Choice Hotels has reported strong demand in its regional properties thanks to a continued trend towards domestic travel.
“We are yet to exhaust pent up travel demand,” said Choice Hotels Asia-Pac CEO, Trent Fraser.
“Australians have been eager to travel locally and are choosing to stay in Australia. Our regional hotels have enjoyed strong and steady bookings through the first half of the year and are breaking records in ADR and occupancy.”
Fraser said that many are still cautious about long haul travel, and view exploring Australia as a more accessible and “low risk” option.
While Choice Hotels’ bookings remained strong over winter in regional and urban areas of Australia, New Zealand has been slower to recover.
“Australian occupancy rates in Q2 are 15 percentage points above 2019 levels,” said Fraser.
“That’s a significant gain on pre-pandemic trading conditions and goes against early winter slowdowns experienced in the past.
“Choice Hotels Asia-Pac properties in New Zealand have been slower to return to normal, with occupancy levels returning to just above pre-pandemic levels during Q2.”
Thanks to high demand in the midscale segment, RevPAR across the group is up almost 50% compared to the same period in 2019 – holding its own against comparable market competitors, with a 2% premium in Q2.