Australia hotel business bounces back
There are renewed signs of 
optimism amongst leading Australian hoteliers after two years of declining demand, falling revenues and stagnant investor demand.
Australia, New Zealand and Pacific Hotel Industry Conference chair and Horwath HTL managing director John Smith described the messages presented to ANZPHIC delegates in Sydney as a “rare triple play of positive news and market sentiment”.
“What we heard was improving occupancies in 2010 for leading markets such as Sydney and Brisbane, supported by improving demand from key inbound visitor markets such as the USA, and improving hotel investment demand from overseas investment markets such as Singapore,” he said.
“It’s a combination of trends that will help to finally rebuild confidence as the industry continues the climb back from the challenges and disruptions of the past two years,†Smith said.
Leading industry data providers STR Global reported a strong rise in hotel room demand across the Asia Pacific region with year to date revenue per available room rising 24%, after a 19% decline for the comparable period in 2009.
Amongst the best performing markets in the region, Sydney during the year to date led the field in terms of occupancy, reaching a near historical high of 86%, although room rate growth remains modest.
Reflecting its rapidly improving market performance, leading hotel CEOs at ANZPHIC rated the prospects for the Sydney market highly, with an expected average revenue uplift of 8 to 10% over the year ahead.
Similar growth expectations were nominated for Brisbane, however a more cautious outlook exists for Melbourne as it continues to absorb the impact of recent new hotel room supply.
The surprise market performance was the Gold Coast that after several years of falling demand, occupancy and room rates finally saw a sharp uplift in trading conditions in the year to date.
Singapore magnate Michael Kum was awarded the “Hotel Deal of the Year” for his $185m acquisition of the Four Points Darling Harbour from GPT.
Former head of both Accor in Australia and Hilton in Asia Pacific, Koos Klein, was named as the inaugural inductee in the “Hotel Legends Hall of Fame”.
Ian Jarrett
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