SEPTEMBER KEY FIGURES

Accommodation with 15 rooms or more		Jun Qtr 11	Sep Qtr 11	Jun Qtr 11 to Sep Qtr 11	Sep Qtr 10 to Sep Qtr 11
Trend
	Takings from accommodation ($m)	2 124.4	2 154.8	1.4 %	5.7 %
	Room occupancy rate (%)	65.3	65.8	0.5 pts	1.5 pts
Seasonally Adjusted
	Takings from accommodation ($m)	2 151.0	2 148.2	-0.1 %	5.1 %
	Room occupancy rate (%)	65.9	65.6	-0.3 pts	0.9 pts

Accommodation Takings, Australia

Room Occupancy Rate, Australia

SEPTEMBER KEY POINTS


ACCOMMODATION TAKINGS

• In the September quarter 2011, the trend estimate of total accommodation takings for hotels, motels and serviced apartments with 15 or more rooms increased by 1.4% to $2154.8 million compared with the June quarter 2011.
• Over the same period, the seasonally adjusted estimate decreased by 0.1% to $2148.2 million.

ROOM OCCUPANCY RATE

• The September quarter 2011 trend estimate room occupancy rate of 65.8% for hotels, motels and serviced apartments with 15 or more rooms was 0.5 percentage points higher than the previous quarter.
• Over the same period, the seasonally adjusted estimate decreased by 0.3 percentage points to 65.6%.

NOTES

FORTHCOMING ISSUES

ISSUE (QUARTER)	Release Date
December 2011	30 March 2012
March 2012	29 June 2012

ABOUT THIS ISSUE

This issue presents results from the September quarter 2011 Survey of Tourist Accommodation (STA) for the following categories of establishments:

• hotels and resorts with 15 or more rooms
• motels, private hotels and guest houses with 15 or more rooms
• serviced apartments with 15 or more units

CHANGES TO THIS PUBLICATION

The STA PDF publication has been reduced pending a move to web format only from March quarter 2012. The table containing hotels, motels and serviced apartments by star grading has been removed from the publication as data are available in the data cube 8635.0.55.002 - Tourist Accommodation, Small Area Data, Australia.


AUSTRALIAN STATISTICAL GEOGRAPHY STANDARD (ASGS)

From July 2011 the ABS will progressively replace the current Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC) with the new Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) as its geographic framework. Information about the ASGS can be found at www.abs.gov.au/geography and in cat. no. 1270.0.55.003 Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS): Volume 3 - Non ABS Structures, July 2011.

The ASGS will become the geographic framework for the STA from the March quarter 2012. Tourism region maps and correspondence file based on the ASGS are available in cat. no. 9503.0.55.001 Tourism Region Maps and Correspondence File, Australia, 2011.



INQUIRIES

For further information about these and related statistics, contact the National Information and Referral Service on 1300 135 070.


SUMMARY COMMENTARY


ORIGINAL

Hotels, motels and serviced apartments

This summary contains key findings for original estimates. Original series are impacted by seasonal variations and irregular or non-seasonal influences. Comparison between quarters should be made with caution.

Accommodation takings

In the September quarter 2011, accommodation takings were $2193.5 million for hotels, motels and serviced apartments with 15 or more rooms.

Accommodation takings in the September quarter 2011 for hotels, motels and serviced apartments with 15 or more rooms were highest in New South Wales ($666.9 million) and Queensland ($592.3 million). Tasmania recorded the lowest takings for the period ($36.9 million).

For Australia, the September quarter 2011 average takings per room night occupied were $158.10 for establishments with 15 or more rooms. This was 3.9% higher than the September quarter 2010 ($152.11).

Room occupancy rate

The room occupancy rate for hotels, motels and serviced apartments with 15 or more rooms was 66.8% in the September quarter 2011.

Traditionally, hotels have higher occupancy rates than motels or serviced apartments. Over the September 2011 quarter, hotels had an occupancy rate of 71.6% compared with 59.9% for motels and 69.7% for serviced apartments.

Five out of the eight states and territories experienced an increase in the occupancy rate of hotels, motels and serviced apartments with 15 or more rooms between the September quarter 2010 and the September quarter 2011. Western Australia (70.5%) experienced the largest increase (5.0 percentage points). Over the same period, occupancy in the Northern Territory (74.6%) decreased by 5.2 percentage points.

The Australian Capital Territory recorded the highest occupancy rate (77%) in the September quarter 2011 followed by the Northern Territory (74.6%) and Western Australia (70.6%) Over the same period, Tasmania experienced the lowest occupancy rate (47.1%).

Room nights occupied

Room nights occupied were 13.9 million in the September quarter 2011 for hotels, motels and serviced apartments with 15 or more rooms.

New South Wales contributed the largest proportion (30.5%) of room nights occupied for hotels, motels and serviced apartments with 15 or more rooms, followed by Queensland (28.4%).

Average length of stay

The average length of stay over the September quarter 2011 for hotels, motels and serviced apartments with 15 or more rooms was 2.3 days. Queensland reported the longest average length of stay (2.7 days) followed by Western Australia (2.5 days) and the Northern Territory (2.4 days). South Australia had the shortest average length of stay (2.0 days).