Stars align for Australian hotels

The opportunities have never been greater for Australian hoteliers if they ensure they are delivering on the right fronts, says Mantra Group chief executive Bob East.

Speaking at the Travel DAZE conference in Sydney last week, East highlighted the global opportunities in the hospitality sector as “unprecedented”.

“Particularly in Australia, the stars have never been more aligned,” he said.

Although the travel landscape has undergone dramatic change, in many ways the challenges for hoteliers remain the same as ever with location still the first and foremost priority, according to East.

“People want to be where they want to be,” he said. “Yes, we need to be digitally enabled, ecommerce driven, seamless and frictionless, but ultimately our role is to provide product that people want to stay in.”

East underlined service and product as of utmost importance too, along with ensuring customers get the experience they are in search of.

“People travel for the experience. It’s not always for the hotel and we’re the first to admit that,” he said.

That experience is largely driven by what is happening in the vicinity of the hotel.

“We must focus on that as hoteliers,” he added.

In addition, Asia holds immense promise for Australian hotels, with the continent’s emerging consumer class predicted to rise to 3.2 million by 2030 and Australia “ideally positioned” to capitalise on the growth.

“We are the number one aspirational destination for high net worth individuals travelling out of Asia,” East said.

“We’re sitting in a wonderful place where the consumer will decide.”

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Email the Travel Weekly team at traveldesk@travelweekly.com.au

Latest comments

Amanda Woodward says:
December 9, 2015 at 3:08 pm
I am surprised Mantra is not doing as much for the family market as it is so well positioned to do. Most Mantras still charge quite highly for things like cots and WIFI. Given families are moving to using platforms such as Airbnb in droves, I would think there were a number of easy, not too cost inhibitive moves that Mantra could take to entice more families to stay and truly enjoy their holiday accommodation experience.
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Amanda Woodward says:
November 30, -0001 at 12:00 am
I am surprised Mantra is not doing as much for the family market as it is so well positioned to do. Most Mantras still charge quite highly for things like cots and WIFI. Given families are moving to using platforms such as Airbnb in droves, I would think there were a number of easy, not too cost inhibitive moves that Mantra could take to entice more families to stay and truly enjoy their holiday accommodation experience.
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