Record occupancy for Sydney, Sept ‘16

STR’s September 2016 Pipeline Report shows 582,271 rooms in 2,555 projects Under Contract in the Asia Pacific region and preliminary data indicates a record occupancy level for Sydney.

The total represents a 4.6% increase in rooms Under Contract compared with September 2015. Under Contract data includes projects in the In Construction, Final Planning and Planning stages but does not include projects in the Unconfirmed stage.

The region reported 238,829 rooms in 1,018 projects In Construction for the month, which is a 5.5% decrease in year-over-year comparisons.

Among Chain Scale segments, the Upscale segment accounted for the largest portion of rooms Under Contract (26.1% with 152,039 rooms) and In Construction (27.0% with 64,536 rooms).

The Upper Upscale segment was the only other segment to account for 20.0% or more rooms Under Contract (25.4% with 147,788 rooms) or In Construction (25.3% with 60,511 rooms).

Asia Pacific pipeline by Chain Scale (number of rooms):

Chain Scale	Existing Supply	In Construction	Under Contract
Luxury	197,738	40,770	84,359
Upper Upscale	327,874	60,511	147,788
Upscale	401,940	64,536	152,039
Upper Midscale	327,127	28,938	99,546
Midscale	269,394	10,729	35,483
Economy	677,295	2,463	5,071
Unaffiliated	2,042,612	30,882	57,985
Total	4,243,980	238,829	582,271

Source: STR / report as of September 2016, activity reported through August 2016
Under Contract data includes those projects in the In Construction, Final Planning and Planning stages

Based on daily data from September, Sydney reported the following in year-over-year comparisons:

increases in supply (+4.4%) and demand (+5.0%);
a 0.6% increase in occupancy to 86.0%;
a 6.2% increase in average daily rate (ADR) to AUD206.60; and
a 6.8% increase in revenue per available room (RevPAR) to AUD177.60.

Last September’s 85.7% occupancy level was the highest for a September in Sydney dating back to 1995—the first year in STR’s historical database for the market. In addition, the AUD206.60 absolute ADR level for September 2016 would be the highest for a September in Sydney outside of the 2000 Summer Olympics (AUD313.99).

STR analysts note that the month’s performance was especially strong considering the market’s supply growth.