AUSTRALIA: One And Only Managing Hayman Island Resort

Hayman Island owners Mulpha Australia and operators One and Only have ended their agreement to brand and manage the luxury property in Queensland’s Whitsundays.

The resort is currently closed for renovations as a result of damage sustained from Cyclone Debbie in late March 2017, the second time the property has suffered significant damage from a severe storm over the past decade.

The luxury resort was rebranded as a One and Only property from its independent Hayman brand when it re-opened in July 2014 following significant damage by Cyclone Yasi and Cyclone Anthony.

In a joint statement the companies said: Following the damage incurred to One and Only Hayman Island by Cyclone Debbie and subsequent closure of the Resort until mid-2018, the mutual decision has been made that One and Only will no longer be managing Hayman Island as of 5th June.

Mulpha Australia will be rebranding the Resort upon re-opening.

While it is disappointing to have to close the resort after record trading that had been achieved, Mulpha are planning to undertake significant capital works to once again position Hayman as one of the most prestigious luxury resort properties in the Australian market.

A formal process will be undertaken in the coming months to select a qualified luxury operator to assume the future management of the Island.

One and Only are thrilled to have welcomed so many guests to the resort and introduce One and Only to Australia.

One and Only remains committed to Australia with a long term agreement to manage Emirates One and Only Wolgan Valley in The Greater Blue Mountains, as well as continuing to grow Australia and New Zealand as an outbound market to all One and Only Resorts.

One and Only has been driving significant development interest in new markets and looks forward to continuing to expand the brand globally in order to provide the ultimate holiday experience.

Mulpha Australia and One and Only thank you for your past support, the companies said.

Mulpha is reviewing the operations of its hotel portfolio and may seek new managers to run its key properties that include the resort-style Sanctuary Cove, the InterContinental Sydney Hotel and ultra-luxury private island One and Only Hayman Great Barrier Reef.

Mulpha has called in Colliers International to run an operator selection process across the portfolio as it also deals with the damage to the One and Only Hayman Island resort in the Whitsunday archipelago.


Tourism Observer

NEW ZEALAND: Tourism Boom Driving Up otel Occupancy And Room Rates

New Zealand’s ongoing tourism boom is continuing to drive unprecedented growth in hotel occupancy and room rates, new research from Colliers International shows.

The latest New Zealand Hotel Market Snapshot, released today, shows Queenstown and Auckland are continuing to outperform the hotel sectors in other regions.

In the year to date to March, Queenstown delivered occupancy of 90 per cent at an average daily rate (ADR) of $240 – a 15 per cent increase over the same period in 2016.

Auckland recorded occupancy of 91 per cent and an ADR of $225, an increase of 16 per cent.

Moderate to strong ADR growth was also recorded in other regions, although occupancy rates appear to have generally plateaued in most main centres.

Dean Humphries, National Director of Hotels at Colliers International, says the second quarter of 2017 is also likely to be a record breaker, with strong demand anticipated.

“Auckland has been hosting the World Masters Games, which has helped to drive up occupancy rates with the 25,000 participants visiting the city,” he says.

“This will be closely followed by the upcoming British and Irish Lions Tour in June/July.

“More than 20,000 fans are expected to visit our shores during the month-long tour, which will create a 'spike' in hotel performance, as last witnessed during the previous Lions tour in 2005 and the Rugby World Cup in 2011.”

Humphries says strong market fundamentals, along with high profile international events, will set up the New Zealand hotel sector for potentially its best performing year on record.

“On the back of this exceptional performance, it is not surprising that we are seeing an increasing number of investors and developers reviewing the possibility of new hotel projects,” he says.

However, a number of key challenges such as site availability, protracted approval processes, lack of development funding and constraints in the construction sector still make many projects difficult to convert.

The proposed targeted rating increase for Auckland hotel owners is also concerning many developers as this directly impacts their feasibility.

“We’re also seeing strong interest from global hotel operators, who are attracted by further growth in the region.”

A recent example is the world’s largest hotel operator, Marriott Group, being appointed to manage its first hotel in New Zealand – the 255-room Four Points by Sheraton to be located at 396 Queen Street.

Humphries says that despite some of the development challenges faced at this current point in time, investor sentiment remains strong, based on a recent roadshow to Asia promoting the One Market Square hotel development.

“This opportunity to build a 165 room hotel on a prime waterfront site in the heart of the Viaduct Harbour and has attracted significant offshore interest to date,” he says.

Colliers International Group Inc. is a global leader in commercial real estate services with 15,000 professionals operating from 396 offices in 68 countries. With an enterprising culture and significant insider ownership, Colliers professionals provide a full range of services to real estate occupiers, owners and investors worldwide.

Services include brokerage, global corporate solutions, investment sales and capital markets, project management and workplace solutions, property and asset management, consulting, valuation and appraisal services, and customized research and thought leadership.

Colliers International has been ranked among the top 100 outsourcing firms by the International Association of Outsourcing Professionals’ Global Outsourcing for 10 consecutive years, more than any other real estate services firm.

Founded in Australia in 1976, Colliers International is the largest locally formed real estate services firm with professionals worldwide. Find out more at www.colliers.co.nz