Australian Hotel Sector

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Jun 30 2015 at 5:50 PM Updated 1 hr ago

Chinese-Australian buys Hilton Hotel on the Gold Coast

The Hilton in Surfers Paradise was offered for sale in March along with the associated management rights of the hotel's adjacent tower containing 250 residences. Glenn Hunt


by Matthew Cranston

Brookfield Multiplex has sold its Hilton Surfers Paradise Hotel on the Gold Coast for more than $50 million to a private Chinese-Australian family.

The deal adds to a resurgent Gold Coast property market where more than $650 million in development sites and hotels has been snapped up in the past 12 months by Asian buyers.

The Hilton, which has 169 rooms, was offered for sale in March along with the associated management rights of the hotel's adjacent tower containing 250 residences.

McVay Real Estate's Dan McVay and Sam McVay confirmed a transaction had taken place but declined to give details other than to say the acquisition was further evidence of the Gold Coast's property market bouncing back.

The original site at which the Hilton is built was owned by listed developer Raptis Group before the company collapsed during the financial crisis. The $700 million Hilton Hotel complex, backed by the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group, was then developed by the then-named Multiplex before being taken over by Canadian giant Brookfield.

Brookfield Multiplex declined to comment on the transaction.

The deal comes less than a month after a Singapore-based family office snapped up the Crowne Plaza at Broadbeach for around $70 million in an off-market deal. Global timeshare operator Marriott Vacation Club bought the Surfers Paradise Marriott Resort and Spa a month earlier for $90 million.

The heightened interest in the Gold Coast has been fuelled by strengthening tourism numbers particularly from China. Chinese visitor numbers rose 18 per cent to 784,000 over the year ended December 2014 according to Tourism Research Australia's International Visitor Survey.

The Gold Coast has the largest concentration of themed attractions such as Wet'n'Wild in the southern hemisphere and, according to the latest Census data, more than 12 million annual visitors and 22.4 million annual visitor nights.

The Gold Coast has also been in the spotlight since China's richest man Wang Jianlin from the Wanda property group committed up to $900 million to a beachfront resort and residential tower development called the Jewel.

The Hilton deal reflects ongoing interest in hotel assets from Asian-backed investors, with Hong Kong billionaire Tony Fung recently securing the Sheraton Mirage at Surfers Paradise in a deal believed to be worth $160 million.

The Hilton's trading performance has strengthened since opening late in 2011 and strong earnings growth is forecast to continue.

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Foreigners in race for Vibe Hotel
THE AUSTRALIAN JULY 21, 2015 12:00AM

Samantha Hutchinson

Property Writer
Ben Wilmot

Commercial Property Editor
Sydney
The race for one of Sydney’s most sought-after redevelopment opportunities has narrowed to a few parties with mainland Chinese groups thought to be setting the pace in the $100 million tussle for Toga’s Vibe Hotel.

Listed Chinese developer Shanghai ZOBON Real Estate is believed to be in the race for the site at 182 Elizabeth Street, with the site also attracting Chinese-backed developer SJD Projects.

However, Shimao Property Group is thought to be focusing on other opportunities. A third party, believed to be a European-based property investor, is still in contention.

The elegant Vibe Hotel, being marketed by Knight Frank and JLL, is at the heart of a transforming precinct, and could yield more than 200 apartments.

It is near properties owned by Chinese developer Greenland, Singapore’s Roxy Pacific and businessman Michael Guo’s Visionary Investment Group.

Competition for Toga’s site comes as a handful of respected property investors shop long-held towers in the hot market.

Altis Property Partners has quietly listed a pub and adjoining commercial tower at 115-117 Clarence Street as a residential and hotel redevelopment opportunity via CI Australia and Knight Frank.

The $100m site atop the Wynyard Hotel is being marketed with a 24-storey scheme designed by PTW architects, including 108 hotel rooms and 107 apartments. Buyers of office towers are also likely to run the ruler over the $60m fully leased property at 160 Sussex Street that JPMorgan will bring to market. The parties and agents declined to comment.

