Sydney Hotels Mark Highest ADR Since Olympics Era

STR reported Sydney’s hotel industry recorded its highest performance levels of the pandemic-era. The preliminary November 2022 data shows occupancy averaging 79.8% for the month, ADR at A$273.07 resulting in RevPAR of A$217.79.  STR said the market’s ADR level was the highest for any month on record except for September 2000 when it hosted the Sydney Olympics. Occupancy and RevPAR were the highest since November 2019 and February 2019 respectively. Even with the pandemic-era high, occupancy remained -7.9% below the 2019 comparable.  Sydney recorded 27 days of occupancy levels above 70% with the highest occupancy occurring on November 12 (90.5%) and November 19 (89%). STR said their occupancy on the books shows continued strength in December and January with New Year Eve right now showing at 79%.

Chinese aviation data company VariFlight said domestic flight activity jumped to around 65% of pre-pandemic levels in China yesterday. It was just 22% on November 29. This is the equivalent of several thousand flights per day returning to the skies. Ticket sales for the Lunar New Year holiday in late January have also surged, citing online travel portal Qunar.com data.  Lunar New Year bookings are expected to reach the highest level in three years, rising to 80% of pre-pandemic levels.

OYO announced a new program ranking hotels that provide consistent and high-quality customer experience. What they are calling ‘Super OYO’ analyzes a hotel’s performance on multiple parameters such as customer review, maximum rooms operational consistently and check-in experiences.  Consumers will be able to see a hotel marked ‘Super OYO’ while booking on the company’s app.  There are around 200 of these hotels in more than 70 cities right now and OYO believes this will encourage others to achieve the title on its platform. Super OYO is available to all app users in India and will be launched globally in 2023.

Cygnett Hotels & Resorts said they will be adding eight more hotels and over 1,000 rooms in 2023.  The hotel management company currently has around 20 managed hotels with over 900 rooms. The new pipeline comprises a 250 key Cygnett Residence in Bhiwadi, an industrial township in Rajasthan and under 100 room hotels in places like Tezpur.  The company is expected to push its budget and economy brands for expansion in India through its hybrid ‘Franchise Plus’ model of growth going forward.

Indian Hotels Company announced the opening of Nobru, The Montanna, an IHCL – SeleQtions hotel at Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh, in India. The hotel lies secluded amidst the Dhauladhar mountain range surrounded by the landscape of the Kangra Valley. The hotel is spread over seven acres and includes 31 rooms and suites. The hotel has an all-day diner, plus Chefs Table and The Pool Bar. With the addition of this hotel, IHCL will have four hotels in Himachal Pradesh with two more under development.

A Queensland family has acquired a luxury Maleny lodge as demand for Sunshine Coast accommodation assets continues to increase. The hotel was sold by owners Pink Developments Pty Ltd.  The newly opened property is an adults-only retreat located in the Sunshine Coast hinterland town of Maleny. The hotel description is it’s a property that blurs the lines between boutique hotel and holiday home. The hotel opened in June 2022 after a comprehensive restoration. The heritage-listed building has been restored with high-quality finishes while maintaining its original heritage charm and features. It offers seven guest rooms in addition to a fire pit and swimming pool, all overlooking the woodland forest below.  CBRE Hotels brokered the deal.

About 40 Australian and international developers and owner occupiers are understood to be vying for a $155 million partially completed development in Melbourne’s Russell Street. This follows its financiers calling in voluntary administrators last month.  The administrators of the Chinese-controlled Triple MMM Holdings is McGrath Nicol partners Matthew Hutton and Matthew Caddy.  They noted strong interest in the sale and/or recapitalization of the company even though the city has a number of hotel developments under way. Merricks Capital is the Melbourne non-bank lender that appointed the administrators. The project is 189 rooms, a restaurant and a couple of ground floor and rooftop bars. Merricks is providing funding until December 31. The project is expected to be completed within 12 months and is believed to have attracted interest from significant developer groups ahead of expressions of interest closing. The project is being offering for purchase with vacant possession.  JLL Hotels is managing the campaign.

The George, a colonial concept five-star hotel in Penang, is expected to be fully operational by the end of this month.  The hotel is owned and run by Venice Sdn Bhd which has invested RM100 million in constructing the property, according to Bernama.  The overall construction took five years to complete. The hotel consists of 92 rooms including 30 suites.  The hotel includes a steam bath, gym and saltwater swimming pool. The hotel plans to expand its business by having an annex building to provide facilities such as a conference meeting room, spa and more. The targeted customers of the hotel are both local and international tourists as it is located within the heritage area of Penang.

The Clarks Hotels & Resorts has strengthened its international footprint by opening Clarks Exotica Kamadhoo Maldives aiming to promote the country to the rising domestic luxury travelers, international travels and MICE. The group continues to expand, also saying they opened a luxury property in The Albatross Golf Resort, Kandy Sri Lanka. The Kamadhoo Island is where the property is located under the UNESCO-protected biosphere of Baa Atoll.  The tropical island overlooks the Indian Ocean and is famous as a yoga destination. The upscale property includes 18 luxurious seaview rooms and one penthouse with a terrace providing 360-degree views of the sea. The swimming pool also overlooks the sea as well as the multicuisine restaurant, The Bridge, one of the few restaurants serving an Indian meal in the Maldives. There also is an in-house lounge and juice bar and more.

STR’s preliminary November data shows Jeddah’s hotel performance came in lower than in October but still surpassed pre-pandemic comparables. Occupancy averaged 54.5% for the month, ADR was SAR586.71 and RevPAR was SAR319.50.  STR said the market’s occupancy levels was its lowest since April 2022, while ADR and RevPAR were the lowest since February 2022.  Each of the three key performance metrics were higher than November 2019 with occupancy up 16.2%, ADR up 13% and RevPAR up 31.3% versus 2019. The highest occupancy level of the month was on November 30^th at 75.2%. That was the only day of the month that occupancy was over 70%.