Melbourne’s hotels had a solid December 2016, according to STR’s preliminary data, which has indicated overall performance growth driven by rate.
Based on daily data from December, Melbourne reported the following in year-over-year comparisons:
-Supply: +3.2%
-Demand: +1.5%
-Occupancy: -1.7% to 80.8%
-Average daily rate (ADR): +3.1% to AUD190.50
-Revenue per available room (RevPAR): +1.4% to AUD153.91
STR analysts have attributed the market’s monthly decline in occupancy to supply growth.
On New Year’s Eve, Melbourne reported occupancy above 90.0% and ADR in excess of AUD320.00. ADR for that Saturday night was roughly 4% higher than 31 December 2015, which fell on a Thursday.
During the week of the cricket Boxing Day Test, which kicked off on 26 December, the market recorded mostly flat RevPAR performance even with an increase in ADR.
STR analysts anticipate that next December will show significantly stronger performance, with the English cricket team touring for the Ashes series between November 2017 and January 2018.
STR will release actual December 2016 results later this month.