Thredbo has become the first Australian ski resort to reveal its pricing for season 2020, increasing the cost of a daily lift ticket by 20 per cent to $159 a day. Sounds outrageous at a time of hardship and unemployment for many, however the steep price hike is no doubt down to the fact that […]
Tag: COVID-19
It’s terminal: TigerAir Australia shut down for good by Virgin Australia
Virgin Australia (VAH) has finally killed off its low-cost carrier Tigerair Australia, according to multiple media reports. The carrier, which has been grounded since late April, was originally going to be mothballed by VAH and resurrected when travel recovered post-COVID. But in a customer email obtained by Yahoo Finance, Tigerair Australia yesterday confirmed it will no longer […]
Expedia, Agoda say ‘sacred cows’ of rate parity and last room availability killed by COVID
The adversarial relationship between hoteliers and the OTAs has changed to an “all hands on deck mentality” during COVID with operators no longer insisting on rate parity and last room availability – once major sticking points – as they scramble to put heads on beds, according to Expedia and Agoda. Speaking at the Web in Travel […]
Accor CEO Sebastien Bazin says business travel down 10% long term
Accor CEO Sebastien Bazin believes business travel will “never return to the new normal” and that in the long term corporate numbers likely sit around 10% less than they were pre-COVID. Short term, until mid-2021, he estimates business travel will be down 25% to 30%. “Longer term, my expectation is going to be it will […]
Sydney Airport to raise $2bn as business struggles with COVID
Sydney Airport is raising $2 billion to pay down debt and increase liquidity during the toughest period in its history. The company revealed that passenger numbers during the second quarter were down 96.6% over the previous corresponding period, contributing to a $53.5 million loss for the half year to June 30. Total passenger numbers for […]
Coronavirus hits Australian hotel performance
Australian hotels have been severely impacted by the coronavirus pandemic and related bans on Chinese travellers. STR data shows Melbourne and Brisbane were the only two major Australian markets to report year on year RevPAR growth between 24 Jan and 9 Feb, 2020, a two week stretch encompassing Chinese New Year. All other markets were […]
Border openings drive car hire bounce back at Hertz
After a tough year in which demand slumped through COVID by up to 90 per cent, Hertz Asia Pacific boss Eoin MacNeill says demand is bouncing back with the car hire giant starting to rebuild its fleet after cutting it by almost 40 per cent during the height of the pandemic. MacNeill says corporate has […]
TFE Hotels left with Travelodge COVID quarantine mess, guests evacuated
The reputation of TFE Hotels, one of Australia’s largest accommodation groups, has taken a hit after 366 guests quarantined in the Travelodge Hotel Sydney were last night evacuated by NSW Police who determined that complaints about poor standards of cleanliness and hygiene at the property were valid. Guests, some of whom had had vigorously complained about […]
Travel back to (almost) normal by 2024
Macquarie Research has brought forward its travel industry recovery profile by 6-9 months due to the rollout of global vaccines in its latest analysis of the Flight Centre business. “We forecast 85% Total Turnover Value recovery (of pre COVID-19 levels) in FY24 (FY21: 30% recovery, FY22: 55%, FY23: 75%), with more emphasis expected on domestic […]
2020 worst year ever for Europe, US, Asia Pacific, Middle East and African hotel markets
COVID-wracked 2020 was the worst year ever in terms of performance for the Asia-Pacific, US, Europe, African and Middle East hotel markets, according to industry analyst STR. Asia Pacific Occupancy: 44.5% (-35.6% compared with 2019) Average daily rate (ADR): US$74.99 (-22.2%) Revenue per available room (RevPAR): US$33.39 (-49.9%) Each of the three key performance metrics […]