In the first half of 2021, the income of the hotel portfolio was 287.5 million Hong Kong dollars, an increase of 10.7 percent over the same period last year, the total rental income of trust groups was 103.7 million Hong Kong dollars, down 1.1 percent from the same period last year, and the profit attributable to share binding unit holders was 19.9 million Hong Kong dollars, compared with a loss of 13.2 million Hong Kong dollars in the same period last year, according to an announcement issued by Langham-SS (01270.HK).

The continuing epidemic, coupled with travel restrictions in Hong Kong's major entry markets and the extension of mandatory quarantine requirements since January 2021, have put pressure on the demand for hotel rooms. However, compared with the same period last year, when the city closure was fully implemented around the world, the occupancy rate of the group's hotels has increased, especially in recent months, when the occupancy rate last year was very low.

The higher occupancy rate led to an increase of 6.4% in the average revenue of rentable rooms in the group hotels in the first half of 2021. In view of the human factor in the increase in quarantined hotel business, it is not meaningful to compare the average rentable room income of Guzhu Group Hotel with that of Hong Kong Hotels Association Hotel this year.

On the other hand, the hotel catering business of the group shows good signs of recovery in an all-round way. The improvement is due to the local and continued relaxation of mandatory social distance measures by the Government, as well as the response to local customers' demand for dining out, especially during the festive period. Revenue from the catering business grew by 20.9% year-on-year in the first half of 2021. Total hotel revenue increased by 10.7% year-on-year in the first half of 2021. During the period, the hotel portfolio recorded a combined operating loss of HK $18.2 million, compared with a total operating loss of HK $38.6 million in the same period last year.