SEPTEMBER KEY FIGURES

Accommodation with 15 rooms or more		Jun Qtr 2012	Sep Qtr 2012	Jun Qtr 12 to Sep Qtr 12	Sep Qtr 11 to Sep Qtr 12
Trend
	Takings from accommodation ($m)	2238.9	2255.1	0.7%	4.6%
	Room occupancy rate (%)	66.0	66.0	0.0 pts	0.3 pts
Seasonally Adjusted
	Takings from accommodation ($m)	2240.7	2247.5	0.3%	4.4%
	Room occupancy rate (%)	66.1	65.8	-0.3 pts	0.1 pts

Source(s): Tourist Accommodation, Australia

Source(s): Tourist Accommodation, Australia

SEPTEMBER KEY POINTS


ACCOMMODATION TAKINGS

• In the September quarter 2012, the trend estimate of total accommodation takings for hotels, motels and serviced apartments with 15 or more rooms increased by 0.7% to $2255.1 million compared with the June quarter 2012.
• Over the same period, the seasonally adjusted estimate increased by 0.3% to $2247.5 million.

ROOM OCCUPANCY RATE

• The September quarter 2012 trend estimate room occupancy rate for hotels, motels and serviced apartments with 15 or more rooms remained unchanged at 66.0%.
• Over the same period, the seasonally adjusted estimate decreased by 0.3 percentage points to 65.8% when compared to June quarter 2012.

NOTES

FORTHCOMING ISSUES

ISSUE (QUARTER)	Release Date
December 2012	27 March 2013
March 2013	28 June 2013
June 2013	30 September 2013

ABOUT THIS ISSUE

This issue presents results from the September quarter 2012 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 PDF component of this product has been discontinued. Individual tables that were previously included in the PDF publication are available as a data cube on the Downloads page.


GEOGRAPHY CHANGES

The March quarter 2012 release of STA data was the first to incorporate the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) as the geographical framework for the collection. Detailed information on the transition of the STA to the ASGS and how the data is impacted by this change is contained in Information Paper: Future Changes to Tourist Accommodation, Australia (cat. no. 8635.0.55.003)

A summary of the main changes resulting from the move to ASGS are:

• Small area data is now produced at Statistical Area Level 2 (SA2), replacing Statistical Local Areas (SLA).
• Tourism Regions (TRs) will be constructed from allocations of SA2s and as a result will change. For some TRs, these changes are minimal.
• Data for Local Government Areas (LGAs) and Special area - Brisbane City Core will no longer be produced.

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 2012, accommodation takings were $2291.3 million for hotels, motels and serviced apartments with 15 or more rooms.

Accommodation takings in the September quarter 2012 for hotels, motels and serviced apartments with 15 or more rooms were highest in New South Wales ($698.0 million) and Queensland ($617.3 million). Tasmania recorded the lowest takings for the period ($37.8 million).

For Australia, the September quarter 2012 average takings per room night occupied were $164.07 for establishments with 15 or more rooms. This was 3.8% higher than the September quarter 2011 ($158.10).

Room occupancy rate

The room occupancy rate for hotels, motels and serviced apartments with 15 or more rooms was 66.9% in the September quarter 2012.

Traditionally, hotels have higher occupancy rates than motels or serviced apartments. Over the September 2012 quarter, hotels had an occupancy rate of 72.4% compared with 59.3% for motels and 70.0% for serviced apartments.

Four 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 2011 and the September quarter 2012. South Australia (62.1%) experienced the largest increase (1.5 percentage points). Over the same period, occupancy in the Australian Capital Territory (72.2%) decreased by 4.8 percentage points.

The Northern Territory recorded the highest occupancy rate (74.1%) in the September quarter 2012 followed by the Australian Capital Territory (72.2%) and Queensland (71.0%) Over the same period, Tasmania experienced the lowest occupancy rate (46.6%).

Room nights Occupied

Room nights occupied were 14.0 million in the September quarter 2012 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 2012 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 (2.4 days). Tasmania had the shortest average length of stay (1.9 days).