Now in its second year as the Official Hotel Accommodation Partner of the Australian Open, Marriott International report strong growth in occupancy and room rates for the next two weeks, with a significant rise in international bookings across their portfolio of 9 hotels in Melbourne.
Sean Hunt, Area Vice President, Australia, New Zealand and Pacific for Marriot International said, “The Partnership between Marriott Bonvoy and Tennis Australia has bolstered our occupancy and revenue as we lead into 2023. Occupancy across our Melbourne properties is sitting at around 70% over the next two weeks and moves up to 85% over the final weekend. Our CBD hotels are even stronger, with occupancy sitting at 80% during the tournament and up to 93% for the finals. Room rates are solid and report a growth against 2022 and pre-pandemic levels in 2019.
“Demand is really strong with bookings still coming in. Domestic bookings from the Eastern states of Australia are leading, however, we’ve also seen a shift closer to 2019 levels from the US along with a mix of internationals.”
Marriott’s room stock in Melbourne sits at close to 1900 keys across nine hotels including W Melbourne, The Westin Melbourne, Sheraton Melbourne, Marriott Melbourne, Four Points Melbourne, Element Melbourne Richmond along with three new properties that opened over the last 12 months – Marriott Melbourne Docklands , Courtyard Melbourne Flagstaff Gardensand the introduction of a new lifestyle brand to Australia with AC By Marriott Melbourne Southbank.
In the first quarter of 2023, the Marriott group is on track to open a further two new properties in Melbourne, the luxury 267 key Ritz-Carlton, Melbourne and the 235 key Le Meridien Melbourne, taking Marriott’s Melbourne portfolio to 11.
“The strong start to 2023 is testament to our confidence and commitment to the business and leisure travel industry in Melbourne. Room rates at our signature CBD properties exceed 2019 rates. The Australian Open is an outstanding opportunity to put Australia back in the spotlight as a world class travel destination offering first class accommodation, lifestyle and sporting experiences,” said Sean Hunt.
As the exclusive Hotel Accommodation Partner for Tennis Australia, Marriott will host VIPs, Bonvoy Members and guests across their suite of participating properties. The exclusive partnership will offer Marriott Bonvoy members access to more than 50 truly unique money can’t buy experiences including premium viewing tickets across marquee matches including both women’s and men’s finals, meet and greet with tennis legends, access to the Marriott Bonvoy Hospitality Suite at Melbourne Park, exclusive food and wine packages along with tailored accommodation packages across their Melbourne hotels.