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Harry Triguboff says tourism sector looking bright for Meriton
THE AUSTRALIAN JULY 25, 2015 12:00AM

Turi Condon

Property Editor
Sydney
Tourism sector bright for Triguboff

Billionaire Harry Triguboff believes the future of Australia’s tourism sector is bright and his Meriton Group is still interested in a Melbourne serviced apartment project, but has found the city difficult to break into.

“For tourism, things look very bright,” Mr Triguboff told The Weekend Australian.

The lower dollar had helped the tourism industry, as had cheaper airfares and the ease of obtaining visas, he said.

“Tourism infrastructure is here forever, the mining comes and goes,” he said.

Chinese visitors spent $5.7 billion in Australia last year, up 19 per cent on the previous year, with Asia now the fastest-growing inbound region with visitor numbers up about 11 per cent last year, according to Tourism Australia.

Mr Triguboff said Meriton had seen room rates rise 10-15 per cent over the past year for its more than 3200 serviced apartments in 13 buildings in Sydney, Brisbane and the Gold Coast.

The company has another 1400 serviced apartments planned in five new projects due to open this year and next at Chatswood, North Sydney, Parramatta and Mascot in Sydney, and Southport on Queensland’s Gold Coast.

“It’s a big thing to create an industry like that,” Mr Triguboff said.

He said some destinations, particularly the Gold Coast, were being held back by a lack of capacity for large planes.

“The Chinese want to bring large planes,” he noted.

“When I was in China last year, they promised me more tourists, not that they would buy more iron ore.”

Last year Mr Triguboff flagged ambitions to expand his serviced apartment chain along the east coast with a first site in Melbourne. The company had been eyeing Melbourne CBD sites that could house 500-1000 apartments, he said at the time.

“I have serviced apartments in Sydney, Brisbane and the Gold Coast, this (a Melbourne property) would make a network,’’ Mr Triguboff told The Australian last year.

“Melbourne in theory should be easy, in practice it hasn’t worked out,” he added, noting that both finding a site and the complications of building in a new city had been challenging so far. Meriton’s focus was also back on Sydney with council amalgamation expected to open opportunities on many sites, Mr Triguboff said.

He said NSW Planning Minister Rob Stokes was tackling issues in a sensible, methodical way, which also enforced his preference for Sydney development.

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Weak $A boosts tourist spending in Australia
Jamie Freed
425 words
30 Jul 2015
The Australian Financial Review
AFNR
English

International tourists won't flock to Australia just because the currency is weaker, but when they get here they are more likely to spend more on hotels, food, shopping and tours than they would have when the dollar was stronger, says Tourism Australia managing director John O'Sullivan.

"They are saying now, because of the currency, I could go to [upscale restaurant] Rockpool tonight rather than [noodle chain] Wagamama," Mr O'Sullivan said on the sidelines of the Hotelsworld conference in Sydney. "It is more about spending [than visitor numbers]."

On Wednesday, Tourism Research Australia released its latest International Visitor Survey, which showed the number of international visitors rose by 8 per cent to 6.5 million in the 12 months to March, but spending rose by a higher 10 per cent to a record $32.5 billion. In the March quarter, the spending rise was 16 per cent, boosted by the Chinese New Year, the Cricket World Cup and the AFC Asian Cup.

Stuart Neels, group general manager of ATS Pacific, which serves inbound tourists from Britain, told the conference the average spend by tourists on packages had been increasing since 2012 as the value of the Australian dollar fell against the pound. "We are starting to see our stars a bit more aligned in this part of the world, with the US dollar getting strong [against the pound] and - not that we would wish it - the Ebola outbreak in Africa having some impact on [British] travel to those destinations," he said.

Mr O'Sullivan said the most important factor that was helping to attract more tourists from the United States and Britain was a rise in consumer confidence in those countries.

"If you feel safe in your job, you are more inclined to make a decision, our research says, for long-haul travel," he said.

