Holidays on hold — election uncertainty blamed for downturn in hotel industry
THE long election campaign followed by a drawn out vote count has left Australian hoteliers counting the cost of the political paralysis.
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POLITICAL paralysis is being blamed for a downturn in business travel and domestic tourism at key holiday destinations around the country.
Brisbane has copped the brunt of the electoral uncertainty recording an 11 per cent plunge in hotel occupancy last month, and a 12 per cent fall in room rates.
Even under-supplied Sydney saw demand come off the boil after the election was called and the Accommodation Association of Australia is leading the lament about the lack of a clear winner.
CEO Richard Munro said there was evidence people were waiting on an election result rather than taking short breaks during the school holiday period.
“Everyone’s fixated on it and it’s going longer than normal, however this time it’s coincided with school holidays which should be a peak period for operators,” said Mr Munro.
“Traditional holiday areas across Australia are seeing some decline, and what’s more business travellers are probably putting off some of their meetings while they wait to find out who’s in charge.”
General Manager of Alex Perry Hotel in Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley, Craig Barber said the end of financial year was always an “interesting” period for the hotel industry.
“Then to throw in an election at the end of financial year, we were a little concerned how it was going to play out so we put a few things in place to make sure we wouldn’t be impacted as heavily,” said Mr Barber.
While the marketing and guest rewards measures had provided a buffer for the hotel, Mr Barber said they had not helped as much as he’d hoped.
“There is a lot of corporate uncertainty, and we got no clarity out of the election,” he said.
“It doesn’t matter which party wins now — it’s a case of if you can’t govern (with a proper majority) you can’t make the necessary changes.”
The political paralysis has presented a different problem for Canberra’s Hotel Kurrajong which made the decision to name a suite after the election winner.
As the country awaits a final outcome from the July 2 poll, the hotel is preparing to design a plaque for the suite’s entrance — once the victor is known.
A spokesman said the new PM would be invited to formally open the suite “when the time is right”.
“In addition, the hotel will make the room available to the PM on demand, should he wish for a change of scenery from The Lodge,” he said.
Tourism Accommodation Australia National CEO Carol Giuseppi said political uncertainty was never good but most leisure destinations were doing very well in the holiday period.
“A decisive election victory would have obviously been more beneficial for business, but what is crucial that when the election results are finalised the Government moves quickly to act on the issues that were canvassed during the election.” said Ms Giuseppi.
“The accommodation industry is at a crucial juncture in its development, with the largest ever pipeline of new and upgraded hotels set to revolutionise the Australian accommodation sector.”
Originally published as Holidays on hold — election uncertainty blamed for downturn in hotel industry
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