In the five months since the Second Australian Hotel Sentiment Survey in mid-May 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has continued to severely impact on the hospitality industry across the globe and at home.
The travel and tourism industry in Australia has effectively had to re-invent itself as domestic markets were forced to become intra-State markets, and international markets remain barred from entering the country.
The accommodation sector continues to suffer: many owners and operators remain ever- challenged as the effects of ongoing economic loss settle in, and the livelihoods of those many staff stood down or temporarily under-employed remain propped up through government relief measures. The uncertainty for many persists.
This Third Australian Hotel Sentiment Survey reports the ongoing status of the accommodation sector now nearing the end of three-quarters of a year of dramatic downturn and economic hardship. In this report we again seek to highlight those factors underpinning current operational challenges. We have again gauged what outlook operators hold for performance levels into the immediate future, and probed how operational challenges are unfolding and what solutions owners and operators of accommodations properties are evolving.
It now is evident, our nation’s emergence from the lockdowns and isolation measures means a longer and – unfortunately – harder road to recovery. This Survey reports on the gradual journey and deliberations to be considered by the accommodation sector in Australia.
Written by Damien Little
Damien Little has been a Director of Horwath HTL in Asia Pacific for the last 18 years. Damien has 20 years of consulting experience and has significant experience in financial modeling. During this time he has undertaken hotel related projects in 17 countries across the Asia Pacific region, being involved in more than 400 projects.
Damien has been involved in projects across all industry segments including 5 star city hotels, golf resort properties, mid-scale regional hotels, budget hotels, backpacker accommodation, restaurants and clubs. He has significant experience in the China market having traveled to more than 70 cities across the country. Damien is also a frequent speaker at industry related conferences around the region and has published numerous research articles in regional industry publications.