Chinese travellers have also been arriving in record numbers, with the Tourism & Transport Forum predicting the rolling annual rate could reach 1 million arrivals by the end of this year, placing it not far behind the New Zealand market.

Tourism Australia regional general manager China, Andrew Hogg, said the focus was on increasing the number of higher-yielding independent travellers from China rather than on those in group packages. He said the Chinese New Year would remain the peak time of year for travel. Of the $6.4 billion spent by Chinese visitors in the 12 months to March, $3 billion was spent between January and March.


Fairfax Media Management Pty Limited

Document AFNR000020150729eb7u0001r

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Weaker Australian dollar sparks tourism growth
AAP AUGUST 17, 2015 2:37PM

Biggest Bang for your Aussie buck
As the Australian dollar goes down, the fortunes of the local tourism industry are going up.

Commonwealth Bank economist Gareth Aird says the tumbling Australian currency is enticing tourists from home and abroad, helping the economy to rebalance and stimulate growth in non-mining sectors.

He says the Aussie has fallen by around a quarter of its value against the greenback since mid-2014.

Over that same period, growth in the number of people flying into Australia has outpaced growth in the number of departures.

“Arrivals have lifted, departures growth has slowed and the monthly tourism trade balance is in surplus territory,” he said.

A lower Aussie not only makes it cheaper for foreigners to visit Australia but also makes “staycations” for locals more attractive, as our cash doesn’t go as far overseas.

Mr Aird said discounting New Zealand, the bulk of Australia’s international visitors come from China, with short-term arrivals increasing more than 21 per cent in 2014-15 compared with the previous year.

He predicts one million Chinese residents to holiday in Australia in 2016 as household incomes rise.

But the number of holiday-makers from the UK and US are also tipped to increase as their economies recover and currencies strengthen.

As Australia’s third largest export — the tourism industry is bigger than the agriculture sector — and brought in $43.4 billion in 2013-14.

It also employs around half a million workers, which represents a significant 4.6 per cent of the total workforce.

It’s the nation’s largest services export as the services sector becomes a major economic driver of growth following the mining investment slowdown.

And while all regions will cash in from the influx of travellers, states most geared to tourism such as NSW and Queensland will benefit the most.

“The Barrier reef has been a major drawcard for international tourists while Sydney Harbour is one of Australia’s iconic places,” Mr Aird said.

“Since the Australian dollar started heading lower, real spending on hotels, restaurants and cafes has lifted considerably.”

He said robust growth in Queensland’s tourism industry was working to offset local job losses associated with the resources downturn.

CBA expects the Aussie dollar to drift lower during the next 12 months and, as a result, the tourism industry’s contribution to growth is set to rise in the next couple of years.

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• Sep 2 2015 at 12:00 PM 
   
  
  
•  Updated Sep 2 2015 at 6:56 PM 
  

Port Douglas hotel room rates surge, but Darwin plummets

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NaN of
[img=620x0]http://www.afr.com/content/dam/images/g/g/v/x/o/j/image.related.afrArticleLead.620x350.gjd3f9.png/1441184162558.jpg[/img]The recently-refurbished Sheraton Mirage, Port Douglas. Supplied
[Image: 1426319989079.png]

