8695.0 - Accommodation Industry, Australia, 2000-01  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 26/07/2002   
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INTRODUCTION

1 This publication contains results, in respect of 2000-01, from an Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) sample survey of 1,400 employing businesses classified to the accommodation industry. This is the sixth time the ABS has surveyed this industry. Previous statistics were released in respect of 1979-80, 1986-87, 1991-92, 1995-96 and 1997-98.


SCOPE

2 The scope of the survey was all employing businesses recorded on the ABS Business Register and classified to Class 5710, Accommodation, of the Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (ANZSIC). This class comprises businesses predominantly engaged in the provision of short-term accommodation in hotels, motels, serviced apartments, flats/units, guest houses and youth hostels, and short- and long-term accommodation in caravan parks, camping grounds and student residences (excluding boarding schools).

3 It should be noted that a proportion of accommodation activity in Australia is not covered by this survey, as some businesses providing accommodation have predominant income from other activities. For example:

  • Licensed hotels, mainly engaged in selling alcoholic beverages for consumption on the premises. Such businesses are classified to ANZSIC Class 5720, Pubs, Taverns and Bars. This industry was also surveyed in 2000-01 and results were published in Clubs, Pubs, Taverns and Bars, Australia, 2000-01 (cat. no. 8687.0).
  • Clubs mainly engaged in providing hospitality services to members. Such businesses are classified to ANZSIC Class 5740, Clubs (Hospitality). This industry was also surveyed in 2000-01 and results were published in Clubs, Pubs, Taverns and Bars, Australia, 2000-01 (cat. no. 8687.0).
  • Real estate agents mainly engaged in managing properties for others. Such businesses are classified to ANZSIC Class 7720, Real Estate Agents. This industry was last surveyed in 1998-99 and results were published in Real Estate Services Industry, Australia, 1998-99 (cat. no. 8663.0).
  • Casinos mainly involved in providing gambling services. Casinos are classified to ANZSIC Class 9322 and the results from the latest survey of this industry were published in Casinos, Australia, 2000-01 (cat. no. 8683.0).

4 The frame used for this survey, like most ABS economic surveys, was taken from the ABS Business Register. The ABS Business Register is primarily based on registrations to the Australian Taxation Office's pay-as-you-go withholding (PAYGW) scheme (and prior to 1 July 2000 the Group Employer (GE) scheme). The frame is updated quarterly to take account of new businesses and businesses which have ceased employing.

5 Businesses which have ceased employing are identified when the Australian Taxation Office cancels their PAYGW registration (or previously their GE registration). In addition, from July 1999, businesses which did not remit under the GE scheme for the previous five quarters were removed from the frame. A similar process will be adopted to remove businesses which do not remit under the PAYGW scheme. The changes resulted in a shift in the level of the Clubs and the Pubs, Taverns and Bars estimates. Historic data in this publication have been revised to take account of these changes.

6 The introduction of The New Tax System has a number of significant implications for ABS business statistics, and these are discussed in the information papers ABS Statistics And The New Tax System (cat. no. 1358.0) and Improvements in ABS Economic Statistics [Arising from The New Tax System] (cat. no. 1372.0).


STATISTICAL UNIT

7 This survey obtained detailed information about accommodation businesses and some aggregate data about their accommodation establishments.

8 The unit for which statistics were reported in the survey was the management unit. The management unit is the highest-level accounting unit within a business or organisation, having regard for industry homogeneity, for which accounts are maintained. In nearly all cases it coincides with the legal entity owning the business (i.e. company, partnership, trust, etc.). In the case of large diversified businesses, there may be more than one management unit, with each coinciding with a 'division' or 'line of business'. A division or line of business is recognised where separate and comprehensive accounts are compiled for it.

9 Information was also collected in respect of each of the accommodation establishments operated by the management units in the accommodation industry. For the purposes of this survey an establishment was the operations at a single physical location of the management unit. Each management unit was asked to classify each of its establishments by type. It should be noted that the classification and the means of classifying each establishment used in the survey varied from that used in the Survey of Tourist Accommodation. As such, the data are not directly comparable to data from the Survey of Tourist Accommodation.

