Australia Hotel Sector Delivers Mixed Results in October

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STR Global reports Australia's hotel performance in October presented a mixed picture across the major markets.

For the year-to-date October 2011, hotel performance in terms of occupancy, average daily rate (ADR) and revenue per available room (RevPAR) varied significantly from city to city. 

Notably, the performance of hotels in Brisbane, the major city at the centre of the flooding in January 2011, appears to have weathered the storm remarkably well. However, it is the performance of the Western Australian capital of Perth that catches the eye with the best results in both actual occupancy (84.3 percent) and ADR (AUD 199.5).

STR Global's market report extended to a number of secondary cities, two of which reported the lowest actual performances. Wollongong, in New South Wales, had the lowest occupancy (58.7 percent), whilst the northern city of Cairns, in Queensland, had the lowest ADR (AUD 118.7) and RevPAR (AUD 85.9). 

Selected Australian market performances



When looking at the year-on-year change in hotel performance, Perth topped the table in growth in all three key-performance indicators.  A substantial increase in ADR (11.4 percent) was significant in delivering strong RevPAR growth (16.7 percent). Brisbane, too, showed solid growth in ADR (8.0 percent) giving a respectable increase in RevPAR (10.0 percent), second to Perth. Wollongong reported the highest RevPAR and ADR declines as the city saw new supply entering the city (+13.3 percent) with demand increasing 11.3 percent during the same timeframe. The largest fall in occupancy was reported in the Gold Coast (-5.8 percent). 

"The mixed performance across Australia reflects the variety of markets, each with their own influences and market drivers", explained Elizabeth Randall, managing director of STR Global. "Overall, it is good to see that despite the increased outbound and decreased inbound tourism coupled with the strong Australian dollar, as well as the impacts of the floods and volcanic ash cloud, RevPAR grew across Australia's main markets".