E.g. There are 251 hotels in Singapore according to Singapore Tourism Board

- Product uniformity
Choice of locations
- hotels are differentiated in terms of their locations. Some people may prefer hotels in the city area or downtown area. Hotels in the city area can include Orchard hotel and Raffles hotel. Downtown hotels include Marina Bay Sands and Fullerton Hotel

Different physical appearances appeal to customers
- There are different tiers of hotels customers can choose from. The hotels in Singapore range from budget hotels to 5-star hotels. Customers may choose their hotel based on their disposable income available or their preference for customer services from a hotel. 5 star hotels provide luxury spa, gourmet services and many more. However, a budget hotel only provides limited services and simple rooms. 5 star hotels also may have nicer views as compared to budget hotels. For example, Marina Bay Sands compared to Hotel Royal@Queens, the views for these two hotels are completely different. The rooms and amenities are very different, Marina Bay Sands appeals to people who have

Ease of entry and exit 

- It is easy for hotels to enter and exit the hotel industry. 
E.g. The Clan Hotel just entered the industry in December despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic situation. Six Senses exited the hotel industry in Singapore on 31st May 2020, after only 2 years of operation from 2018. This shows that hotels can effortlessly enter and exit the hotel industry. 

 Relatively good amount of information
- There are many resources on the hotel industry in Singapore. Sources and websites include Singapore Tourism Board(STB), klook, TripAdvisor and many more. These resources allow customers to research the services, prices and the ratings from each hotel. This allows customers to do their research before choosing the right hotel that they want to stay at 

Support from key sources:
-With the rise in technology, customers are becoming more tech-savvy and prefer everything to be digital. As the times change, so do customers' expectations. Hotels must make the necessary improvements to fulfill customer needs by providing the greatest possible guest experience.

- Applications that allows guests to clarify any details or make any requests and promote any ongoing problems within their rooms are highly favoured. Personal guides for guests ,curated by these applications, also informs them about features in the hotel and of the attractions nearby. This makes the whole process of checking into a hotel more efficient and pleasant whilst also boosting customer experience.

3. Guests expect hotels to be extra careful and cautious of hygiene and sanitation due to the pandemic
Support from key sources:
- With the COVID-19 pandemic going on, guests expect a thoroughly clean hotel for them to stay in. Many measures have been implemented to give hotel guests a peace of mind which will then encourage them to book the hotels.  E.g. NEA has recently launched an SG Clean Programme. SG Clean certifies hotels with the "SG Clean" quality mark, telling guests that the hotel meets the hygiene and sanitation requirements of the industry.
- Another example would be that Web-based contactless check-ins have also become an expectation from guests to ensure that they minimise coming in contact with shared surfaces such as the reception desk as well.

To find out more for report writing:

-A few more evidences regarding the SG Clean program for hotels 

-More expectations of guests going to hotels during the COVID-19 Pandemic period

Support from key sources:
- Many locations meant for hospitality are still opening up despite the COVID-19 pandemic
- It was mentioned by CBRE Hotels Asia-Pacific associate director Zhang Jiahao that despite the current restrictions on travel due to COVID-19, demand is still expected to hit normalcy, it could “be potentially stronger than pre-COVID days due to the pent-up demand, and strong support and efforts by the Singapore Government for the industry” and that “proposed supply is believed to be adequate and necessary to cater to this expected increase in demand.”

- The CEO of Far East Hospitality, a home-grown hospitality management company with an international presence, Mr Arthur Kiong also mentioned that with COVID-19 restrictions still in place, it provided a breathing space for staff “to fine-tune all areas and be ready when international travel returns fully.” which is “a luxury we cannot afford under normal operating conditions”.

To find out more for report writing:
- Research on more hotels that are being planned to open in Singapore
- Research more why hotels expect more demand despite the pandemic

5. Technology is now streamlining the guest experience in hotels.
Support from key sources:
_- Technology plays a significant role in the hotel and tourism industry
- It has helped to reduce expenses, improve efficiency and enhance the customer service experience
- At the end of 2020, SingapoRediscover vouchers were issued and that caused a surge in demand for hotel rooms in Singapore.
- Sorely-lacking manpower caused many guest complaints due to very long check-in times and too heavy of a workload to suddenly fall on the shoulders of hotel staff.
- Vouch Concierge is a app-less web-based digital concierge that acts as a one-stop shop for the guests at a hotel, with over 90% of their online queries to be answered by the digital concierge. Vouch allows guests to voice out feedbacks and concerns, arrange for contactless dining and also book facilities like gyms and spas. Based on real world data, the front desk at hotels which utilise Vouch Concierge experienced a 40% reduction of workload when using Vouch.


