World-leading hospitality group Accor has recorded growth in occupancy across its collection of 66 hotels in Victoria, Australia. However, its city and suburban properties continue to be impacted by delayed business and meetings travel recovery.
The group’s Victorian hotels have shown an average occupancy of 60 percent from January to the end of April 2022. Regional areas, such as Geelong and Daylesford, are garnering strong support from holiday travellers, with properties, such as Novotel Geelong, performing above pre-pandemic levels.
Contrarily, the slow return of workers to the Melbourne CBD has curbed occupancies in most city hotels, except during the Grand Prix weekend, which saw most Accor hotels operating at 89 percent occupancy.
Studies from the Property Council of Australia unveiled that while Melbourne CBD office occupancy had increased twofold in the March Quarter, it was still performing at 32 percent capacity, compared to Sydney’s 41 percent, Brisbane’s 48 percent, and Adelaide’s 61 percent.
With the lifting of interstate and international borders, Accor is anticipating a solid performance for the five new properties it added to its Victorian portfolio in 2021: Mantra Traralgon, Mercure Melbourne Doncaster, Peppers Marysville, The Sebel Melbourne Ringwood and Mövenpick Hotel Melbourne Spencer Street.
In the second half of 2022, Accor will be welcoming the 275-room Mercure Melbourne South Bank to its collection, following the agreement with Salter Brothers for Accor to oversee ten properties currently branded as Travelodge hotels.
In the pipeline, Accor is also set to debut new-build properties in Richmond, Hawthorn, Malvern and Latrobe, along with Novotel and ibis Styles hotels at Melbourne Airport, 25hours Melbourne, and SO/ Melbourne.
“Between 2021 and 2025, we are opening fourteen hotels in Victoria, which is an investment of over $700 million by various owners," said Sarah Derry, Chief Executive Officer, Accor Pacific. "This will create around 600 jobs whilst boosting the appeal of the city and the quality of accommodation available.”