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by Larry Schlesinger
The big shift in the Australian economy, away from mining investment towards tourism and the big services-driven east coast cities, has been reflected in the latest hotels.com index, with room rates soaring in Queensland's Port Douglas and plummeting in resources-dependent Darwin.
The booking website's Hotel Price Index found that average price paid by both international and domestic travellers for a Darwin hotel room fell 20 per cent to $170 a night for the first six months of the year, compared with $212 a night paid over the same period in 2014.
Combined with a 10 per cent slump in occupancy over the past year, according to Deloitte Tourism and Hotel Market Outlook, Darwin hoteliers are enduring a torrid time.
PERTH'S A BARGAIN FOR TRAVELLERS
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The resources slump was also felt in Perth, where hotel room rates, which were once well above $200 a night during the peak of the boom, declined 3 per cent to $188 a night.
By contrast room rates surged 14 per cent to $200 a night in Port Douglas, the iconic tropical far north Queensland resort town. Room rates were also up 4 per cent to $150 a night in nearby Cairns, the gateway to the Great Barrier Reef, and the recent focus of a surge in big hotel deals and new openings. Also in the tropical north, room rates in the Whitsunday Islands, the country's most expensive holiday destination, hit $244 a night, up 4 per cent.
All three destinations have benefited from the lower Australian dollar and rising low cost air carrier capacity driving greater numbers of domestic and Asian visitors to the region's Palm tree-lined beaches and tropical rainforests.
The improved outlook has also prompted projects such as the $40 million refurbishment of the Sheraton Mirage Port Douglas, the luxury hotel that put Port Douglas on the map in the late 1980s.


The improving tourism picture also drove up returns in the south east Queensland holiday hotspots with Sunshine Coast room rates up 5 per cent  to $193 a night and the Gold Coast up three per cent to $177 a night. However, Brisbane room rates fell 1 per cent to $168 a night.
MELBOURNE AND SYDNEY PRICES LIFT
Among the big capital cities, Melbourne was the standout with a 5 per cent lift in room rates from $168 to $177 a night, with Sydney also strong, up 4 per cent to $208 a night with both cities benefiting from a strong calendar of events like the Cricket World Cup and Asian Cup.
Across the board, room rates were up a modest 2 per cent over the six-month period.

The recent annual results of the listed $900 million capitalised Mantra Group, the country's second biggest tourism operator, neatly reflected the changing dynamics of the hotel market. Mantra recorded  a 5.9 per cent rise in revPAR  across its portfolio of mainly Queensland resorts. By contrast, Perth, Brisbane and Darwin were the weak spots in Mantra's CBD portfolio.
 "Leisure is looking better, that's a theme you can definitely espouse," said Mantra boss Bob East.

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China to invest more in Australian property, services industries, HSBC says
DateSeptember 4, 2015 - 3:50PM

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[Image: 1440454716470.jpg]
Clancy Yeates
Banking reporter

[Image: 1441353459392.jpg]

HSBC Australia CEO Tony Cripps says that "long-term fundamentals haven't changed as a result of short-term volatility". Photo: Chris Pearce

The local head of banking giant HSBC has predicted future waves of Chinese investment in Australia will focus more on property and services industries including hotels and entertainment, as Asia's powerhouse economy moves to its next phase of growth.
As markets fret over slowing Chinese economic growth, HSBC Bank Australia chief executive Tony Cripps also says recent market volatility was not damaging the sentiment of major clients on the ground in China, our biggest trade partner.
Despite warnings about the risk to world growth from volatility in China, Mr Cripps was upbeat on China's attempt to shift towards an economy that is less dependent on massive capital spending.
He said it was making strong progress in moving towards consumer-led growth, a trend that will open up new opportunities for Australian business as the previous focus on resources receded.
In an interview with Fairfax Media, Mr Cripps said the recent volatility in China – including dramatic sharemarket falls – had "not materially" affected the sentiment of its clients on the ground.
"Everybody knows that the volatility creates some uncertainty, but we haven't seen that affecting activity levels and interest by Chinese companies investing and increasing their activities in Australia," Mr Cripps said.
Long-term fundamentals unchanged
"Nor have we seen it materially change the view the other way around. Australian companies that want to expand in China – so far we have not seen them deterred by volatility.
"The long-term fundamentals haven't changed as a result of short-term volatility."
The comments from one of the world's biggest banks – with a key focus on China – comes after the International Monetary Fund this week said that rising volatility in emerging markets was a growing risk to global growth.
Like the major Australian banks, HSBC is targeting a cut of the financial flows between Australia and China, and Mr Cripps said growth in this area had "significantly increased".
But rather than the resources-heavy activities that have dominated trade and investment flows between the two countries in recent years, he said the focus of Chinese investors in Australia was broadening to also include the services sector.
This is occurring as China's government tries to shift the economy's growth engine from massive infrastructure spending to consumer led growth – and these priorities are also tipped to influence where Chinese businesses invest in Australia.
"Originally about 85 per cent of inbound investment was resource and energy focused. What we've seen in the past year or two is that now about 46 per cent of inbound investment is property related," Mr Cripps said.
Strong investment in agriculture
"We're also seeing strong investment in agriculture from China, and strong investment in other sectors of the services side like tourism assets, entertainment assets."
Singapore's DBS Bank also this week said it was eyeing strong growth in the export of of Australian services to the Asian region as the "next big thing" in the economy's integration with Asia.
China has already become Australia's second-biggest market for international tourists behind New Zealand, so bankers believe this will continue to drive continued strong inward investment in hotels. 
Entertainment is also tipped to grow, after last year's near-$1 billion purchase of cinema chain Hoyts by Chinese billionaire Sun Xishuang, a deal HSBC worked on.
The government has put foreign investment in residential real estate under heightened scrutiny, but Mr Cripps said property companies he had visited in China still had "very strong interest" in commercial and residential development.
The weak Australian dollar made property even more attractive to overseas buyers, he said.

