Rugby World Cup visitors helped boost weekend hotel room rates in Dunedin, but the tournament scared off traditional corporate clients from staying midweek, hotel representatives say.
In addition to the tournament, earthquakes and a change in booking behaviour had major impacts on Dunedin hotels last year.
At an annual survey presentation by the New Zealand Hotel Council yesterday, executive officer Rachael Shadbolt said the tournament "brought some challenges for hotels".
Those challenges include a displacement of traditional business, pushed to either side of the September-October tournament.
During match weekends, hotels were "very quiet mid-week as traditional corporate and conference business was practically non-existent", she said.
Match day business helped boost the average room rate for Dunedin, from $120.90 in 2010 to $131.40 last yearHowever, occupancy rates decreased from 66% in 2010 to 64% last year.
"It is no secret hotels around New Zealand had to commit 70%-80% of their room inventory five years before the tournament started, at a time when the world was booming," NZHC Dunedin regional chairman and Scenic Hotel Dunedin City general manager, Greg Hewland, told the Otago Daily Times.
If the tournament was held again, hoteliers would probably be reluctant about committing as much inventory, he said.
Days around match days were busy, but midweek there was not "much in the way of associated rugby world cup business around".
Media reports of price gouging may have also scared off corporate travellers, "so what we gained in Rugby World Cup game days we lost in non-Rugby World Cup times".
Another change last year was people booking later, NZHC reported 42% of all its hotel bookings were made less than eight days before arrival, but Dunedin was well under the national average, on 28%.
Last year's earthquake resulted in increased hotel stays in Dunedin by Christchurch business clients, he said.
Despite a soft summer, members remained "cautiously optimistic", about this year, Mr Hewland said.
The figures
New Zealand Hotel Council annual hotel operating survey 2011. -
• NZHC members directly employed nearly 11,000 permanent and casual staff.
• Christchurch achieved highest annual occupancy of 85%, largely due to reduced base of 853 rooms compared with 3717 rooms before the February 2011 earthquake.
• Dunedin's occupancy rates (of its six NZHC's members) decreased from 66% in 2010 to 64% last year.
• Excluding Christchurch, Auckland achieved the highest annual occupancy rate of 77.1%, followed by Wellington (73.6%) and Rotorua (64.6%).
• The Central Park region (Taupo, Tongariro, Napier and Gisborne) had highest average room rate of $160.10, followed by Auckland ($157.60) and Wellington ($150.10).
• Dunedin's average room rate went from $120.90 in 2010 to $131.40 last year.
•The largest users of hotel accommodation last year were New Zealanders (54% of all rooms sold), followed by Australians (16%).
