Hyatt Regency’s expansion plans
Australia’s hotel sector is going through a massive transformation and the Hyatt Regency has just added to the mix.
The chain is now taking over the Australia’s largest hotel, in terms of rooms, at Sussex Street, Darling Harbour, moving in on the site run by its former operators, Starwood's Four Points by Sheraton.
That will now be under the Hyatt Regency brand.
Malcolm Zancanaro, the general manager Hyatt Regency Sydney, said Australia is an important market.
He said the chain had been focussing on Australia for some time.
For good reason too. Australian Bureau of Statistics shows the hotel industry is going gang-busters, although it remains fragmented.
ABS data shows that in the 2016 financial year, revenue per available room (REVPAR) around the country increased by 3.6 per cent. The average room was going for $115.30 per night, up from $111.30 the previous year.
Occupancy levels was up 66 per cent.
But most of that increase came from rising room rates which soared to $174.6 per night.
Savills national head of Capital Strategy, Chris Freeman put it down to the lower Australian dollar.
The weaker Aussie was seeing more Australians holiday domestically. At the same time, inbound tourist numbers continued to improve.
Still, the picture remains fragmented.
"NSW, and in particular Sydney, were the standouts over the 2017 financial year with average REVPAR in NSW overtaking Victoria during the year as the state's economy continues to lead the nation," Mr Freeman told the Sydney Morning Herald.
"While performance is not as volatile as office markets, it is certainly similar with Sydney recording a 9.1 per cent gain and Melbourne 1.5 per cent while Brisbane and Perth fell 4.5 per cent and 4.3 per cent respectively."
Darwin was the worst performing capital. It suffered a slowdown in resource construction activity, courtesy of the mining downturn. As a result, average room revenues in Darwin fell 16.8 per cent over the year.
by Leon Gettler, November 30th 2016