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Chinese tourists continue to spend, despite economic downturn

• VERA SPROTHEN
  
• DOW JONES
  
• SEPTEMBER 07, 2015 7:16AM
  

[Image: 803070-d8adf002-54e6-11e5-84ea-e4e66dcd8634.jpg]
Chinese tourists pose in front of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Source: Supplied
[b]While there are some signs that China’s economic turmoil may be dampening Chinese tourists’ spending slightly in the region, tourism-related businesses in such destinations as Australia, Japan and Thailand say business is still booming.[/b]
China’s importance in the tourism industry has boomed along with its economy: The share of Chinese households with annual disposable income above $55,000 tripled in just five years, according to data provider Euromonitor. That led to millions of middle-class Chinese consumers travelling abroad. China has been the world’s No. 1 source of cross-border tourists since 2012, according to the World Tourism Organisation, which estimates the total number of trips abroad from China rose by 11 million to 109 million last year.
In 2013, the organisation said, Chinese outbound travellers spent a total of $US129 billion. The top destinations for Chinese travellers last year were Hong Kong, Thailand, Macau, South Korea and Japan, according to a survey from brokerage CLSA.
China’s outbound tourist growth outlook is robust, thanks to the yuan’s strength relative to currencies in popular tourist destinations, low fuel prices and increased airline capacity, said the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation in a report last week.
Australia’s statistics bureau said that the number of visits from mainland China jumped by 16 per cent to 84,200 in July from the same month a year earlier, meaning more Chinese flew into Australia than any other nationality apart from New Zealanders.
Spending by Chinese tourists in Australia increased by 32 per cent to almost $7 billion in the year ended June, a separate government report earlier in the week showed, placing the Chinese at the top of the list of vacation spenders. Chinese tourist spending contributed 6 per cent to Australia’s economic growth last year, according to research from Australia & New Zealand Banking Group.
Some tour operators have already had the most profitable Australian winter season in years. Michael Healy, a sales director at Quicksilver Cruises, which runs diving and sailing trips in the waters along the Great Barrier Reef, said the past three months were the company’s most successful in more than a decade.
“We’ve seen a significant escalation in domestic numbers, but Chinese numbers have been unprecedented, really,” said Mr Healy, who has employed several Chinese-speaking dive instructors to help with the surge in tourists from China.
The Japan National Tourism Organisation said 576,900 people from mainland China visited Japan in July, more than double the year-earlier number.
A spokesman for Kamome Tourist Co, which operates sightseeing tours in Japan that cater to Chinese and other foreign visitors, said the company had seen a drop in bookings for September, but added that it was unclear whether the economy or seasonal factors were to blame.
Yuping Woo, 40 years old, from Guizhou province in China, was waiting for a bus recently outside a duty-free store in the Akihabara electronics district of Tokyo. Ms Woo, on her first visit to Japan, said she stocked up on eye drops and other healthcare products, adding that she didn’t care that they had become slightly more expensive since the devaluation of the Chinese currency.
“Chinese people trust Japanese medicine,” she said. “We don’t trust Chinese medicine.”
Analysts at Goldman Sachs calculated that even if Shanghai stocks fall a further 10 per cent, Chinese per capita economic growth falls 2 percentage points short of International Monetary Fund forecasts and the yuan declines another 5 per cent against the yen, the economic benefits of Chinese tourism in Japan will ease only slightly.
Yuthasak Supasorn, governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand, said the impact of the Chinese slowdown was expected to be minimal in the short term, though China’s National Day on October 1, which starts its twice-a-year Golden Week holiday-travel period, would be a better indicator.
Thailand is forecasting a 60 per cent year-to-year rise in Chinese arrivals in 2015, when more than 7.5 million are expected to visit the country and bring in about 350 billion baht ($US9.7 billion) in tourist revenue, a 75 per cent increase. During the first seven months of 2015, the number of Chinese tourists more than doubled to 4.7 million arrivals, Mr Yuthasak said.
Mr Yuthasak said initial indications showed the number of Thai visa applications by the Chinese had dropped slightly, though he added that the deadly bombing at a shrine in Bangkok last month likely also contributed to that decline.
He said he expects China’s economic woes will lead Chinese tourists to be more cautious about spending, adding that the Tourism Authority was working on a new marketing campaign targeting high-income Chinese travellers, who would be less price-sensitive.
One place where Chinese tourism has been slowing is Hong Kong, long a favourite destination of mainland visitors, where China’sjapan tourism crackdown on corruption and extravagant spending were taking a toll even before Beijing devalued its currency on August 11. Retail sales fell 2.8 per cent in July, the fifth straight month of decline, the Hong Kong Retail Management Association said this week.
The number of mainland Chinese visitors to Hong Kong fell almost 10 per cent in July, faster than the overall decline of 8.4 per cent for the month, compared with growth of 11.2 per cent a year earlier, according to data from the Hong Kong Tourism Board.
With Eric Pfanner, Nopparat Chaichalearmmongkol.
Dow Jones