To find out more for report writing:

- Any other ways that technology is impacting the hotel industry

6. Price Elasticity of Demand
- Since COVID-19 has taken the world by storm, the demand for hotel rooms has fallen dramatically, so how does that impact the price elasticity of demand for hotel rooms? By using the NPHAT determinants of demand, we can come to a conclusion.
 Necessity vs Luxury
- Hotels are a luxury and not a necessity
- People usually only stay in hotels when they travel to other countries or for staycations
Eg. Data from Statisca has shown that 58% of international visitors purpose visits to Singapore are for holidays

Eg. Data from the tourism sector performance report 2020 has shown that 61% of people who stay in hotels in Singapore for 2020 stayed at luxury hotels

To find out more for report writing:
- Find out more about why guests choose more expensive hotels
- Find out how do the hotels 5-star hotels differentiate themselves from budge

Proportion of income
- The rooms guest stay in and the length of stay is usually based on their income
- The price elasticity demand for hotels is elastic for someone with a higher income and inelastic for a lower income

Eg . According to the tourism sector performance 2020, the average rate of the rooms customers go for is usually $215.

Eg. According to Statistica, the average length of stay for inbound arrivals in Singapore is 4.29 nights about $900. 

To find out more for report writing:
- Find out more information on guest average income base on the different hotels they stay in 

[Supply determinant: Expectation of sellers]

To find out more for report:
- how the decrease in tourists affected the overall economic situation in the tourism sector (Eg. GDP)
- how the opening of VTLs has started to affect the current situation in the industry

To find out more for report:
- What are other initiatives that has been introduced to revive the tourism industry in Singapore?

To find out more for report:
- How do these campaigns interest the locals/target them

- What other ways are businesses coming up with to attract locals 

To find out more for report:
- How the SG Rediscovery Voucher helped Singapore's Hospitality Industry during the Covid-19 situation

Inflation of hotel industry

One interesting fact I learned about hotels is that during the COVID-19 period, when hotels were closed and used as a quarantine facility, many hotel employees volunteered to become frontline workers to aid patients who may have contracted the virus. I have the utmost admiration for them for being so brave during such a difficult period.

One interesting fact that i learnt about the hotel industry after my research is considering Singapore is so small there are still so many hotels available. Despite the pandemic, hotels are still growing and trying different ways to upgrade their hotels to appeal to customers. There are still hotels opening despite the pandemic such as the clan hote.l 

An interesting fact that I have discovered is that the Raffles Hotel in Singapore has had a tiger shot dead before! In 1902, there was a travelling circus in Singapore and they had a tiger from the circus escape, hiding under the Bar and Billiards Room of the Raffles Hotel. A principal of a school nearby, who happened to also be a hunter, went and shot dead the tiger, missing the first 3 shots due to him being tipsy from a function during the evening and only eliminating the tiger the fourth time, with a shot directly through the middle of the head, between the eyes.

An interesting fact I found was that travel and tourism is one of the largest and fastest-growing industries in the world. The tourism revenues of Singapore have been hovering around the SGD$23 billion mark in the past few years and has been dipping towards the SGD$21 billion mark in the last couple of years due to COVID-19 and other diseases that struck Singapore such as the ZIKA virus, with the hotel industry being struck the hardest out of all the sectors in the travel industry.

Thanks for sharing your prelim analysis with me. You’ll find below, feedback from me for your second stage work. Please note that the grow areas are specific to what I read on your padlet wall. It doesn’t mean these are all you need to do, to deepen your analysis for stage 3 presentation. I’m sure you’ll find more concepts or new info to deepen your analysis along the way. So feel free to expand your analysis. It also doesn’t mean that you have to address all that I’ve mentioned below. As a team, discuss and come to a consensus. 

Just to be clear, there is no need to amend your prelim analysis on padlet. My feedback are meant for you to consider when you work on deepening your analysis in stage 3 (Presentation and the slides)

Glows:
I like that Team included only included the stats that you would like to analyse/support your analysis instead of including overwhelming amount of data especially when the MRSD report provided lots of it. Good work in making reference to relevant articles from recognised sources.

Grow areas:
Room for growth in terms of applying more economic concepts to your analysis.

Specific comments:
GDP
Good point about the impact of fall in tourist receipts on GDP.  Please build on it for more complete analysis (Economy comprised of more than 1 sector). Team could start the segment by identifying the key sectors in the economy, a few key reasons accounting for the change in real GDP (could use GDP expenditure formula) before examining the hospitality sector.

Good findings on how the hospitality sector tries to evolve to survive in the new normal and yes please find out more.

Labour market
Good work in identifying the type of unemployment (i.e. frictional) Q. Based on your findings, is this the most prevalent type of unemployment in SG right now?

Policies are relevant

Inflation
I think we can lump them together  - Tourism and Hospitality industry. 

Just a note, since inflation is described as the overall increase in prices of the basket of goods and services and not just a single price increase of an item, it would be good to first take a look at what are the key price changes if items in the economy as a whole before looking at pricing of hotel accommodation.