“Talking numbers, the impact in a month would be 5000 to 6500 room nights. If you look at average rates in Hobart, and even if we said it was $200, imagine losing five to six and a half thousand. Most months it would be a million dollars plus lost in revenue.” – Linda Collis talking about the financial impact on Crowne Plaza when borders closed.
But when interstate visitors were able to access Tasmania earlier this year, the pick-up for the Crowne Plaza was almost instant. “We were doing occupancies of about 10 per cent [per month] when Hobart first emerged from lockdown, and when everyone was open earlier this year, we were up to 80 per cent occupancy,” Collis said. “That’s a brand new hotel, we hadn’t established ourselves in themarket by any stretchwhatsoever. “A 70 per cent difference is very significant. I think the location of the hotel, what hurt us, is again people in Tasmania had to travel in Tasmania and most people live in Hobart so they were going out to explore our beautiful state, but not ideal for us.”
Now as Tasmania prepares to throw open its borders again on December 15, Collis is busily preparing for a summer periodwhich is projecting extremely positively. Given everything she has been through in the past 12 months, you could forgive her for being cautious about what lies ahead, especially given the state government’s tendency to impose stricter measures at a whim. However Collis refuses to dwell on the past, presenting an optimism which is arguably reflective of themajority of the hospitality industry. “It could be blind optimism, but there is fact and data to support it.
“If we stay open, I think we’re all in for a cracker end of this year and into 2022. We’ve certainly seen enormous demand coming in for most months next year.”
Hospitality Review: December 2021 9 Pictured:Linda Collis
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