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• Sep 16 2015 at 12:00 AM 
   
  
  
• Updated 1 hr ago
  

Singapore's Pontiac crowned winner to develop 'Sandstones' into luxury hotel

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NaN of
[img=620x0]http://www.afr.com/content/dam/images/g/j/n/5/2/w/image.related.afrArticleLead.620x350.gjn1cj.png/1442310109533.jpg[/img]The 'Sandstones' in Sydney will be converted into a luxury hotel.
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by Mercedes Ruehl
Singapore's Pontiac Land Group has won the right to develop the two heritage sandstone buildings in Sydney's Bridge Street into a $300 million, 240-room luxury hotel. 
Run by the multi-billionaire Kwee family, Pontiac's portfolio includes luxury hotels such as the Ritz-Carlton Millenia and the Regent Four Seasons in Singapore. It will pay $35 million for the 103-year lease and has committed to undertake a $250-300 million refurbishment.
The sale of the 19th century landmarks has its critics but the NSW government has argued the deal will provide a $185 million boost to the NSW economy over the next 20 years and hundreds of new construction and hospitality jobs. 
"This flagship hotel is all about making smarter use of our property assets. Proceeds from the lease will be reinvested in infrastructure, and there will be substantial savings to NSW taxpayers on avoided maintenance," NSW Minister for Finance, Services and Property, Dominic Perrottet said.