10 Information was also collected in respect of each of the caravan park establishments owned and directly operated by government (mainly local government). The data collected from these establishments is excluded from the bulk of the tables presented in this publication. Tables 5.1 and 5.2 in this publication present this data, together with data from businesses in ANZSIC Class 5710 where the majority of income was derived from caravan park operations.


REFERENCE PERIOD

11 Data contained in the tables in this publication relate to accommodation businesses which operated in Australia at any time during the year ended June 2001. Counts of businesses include only those businesses that were operating at 30 June 2001.


IMPROVEMENTS TO COVERAGE

12 Data in this publication have been adjusted to allow for lags in processing new businesses to the ABS business register, and the omission of some businesses from the business register. The majority of businesses affected and to which the adjustments apply are small in size.

13 Adjustments have been made to include new businesses in the estimates in the periods in which they commenced operations, rather than when they were processed to the business register.

14 Further adjustments have been made for businesses which had been in existence for several years, but, for various reasons, were not previously included in the ABS register.

15 For more information on these adjustments, please refer to the ABS publication Information Paper: Improvements to ABS Economic Statistics, 1997 (cat. no. 1357.0).


BUSINESSES CEASED DURING THE YEAR

16 A number of businesses ceased operations during the 2000-01 reference period. It is normal ABS procedure to include the contributions of these businesses in the survey output.


RELIABILITY OF THE DATA

17 The estimates presented in this publication are subject to sampling and non-sampling error.

18 The estimates in this publication are based on information obtained from a sample of businesses in the surveyed population. Consequently, the estimates in this publication are subject to sampling variability, that is, they may differ from the figures that would have been obtained if all units had been included in the survey. One measure of the likely difference is given by the standard error (SE), which indicates the extent to which an estimate might have varied by chance because only a sample of units was included.

19 There are about two chances in three that a sample estimate will differ by less than one SE from the figure that would have been obtained if a census had been conducted, and approximately 19 chances in 20 that the difference will be less than two SEs.

20 Sampling variability can be measured by the relative standard error (RSE) which is obtained by expressing the SE as a percentage of the estimate to which it refers. The RSE is a useful measure in that it provides an immediate indication of the percentage errors likely to have occurred due to sampling and this avoids the need to refer also to the size of the estimate.

21 The following table contains estimates of RSEs for a selection of the statistics presented in this publication.


RELATIVE STANDARD ERRORS FOR KEY FIGURES

2000-01
%
Businesses at end June
2.3
Employment at end June
5.5
Takings from accommodation
3.8
Takings from meals
7.1
Sale of liquor and other beverages
5.1
Other income
3.6
Total income
4.1
Labour costs
5.6
Purchases of foodstuffs for use in
preparing meals
6.1
Purchases of liquor and other
beverages
4.6
Other expenses
5.4
Total expenses
5.4
Operating profit before tax
16.4
Operating profit margin
20.0
Industry value added
3.2



22 As an example of the above, an estimate of total income for the accommodation industry is $8,286m and the RSE is 4.1%, giving a SE of $340m. Therefore, there would be 2 chances in 3 that, if all units had been included in the survey, a figure in the range of $7,946m to $8,626m would have been obtained, and 19 chances in 20 (i.e. a confidence interval of 95%) that the figure would have been within the range of $7,606m to $8,966m.

23 Errors other than those due to sampling may occur because of deficiencies in the register of units from which the sample was selected, non-response, and imperfections in reporting by respondents. Inaccuracies of this kind are referred to as non-sampling errors and they may occur in any collection, whether it be a census or a sample. Every effort has been made to reduce non-sampling error to a minimum by careful design and testing of questionnaires, efficient operating procedures and systems, and appropriate methodology.


RELEASE OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

24 As well as the statistics included in this publication, other unpublished data on the accommodation industry may also be available on request. Such unpublished data may include:
  • more detailed data items by state and territory; and
  • selected ratios, by employment size.

25 For information on the provision of unpublished data, please contact Paull Hoffmann on 07 3222 6118.


ACKNOWLEDGMENT

26 ABS publications draw extensively on information provided freely by individuals, businesses, governments and other organisations. Their continued cooperation is very much appreciated; without it, the wide range of statistics published by the ABS would not be available. Information received by the ABS is treated in strict confidence as required by the Census and Statistics Act 1905.