MANZ in the NewZ

It's good to see Michael Baines, Motel Association of NZ (MANZ) chief executive putting a positive spin on the motel industry before the crucial peak holiday season.

New Zealand Herald
December 12 2008
By Tamsyn Parker

.... Motel Association chief executive Michael Baines believed the increase was strongly linked to a drop in petrol prices.

"That makes a hell of a difference," he said.

Unleaded petrol hit a peak of $2.19 a litre in July but had fallen to under $1.90 by the start of October.

Baines said October also coincided with the start of tax cuts, ensuring people had a bit more money in their pockets to spend.

Baines expected November accommodation figures would also be up on last year and said his association had just had a record month for online bookings - 83 per cent ahead of last year.

He said forward bookings showed accommodation was filling up for the March season but not all areas were seeing the numbers.

"Taranaki has done well all the way through. Wellington has come back. But Rotorua and Queenstown are certainly down."

Baines said the popular tourist spots were suffering from the downturn in international visitors, particularly those coming on group tours ...

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10547687

NZ based travel website stats

The December AA Advertiser Newsletter includes monthly domestic traffic from unique browsers to NZ based travel websites. Sourced from Nielsen Net Ratings.

Click for a larger view

http://www.aatravel.co.nz/newsletter/advertiser/2008/dec/dec_advertiser.html

AA's industry insights

The December AA Advertiser Newsletter has results of consumer research carried out by Saatchi and Saatchi in November 2008. A broad mix of Kiwi consumers were contacted and the following key insights were gleamed so far:

• Kiwis don’t mind spending time researching NZ travel online if it saves money
• Kiwis will book NZ travel sooner rather than later if they perceive this to be cheaper
• Offering a free meal, e.g. breakfast, is a great purchasing incentive
• Although there is a group of Kiwis that prefer to fly, the majority of Kiwis don’t mind the drive – even when they take into account the cost of petrol
• Travelling with kids is perceived as hard work unless we make it really easy for them by providing options for kids or by influencing the perceptions which hold them back
• Kiwis genuinely want to travel more around New Zealand but require a prompt to do so, e.g. a public holiday, long weekend or event

http://www.aatravel.co.nz/newsletter/advertiser/2008/dec/dec_advertiser.html

Wotif distances itself from Air NZ V3 partnership

Air New Zealand has recently announced that it has acquired a shareholding in Australian online tourism specialists V3 (Vcubed Pty Ltd).

The acquisition is part of the airline’s strategy to further diversify into the wider tourism sector.

V3 provides its open booking exchange (OBX™) technology for tourism suppliers and distributors in Australia. The Air New Zealand and V3 joint venture is to establish a similar tourism exchange in New Zealand. Read our previous post HERE

It would appear that the Air NZ / V3 partnership has made some unfounded assumptions.

Tania Witheford - General Manager for wotif.com in New Zealand has sent a clarification about their reported interest in V3:

"In a recent article published in the "Dominion Post" and other Fairfax publications, a representative from an organisation known as V3 suggested that Wotif.com had an interest in joining with them to access accommodation deals.

We have had a few queries from our accommodation and industry partners about this statement. For clarification purposes, we would like to let you know that the Wotif Group has no relationship with V3 and has no intention of working with this organisation.

The statement attributed to V3 was made without our knowledge and without any authorisation by the Wotif Group".

...Ms Witherford makes it clear that wotif will not be joining forces with V3 anytime soon!

Clarkson's crusade against the caravan

We enjoy watching Top Gear. We like the boys-own antics, the copious burning of fossil fuels and the unapologetic passion for the motor car.

Jeremy Clarkson regularly destroys caravans on Top Gear and has been quoted as saying that "caravans are a disgraceful blot on the landscape and a nuisance on the roads..." We couldn't agree more!

Last year, the Caravan Society protested outside a show at the Birmingham NEC, handing out stickers saying ‘Hate Clarkson Love Caravans’. Jeremy's response? “What have caravanners got against Kelly Clarkson?”

