America's Cup will push up Auckland hotel room rates says study

(L-R) Peter Burling, Glenn Ashby and Grant Dalton of Team New Zealand hold up the America's Cup during the Team New Zealand Americas Cup Welcome Home Parade earlier this year. Photo / Getty Images

Auckland hotels will have the no vacancy sign out and rates will spike when the city hosts the America's Cup in 2021, research out today says.

The report by international real estate services company CBRE says that if tourism growth continues at forecast rates demand will exceed supply at the time of the Cup, in spite of a surge in hotel building now underway.

The company says there is likely to be a spike in room rates during the regatta following moderating prices leading up to it.

Peter Hamilton, director hotels, valuation and advisory services at CBRE New Zealand said other accommodation providers could ease the pressure when the Cup is being contested.

"On face value the analysis shows that there is likely to be a shortage of hotel accommodation in Auckland during the 2021 America's Cup," he said.

"However, it is expected that the residential apartment market will provide the required additional capacity through the likes of Airbnb together with other commercial accommodation providers such as serviced apartments and motels."

The CBRE report says an additional 3195 hotel rooms are planned to be built in the city during the next three years, with a probability forecasted figure of 2580 rooms (81 per cent) actually built.

With hotel room demand forecast to increase by 5 per cent to 7 per cent a year during the next three years regardless of the Cup as the international and domestic tourism markets continue to grow, by the time February and March 2021 comes demand should exceed supply, even with the total estimated rooms planned to be available.

Hamilton said unlike the Rugby World Cup when there were "huge price hikes" it was unlikely that hoteliers would be able to increase room rates to similar levels.

Hotel room rates are forecast to spike during the America's Cup. Photo / Supplied

The hotel market was expected to be in a better shape at the time of the event than it was either for the 2000 or 2003 Cup defences.

Based on visitor surveys from the 2003 regatta, over 10,000 international spectators and visitors (race participants, syndicate support staff, friends or relatives of race participants, media crews) and 42,560 domestic visitors came to Auckland specifically for the America's Cup, resulting in an estimated extra 215,000 room nights sold during the event.

Zoltan Moricz, head of research, CBRE New Zealand said that there was certain to be favourable economic impact to come from Auckland hosting an event of the magnitude of the America's Cup on the waterfront once again.

"There are few other global events that entice people in their thousands to stay in one city for an extended period and be centred around a single venue, in this case the Cup Village.''