Raffles Hotel opening delayed due to staffing shortage

Galaxy Entertainment Group says the Raffles Hotel at Galaxy Macau will miss its planned opening date.

Macau.– Galaxy Entertainment Group (GEG) has confirmed that the Raffles Hotel at Galaxy Macau will not be able to open before the Labour Day Golden Week as planned due to the ongoing labour shortage in Macau. Raffles Hotel features around 450 suites and was originally due to open in the second half of 2021.

Raffles along with the Andaz hotel is part of the Galaxy Macau Phase III project. Andaz’s opening date is still undecided. The Galaxy International Convention Center and Galaxy Arena had a soft opening, and events have been held in the GICC since mid-April last year.

The labour shortage has been causing problems for Macau’s hospitality industry, with Sands China saying that around 3,800 of its rooms, or 31 per cent, were out of service in the first quarter of 2022 due to labour constraints.

Billy Song, president of the Macau Responsible Gaming Association previously told Bloomberg the most urgent labour needs are frontline workers such as waiters, cleaners and receptionists in hotels and restaurants.

Macau has lost around 40,000 non-resident workers over the past three years – 10,000 of them in the hospitality industry. Many Southeast Asian workers, who used to make up a sizable portion of the hotel and casino workforce, have moved to countries like Singapore and Vietnam.

Macau’s tourism bureau expects up to 90 per cent occupancy during the upcoming Labor Day holiday. The city registered an average hotel occupancy of 75 per cent in March.