Domestic accommodation providers around New Zealand have seen an immediate lift in bookings following yesterday’s Government announcement, according to new data.
New figures from Bachcare, New Zealand’s largest holiday home management firm, show accommodation bookings within a 12-hour period was the highest since the country moved to Alert Level 1 in June 2020.
With accommodation in several regions now close to capacity over the peak season, the company is now predicting a record-breaking summer for the domestic sector.
Zaina Razzaq, spokesperson for Bachcare, says yesterday’s bookings were up 58 per cent on the day before, with bookings from Auckland guests up 159 per cent on the day prior.
She says the most popular departure date booked was for the first Friday following the reopening of Auckland’s borders on December 15.
“What we can see from the data is that thousands of Aucklanders have been waiting for a confirmed date of when travel will resume before making accommodation plans.
“Normally most bookings are made in the evening, but yesterday we saw an immediate spike as the announcement was made with bookings made around lunchtime around twice what we would normally see at that time of the day.
“We know that many are desperate to leave the region with the most common departure date recorded for just two days after the border is set to reopen – many of these are looking for a quick weekend away over those dates with an average stay of around 2.3 nights within driving distance of Auckland.
“The two days prior to Christmas are the next most likely dates for departure from the Auckland region followed by January 3 and 10 – which both fall on a Monday this year,” she says.
Zaina says regions within 2.5-4.5 hours driving or sailing distance are the most popular for Aucklanders with Coromandel, Northland, Lake Taupo and Waiheke Island set for an influx of visitors.
“While summer is naturally our peak season, border restrictions over the past three months have created a high level of pent-up demand within the Auckland region and we expect this to be a record-breaking summer for domestic accommodation bookings.
“Our data shows coastal town centres such as Pauanui, Mangawhai Heads, Russell, Tairua and Whitianga were the most booked by Aucklanders yesterday.
Zaina says they are also expecting an increase in the number of bach owners wanting to rent their properties out over the coming months.
“This surge interest has meant that some areas of the country – such as Bay of Plenty are already at capacity over the coming months.
“With the data showing us that more Kiwis are looking to get away over the summer, the significantly elevated demand for holiday homes tends to bring more enquiries from property owners – which helps us grow the supply of baches for peak season,” she says.
