On February 10, millions of people around Australia welcomed The Year of the Snake, which is believed to represent steady progress, attention to detail and prosperity but for Australia’s hotel industry it means travel.
Accor hotels across Australia reported an overall 30.4% increase in room nights over the Lunar New Year period compared to 2012 and saw the Year of the Snake help the group climb up the occupancy ladder to over 90% on the eve of the New Year.
Record bookings were experienced at Accor’s accredited hotels in Optimum Service Standards for Chinese visitation. The Mercure Hobart hotel enjoyed 100% occupancy for the entire week, while Novotel Cairns Oasis Resort reported an increase of 20.1% on last year with room nights climbing well above 80% occupancy on Chinese New Year’s Eve.
Accor’s Sydney hotels also experienced a 52% growth in bookings compared to last year and Melbourne hotels increased room nights by 15.7%. The great result came as Accor has adopted tailored services to better meet the needs of Chinese travellers and understand cultural differences.
Chinese New Year was celebrated at Accor hotels nationally with red Chinese decorations adorning hotel lobbies, ‘Happy New Year of the Snake’ signs, gold coins, red envelopes, Chinese food and drinks, dragon dancers and even live snakes on display in hotel lobbies to ring in the Chinese New Year.
The success of Chinese New Year for hoteliers further highlights the need to be China ready as the numbers of Chinese travelling the globe are expected to reach 100 million by 2020, if not sooner.
Accor’s Chief Operating Officer Pacific, Simon McGrath, said Accor is constantly building on its Chinese relationships and have already seen the impact that Chinese Optimum Service Standards have made on bookings.
“It’s very reassuring for our hotels to see that the investment we have put into servicing and understanding our Chinese guests is paying dividends with healthy increases in bookings,” he said.
“With more discerning Chinese travellers on the rise, particularly around the Lunar New Year, we are pulling out all the stops to ensure they experience a few familiar home comforts and best possible service while overseas on holiday.”
Currently, Accor has 37 hotels accredited in Optimum Service Standards for Chinese visitation. This number is expected to reach over 50 hotels by the end of the year. Accor’s accredited hotels experienced a 34.3% increase in bookings for Chinese New Year’s Eve compared to last year.