Accor is a world-leading hospitality group boasting a portfolio of 101 hotels across the state of Queensland, Australia.
Recent hotel performance of Accor's Queensland hotels showed significant signs of sustained recovery, signalling optimism for the rest of the year.
Between January and March 2022, the average hotel occupancy increased from 67 percent in 2019 to 70 percent in 2022.
The findings for 2022 exclude nearly all international travel to the state and consider the impact of the Omicron variant.
According to the performance records, Accor’s top two leading destinations in Q1 2022 were the Gold Coast and the Sunshine Coast.
The pandemic heavily struck the Gold Coast as borders closed and travel restrictions were imposed. However, in mid-February domestic markets started bouncing back, with the drive market fuelling an increase in booking demand at higher levels than before COVID-19.
The Sunshine Coast was met with occupancies on par with 2019 figures for the holiday season as the region became a hot hub for interstate and intrastate business.
Meanwhile, hotels face a slower recovery in far North Queensland due to a lack of international tourists and caution around long-haul domestic flights. Despite occupancies remaining subdued during Q1 2022, signs of revival began to show towards the end of February.
Due to the drop in corporate and conference travel, many Brisbane city hotels recorded occupancies 25 percent lower than before the pandemic.
According to Sarah Derry, Accor Pacific Chief Executive Officer, while the prevalence of COVID-19 variants, border uncertainty, and international travel restrictions suppressed demand, Accor’s Queensland hotels have successfully shifted to largely domestic leisure business.
“Queensland is set to lead the Australian recovery in travel. The state’s natural attractions, climate and environment, combined with its popularity for conferences and events, provide us with considerable optimism for the rest of 2022,” said Derry.
“Accor will be introducing a range of new hotels and new brands to the Queensland market over the next few years including Mövenpick Brisbane Spring Hill, Fairmont Port Douglas and Mondrian Gold Coast.”
