Australian hotel company Mantra Group is reporting a five percent increase in revenue and a seven percent growth in RevPAR for the first quarter of 2012 compared to the same period last year.
Mantra CEO Bob East attributes the uplift in CBD hotels to nconsistent leisure travel capitalizing on major events and festivals, which also resulted in gains for regional tourism. The business travel sector has also made a strong return in all capital cities.
Highlights include Perth where a 31 percent RevPAR growth was driven by strong rate growth as a result of the region’s mining boom. Similarly the year on year growth in occupancy and rate to see a nine percent RevPAR growth in Brisbane reflected an increase in demand from the mining sector and ongoing demand from leisure travelers.
In Melbourne, Mantra’s six CBD properties pulled ahead of the market in both occupancy and rate with a 4.2 percent increase in RevPAR year on year, with a 97 percent occupancy level throughout the Australian Tennis Open. Similar levels were also maintained for the Australian Grand Prix.
Likewise, Adelaide capitalized on the special event period that included Tour Down Under and Clipsal 500 with 10.5 percent increase in RevPAR across the Group’s four CBD hotels. January saw a 25 percent increase in occupancy.
Sydney is still experiencing a drop in rates for five-star product which further impacts on mid-range hotel RevPAR across the industry. The January-March event period did not prove as strong this year with RevPAR being maintained at the same levels experienced last year.
Tropical North Queensland, meanwhile, saw a 17 percent increase in RevPAR, and the Gold Coast saw a five percent increase in room nights sold compared to the same period last year.
