.
In 2022, JLL brokered the sale of three properties; all either upscale or luxury, that amounted to a collective total of nearly USD 200 million.
So far in 2023, JLL has brokered the sale of two midscale properties which included the sale of Amari Havodda at USD 60 million.