After years of ‘cloak and dagger' activities and principal to principal hotel transactions, Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels Singapore has completed six open market and transparent transactions.

"We are beginning to see the culture of companies and individuals change with the maturing of the Asian markets, just as we witnessed in Europe in the early 1990s," said Mr Collins. "And a product of this is an increasing number of arms length transactions, led by a new breed of investors who are motivated by financial returns rather than a cultural attachment to their investments."

"Active investors are varied and the pool of prospective purchasers has broadened to include non-traditional hotel owners," said Mr Collins. "For instance, US opportunity funds are currently finding success in Japan, as we saw with the sale of Hotel Il Monte, Osaka to a real estate private equity fund. In addition, the Hilton JAIC Tower in Colombo was sold to the Hirdaramani Group – a local clothing manufacturer and exporter who was keen to capitalise on the property's excellent position and strong record of consistent profit."

According to Jones Lang LaSalle Hotel's recent global Hotel Investor Sentiment Survey, investors' intentions to purchase hotel assets across Asia Pacific have increased significantly over the past two years, in light of trading expectations as hotel markets continue to recover from recent demand shocks.

According to the survey, Phuket is the most sought after market in Asia Pacific, in terms of acquiring existing assets as well as development. "Investors appreciate the access, marketing, physical appeal and performance of the market, as well as the economic and tourism growth of Thailand," said Mr Collins. "This was evidenced by Raffles International's agreement this year to enter into a joint venture and management agreement to develop and operate a luxury resort and residential villas for resale in Phuket. "The investment appeal of Thailand has also resulted in successful hotel transactions in the markets of Bangkok and Pattaya

Looking to next year, Craig Collins believes investors looking for income returns will seek assets that are expected to benefit from improved trading conditions over the next two years in markets such as, Shanghai, Beijing, Hong Kong and Phuket. Counter cyclical investors are likely to examine opportunities in Bali and Singapore, which are currently positioned on the trough of the cycle.

China is a market that everyone is discussing but with limited availability of existing stock. That said, Mr Collins expects major developments opportunities to be offered for sale during 2004 in Shanghai and Beijing.