North's guest nights fall but hopes high

Nationally, guest nights for April 2015 were 3.6 per cent higher than in April 2014, according to Statistics New Zealand. Photo / Michael Cunningham

Northland guest nights in April were down on the same time last year but two local accommodation providers remain positive about the year ahead.

Northland guest nights were down 4.2 per cent this April on last to 148,000, according to Statistics New Zealand. Its Accommodation Survey collects data for guests staying in hotels, motels, backpacker accommodation, and holiday parks in New Zealand each month. A guest night refers to one guest spending one night in an establishment.

Amanda Machiela of Reia Taipa Beach Resort said April was always a bit quieter than the summer months.

However, the resort was at 100 per cent occupancy over Easter. Ms Machiela expected a good summer ahead thanks to recent renovations.

"Last summer was great but it's just going to go up and up from there," she said.

Lodge Bordeaux owner Lyn Sawyers also said business this April and May had been quieter than at the same time last year.

The business wasn't as affected by the seasons as other accommodation providers. It was the only five-star accommodation in Whangarei which stood it in good stead. It had a lot of regular clients, she said, and she expected business to be good for the remainder of the year.

Nationally, guest nights for April 2015 were 3.6 per cent higher than in April 2014, according to Statistics New Zealand.

Motel Association of New Zealand chief executive Michael Baines put the increase down to New Zealand's "Indian summer" and low fuel prices.

The weather at the end of last year had been shocking but had improved since the beginning of January.

"When it's warm and the days are long and people are feeling happy and content they're more likely to travel. It think that's a motivator. If the price of petrol's down, that's a barrier to travel that's been lowered," he said.

Having Easter and Anzac Day at different times had an impact as did the "Mondayisation" of Anzac Day, said Mr Baines.

Travel was all about disposable income and some areas had far higher disposable income than others.

Wellingtonians had a high disposable income so areas around the city such as Marlborough, Nelson and Martinborough and the Hawke's Bay were doing well.

Auckland had a lower disposable income profile, partly because Aucklanders were paying so much for mortgages. That meant areas adjacent to it weren't reaching their full potential. Northland got 70 to 80 per cent of its customers from Auckland, said Mr Baines.

Anecdotally the April increase in guest nights was larger than what had been reported, he said.

While bed nights might be up that didn't necessarily mean revenue or profitability were.

The industry had a long way to go to recover revenue losses generated between 2007 and 2013.

"The industry's doing fine, it's a hell of a lot better, it's positive, we're filling the beds and all the rest. We now need to make more per room."

Business for the beginning of winter had been the same as last year if not better, said Mr Baines. The ski season opened early this year and there were a lot of commercial travellers on the roads.