The enlightened members of the public will be driving their cars between motels these holidays and not clogging up the highways and visualy polluting the scenery with dingy mean-spirited caravans.

The following video demonstrates the correct usage for a caravan:

Kiwis flock online to book motel rooms

Time will tell if the on-line reservation stats migrate into increased occupancy for motels in November...

By NICK CHURCHOUSE
The Dominion Post
11 December 2008

Online motel bookings have recorded their highest month on record, smashing the previous best month by 31 percent in November.

The Motel Association of New Zealand said accommodation bookings through its website in November were almost a third up on January, the previous record month, and were a mammoth 83 percent ahead of November last year.

The figures fly in the face of a general downturn in tourism, and flagging international arrival numbers.

Motel Association chief executive Michael Baines said there had been an upturn in the numbers generally but the magnitude of the spike had been unexpected.

"November just came out of the blue." The percentages were so large that they clearly indicated major shifts in the market.

The gradual move to online booking was one clear trend, but the shift was so dramatic that Mr Baines said there had to be more general motel customers. December numbers so far were continuing the trend. "We are about 45 to 50 percent ahead for December."

The market was a complicated mix and it was changing. "People do have more money in their pockets than they did nine months ago. Tax cuts, petrol prices, interest rate cuts," Mr Baines said.

There was a match in the spiking numbers with the United States and New Zealand election days. It was likely a lot of the bookings were from domestic tourists, especially given international travel might be less of a reality for a lot of families in the current economic climate.

"Many of them have been wanting to do it for years, and this has given them good excuse."

Domestic guest nights drive October increase

The press release from statistics New Zealand provides a background of "good news" as Kiwis contemplate their Summer holidays.

Unfortunately occupancy for motels in October dropped from 51.4% to 49.9% (a 2.7% decrease).

Press Release: Statistics New Zealand
11 December 2008

Total guest nights in short-term commercial accommodation increased 4 percent in October 2008 compared with October 2007, Statistics New Zealand said today. This increase in guest nights follows decreases in five of the previous six months when compared with the same month the previous year.

The increase is largely due to a 16 percent increase in domestic guest nights, although this was partly offset by an 11 percent decrease in international guest nights.

In 2008, the third-term school holidays continued later into October than in 2007, but the exact effect cannot be measured.

Guest nights increased in four of the five accommodation types in October 2008 compared with October 2007. Hotels had the largest increase, up 48,000 (6 percent), followed by caravan parks/camping grounds, up 40,000 (11 percent).

In October 2008, nine of the 12 regions had more guest nights, with Wellington and Auckland showing the largest increases.

The trend in total guest nights has been decreasing since November 2007, after increasing from February 2006.


See also the Hot Off The Press information release Accommodation Survey: October 2008 [PDF}.
and xl spreadsheet of results asoct08tables.xls

Vianet report a 110% increase in sales

Vianet provide the booking engine for Trademe's accommodation website, travelbug.co.nz.

Vianet are reporting a 110% increase of reservations processed in Novemebr 2008, comapred with the same month last year. This sounds impressive however this may not nessessaraly reflect a gain in market share at the expense of the other main accommodation resellers. The increase of the public's use of the internet to make on-line reservations would have helped, however the increase should not have been unexpected as Travelbug had a relatively soft launch in only September last year and had a sluggish start.

The online travel market remains as competitive and crowded as ever. Wotif has been running in New Zealand for five years and is still setting the benchmark. AA travel has invested heavily into it's online accommodation offer and its difficult to gauge what benefits have been forthcoming from the partnership with big talking Australian Roamfree.com. New Zealand owned, Ezibed.com have been quiet achievers and Jasons. are utilising their marketing expertise to further polish their acquisition of popular motel booking engine, Holidayguide.

The stats provided by vianet.travel below make interesting reading.

10th December 2008
Vianet.travel December Newsletter

Summer has arrived… easily proven by how quickly the lawns are growing. Along with the lawns growing, so too is the market for booking travel online. Predictions from members of the travel industry who attended the recent WIT-Web In Travel 2008 conference felt that the online travel market in Asia Pacific would truly come into its own in the next five years. That’s when they feel travel booked online as a percentage of total travel bookings would cross the 50% mark. Click here to read the full article.