"Importantly, these iconic heritage assets will be enjoyed by locals, tourists and visitors, rather than just being used as offices for bureaucrats." 
Pontiac was selected after a competitive tender process that was kicked off earlier this year. 
A concept plan for the land was approved in August by the NSW Planning Department. The plan allows for up to three additional storeys on one of the buildings – the Department of Education building which lies between Loftus and Young streets. The buildings are occupied by government tenants. 
Pontiac will work with Government Property NSW to convert the historic buildings into one of the world's best luxury hotels, managing director Mr Kwee Liong Keng said.


"This project symbolises the group's ethos of making meaningful contributions to the urban landscape through art and architecture."
An operator for the hotel has not yet been finalised, it is understood. But Pontiac has been targeting the luxury hotel sector with its hotel management brand Patina Hotel and Resorts Group. The development company also has experience in the commercial, residential, retail and medical sectors. 
All design and planning approvals will be the responsibility of Pontiac, with construction expected to commence after the buildings are vacated in 2018, and the hotel anticipated to open about three years later. The government will retain custodianship.
 Singapore's Far East Organization, was earlier tipped as being in the running for the buildings. It later bought the landmark Westin Hotel on George Street for $445 million with Sino Land in May.  

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• Sep 17 2015 at 6:03 PM 
   
  
  
• Updated 1 hr ago
  

Sydney and Melbourne luxury hotels delivering stellar returns

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NaN of
[img=620x0]http://www.afr.com/content/dam/images/g/j/o/z/y/c/image.related.afrArticleLead.620x350.gjozwf.png/1442481958200.jpg[/img]Demand for five star hotel accommodation in Melbourne is hot. Bloomberg
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by Larry Schlesinger
The low dollar, an influx of overseas tourists, and a packed calendar of sporting and business events has boosted occupancy, and driven up room rates in luxury hotel of Sydney and Melbourne.
For the owners, the improving metrics have finally driven solid improvements in return, according to a new Savills report.
Melbourne has been the standout luxury hotel market for the year to date with occupancy rates reaching 88.9 per cent and room rates rising 8.1 per cent since January to average $302 per night. The city's top five star hotels grew revenue per available room (revPAR) – the key industry metric – by 9.2 per cent to $269 a night.
In Sydney, luxury hotel revPAR rose 5.5 per to $261 a night. Occupancies reached 85.6 per cent and room rates increased 4.9 per cent to reach $305 a night as both luxury markets outperformed the wider hotel market, where revPAR rose 3.7 per cent over the first six months of the year to $135 a night.

Starwood Hotels and Resorts Pacific director of acquisition and development Andrew Taylor said occupancies in its flagship Westin Melbourne and Sheraton on the Park in Sydney, were running above 90 per cent.
"We can't keep up with demand to be honest. Sydney is in desperate need for more luxury hotels and we see room in the city for our ultra-luxury W or St Regis brands," he said.
Mr Taylor said overseas visitors accounted for about 30 per cent of occupancy at these hotels. "Growth in room rates has been assisted by Chinese groups coming in and prepared to pay well above the room rates they were paying in the past.
"They are paying luxury rates. It's nice to see. It hasn't happened in a long time," he said.


The rising returns are likely to drive more offshore investment into Sydney and Melbourne's luxury hotel sector, where yields have tumbled.
Earlier this week Singaporean developer Pontiac Land won the rights to undertake the $300 million transformation of Sydney's heritage sandstone buildings into a luxury boutique hotel, on behalf of the NSW government.
By contrast, Perth's top hotels continued to feel the effects of weakening accommodation demand due to the mining investment slowdown with both occupancy rates (81 per cent) and room rates ($234 a night) falling resulting in a 3.2 per cent fall in revPAR. In Brisbane, occupancy rose above 80 per cent but room rates fell marginally to $165 a night.
Vasso Zographou, director of Savills Hotels, said Melbourne outperformed Sydney because of its better events calendar, including greater use of the Melbourne Convention Centre while Sydney's International Convention Centre remains closed for redevelopment, and because it had fewer luxury rooms to fill.

But, he said Sydney would most likely catch up with Melbourne once the International Convention Centre opens in late 2016.