We feel extremely confident about the future for booking accommodation/travel online, despite the global recession and decline in New Zealand visitor arrivals. Bookings processed by the Vianet system in November 2008 were 110% over the same month last year an average lead time of 33 days. If you find statistics interesting here are couple more for you:

http://blog.vianet.travel/news-and-events/operator-newsletters/december-newsletter/

Motel 6 is getting a new look

American + design are not two words you hear together too often.

Hotel & motel interior design in the USA has always been staid, fussy and..well old fashioned.

Motel 6 is an iconic brand that is in the process of freshening its look and it is interesting to see what they have come up with...

By ANDREA JARES
ajares@star-telegram.com
10 December 2008

Motel 6 is getting a new look, with flat-panel televisions, wood-laminate floors and modern furnishings. And it starts in North Texas.
Carrollton-based Accor North America, which owns several budget hospitality brands including 1,000 Motel 6 locations in the U.S. and Canada, broke ground Monday on its first new motel to feature the new design, at a site across from Texas Motor Speedway.

The Motel 6 there is set to open by late summer. In the meantime, the chain is revamping its existing motels, with all of the ones in North Texas expected to be done by the end of the month.

Accor North America CEO Olivier Poirot spoke with staff writer Andrea Jares about the new look for the 46-year-old chain.

Obviously, this is a real- ly different design for the chain. Why did you rethink the look of your motels?

Every so often, typically around 12 to 15 years, we try a new prototype. What we try every time is to add value to the guest but not deviate from our promise to the customer, which is a clean, comfortable room at a lower price than any national chain. What’s unique about this prototype is that this is going to be the first site in the nation, where not only are we doing the room, we are also doing the exterior of the building.

Can you walk me through some of the changes?

As you can see, we have platform beds, which gives a feeling of openness and cleanliness. We also have what is fairly unique in any midscale or economy product, the fact that you have the settee in the corner of the room facing the TV. You can watch the TV from any angle. We’ve done away with the carpets. We have laminate wood flooring made of 80 percent recycled materials.

Is this the most ambitious remodel Motel 6 has done?

This product is going to revolutionize economy lodging. For all of our competitors, that is going to set the new benchmark of what people should be striving for.

Why are you starting here with the renovations?

That’s where we’re located. And Texas is our second [largest] market. D-FW is one of our biggest city markets. We want to start the new prototype in a location close to home because obviously we are going to be extremely involved in the prototype.

What kind of reaction have you heard from people?

We get a lot of the wow factor. It has been extremely positive. The guests appreciate the feeling of openness, the cleanliness, and what some people call "Eurochic" when they walk into the room. A lot of people appreciate that we’ve done away with the carpets. Everybody loves the flat-screen TVs, and everybody loves the new bathrooms. So it’s really a winner.

Election result boosts motel bookings

 

Michael Baines - CE of the Motel Association of NZ (MANZ)

10 December 2008
Press Release: Motel Association

The election of the new Government seems to have already had a positive effect on confidence in at least one sector of the New Zealand tourism industry.

The Motel Association of New Zealand says online accommodation bookings through its website in November increased by a record 31% ahead of the previous best month, January, and were a mammoth 83% ahead of November last year. And Chief Executive Michael Baines believes he knows why – election results. "The figures showed a big rise immediately after Barak Obama was elected President of the United States. "Don't ask me why that would be, but that's the only event of significance that coincides with the first significant rise.

"Then there was another jump immediately after the change of government in New Zealand and John Key was elected Prime Minister, "That has continued with bookings from early December 27% ahead of the same time last year. "I’m sure part of it reflects a change in the way people are booking accommodation. “But I also think people were holding off making bookings until they knew the outcome of the election. And when a new Government promising more tax cuts next year won, then petrol prices started dropping in a big way, I think people had a lot more confidence to go out and spend more.”