ACCOMMODATION: A NEW KIND OF CUSTOMER

Accommodating a new kind of customer

After a summer totally free from restrictions, Australian Hotelier hears how pubs are recapturing visitors and appealing to the increasingly influential grey nomad market.

-By Seamus May.

THE SUN is up, the borders are open, and tourists are once more beginning to circulate around Australia again. And they need somewhere to stay.

Pubs, particularly in regional areas, have a unique proposition for the traveller on the road, as Melissa Porter, general manager of Porters Plainland (winners of the 2022 award for Best Traditional Pub Accommodation at the AHA National Awards for Excellence), explains.

The Sands Hotel, Narrabeen, within the Nightcap Hotels portfolio

“The beauty of pub accommodation is how authentic the experience can be. You have the chance to simply observe or even mix with a local community in their own watering hole.”

Porter believes that pubs offer something different to visitors than the conventional large format hotel.

“When you stay in a large CBD property, you are surrounded by other travellers, world class facilities and luxury, which is also a great experience.

“But sometimes it is nice to check into pub accommodation and observe locals in the bar having a drink after work, young families coming in for an early dinner, plus all the other patrons that frequent a pub on any given day. You never know who you might meet and what story they have to tell about the town you are in.”

This is a perspective shared by Tim Dillon, owner of The Commercial Boutique Hotel in Tenterfield, NSW.

Stays at Commercial Boutique Hotel, Tenterfield, have helped the general spend in the town

“We find many travellers are looking for a better quality of food, and a local experience. We invest in highly skilled chefs and high quality ingredients to ensure we achieve a high standard.”

At the Commercial, guests truly do get to enjoy a taste of the local area.

“We source approximately 50 per cent of our wine and tap beers from local and regional wineries,” Dillon says.

A sense of history

Another point of difference between larger format hotels and regional pubs is the long-standing connection many of them enjoy with their communities, as Maxine Skinner, General Manager of the Pier Hotel in Coffs Harbour tells Australian Hotelier

“The Pier Hotel was built in 1905 and has long been one of Coffs’ most recognisable and historic landmarks. [It’s] the third oldest building in Coffs Harbour [and is] family owned.”

Dillon outlined that this connection between pub and community can be more than just emotional –it has a direct economic benefit to the area.

“I believe our business is extremely important to the town,” Dillon says.

"The beauty of pub accommodation is how authentic the experience can be."

Melissa Porter, Porters Plainland Hotel

“Tenterfield has always had a lot of accommodation, but by providing the next level in boutique accommodation our venue has encouraged travellers with more spending money to stay overnight, which results in more money spent generally throughout town.”

Another small-town pub, Porters Plainland, will celebrate its 120th birthday in 2025, and this history is woven throughout the venue (including the motel, added four years ago).

“I think our 17-room motel gives off a nice little wow factor. It is attached to a traditional hotel which was built in 1905 and carefully renovated over the years, but essentially has a country feel,” Porter says.

“When we designed the rooms we tried to weave in small elements of the existing hotel and local region whilst still maintaining simple luxury. The room ceilings have a faux VJ (vertical join) look which is a throwback to the original high VJ ceilings still visible in the original pub. So, when you lay back and rest your head you might just think you are sleeping in the original pub.”

Brett Salter, head of accommodation for Endeavour Group, ALH Hotels and Nightcap Hotels, explains how he draws upon personal experience when leading the accommodation offering at the group’s hotels.

Checking in at Porters Plainland Hotel

“Having spent a lot of my career travelling and staying in many of these big hotels, I suppose I’ve learned what frustrates me as a traveller, particularly the extra costs for basic essentials,” Salter says.

“Pub accommodation can vary a lot, in fact we have three tiers of Nightcap Hotels depending on budget and experience the traveller wants.

“Our hotels are boutique in nature, the combination of a well-designed room and a short walk to a great pub meal (or no walk at all if ordering room service) is the essential recipe to a Nightcap Hotels stay. The Nightcap experience was created to elevate the great Australian pub stay.”

Accessible appeal

The rise of easy holiday rental and booking apps, alongside the ever-present threat of big format hotels, means the competition to acquire custom is fierce. Pubs have to ensure that they are appealing to a large cross-section of society.

One group that is growing both in influence, and in pure demographic size (more than 25 per cent of the population in the last census), is the over-55s, including the ‘grey nomad’ community of independent travellers. Ralph Kelly, director of accommodation bookings service, Pub Rooms, highlights how pubs can engage this often affluent group of consumers.

“Grey nomads are a key part of the visitor mix for all regions, the region needs to better consider the potential of these and other domestic drive market travellers going forward,” Kelly says.

“Whilst a proportion of the grey nomads will seek out the free overnight roadside or council showground parks, there is a group who will happily pay a premium for better located and equipped accommodation venues.”

Moreover, Kelly says, these customers can be easily targeted in marketing through offering a discount for Seniors Card holders. At the time of writing, Pub Rooms has a special selection of hotels offering 10 per cent off for over 55s.

Occupancy levels rebound

The accommodation providers Australian Hotelier spoke to all reported a resurgence in occupancy levels following lifting of pandemic restrictions in 2022.

“Business for us returned to a typical pattern early in 2022, although overall a bit busier than pre-pandemic,” Dillon comments.

Salter spoke to the success of Nightcap’s accommodation offering over the last year.

“On average we have 1.5 guests per room, in 2022 we welcomed just shy of a million accommodation guests within our pubs.

“In 39 locations we enjoyed a 12-month average occupancy over 80 per cent which is an awesome effort for our teams coming out of various lockdowns early in 2022.”

It’s clear then that regional pubs are benefiting from what makes them distinct when compared with at-home stays and big format hotels, and that these pubs are now attracting a wide mix of visitors. The experience of Porters Plainland illustrates this phenomenon plainly – catering for an area otherwise neglected by the hotel industry.

“We are very fortunate to be enjoying over 85 per cent occupancy quite consistently,” Porter says.

“As much as we are working hard to do the best job we can, our local area has a limited amount of accommodation and we are the only pub in Plainland. So that helps,” she concludes.

Travel therapy from a welcoming hotel

Pubs can benefit by appealing to communities that have perhaps been overlooked by traditional tourism providers. Recent research from Edith Cowan University (ECU) has promoted the concept of ‘travel therapy’, which suggests that tourism can be a means of improving mental health and wellbeing.

Travel can have a positive impact for those who suffer from non-communicable chronic illnesses, estimated by the World Health Organisation to be about a fifth of the world’s population.

Dr Jun Wen, a researcher on the project, highlighted the growing importance of this community.

“The world has an ageing population, so there will be more and more people dealing with the challenges that brings, like dementia, physical limitations and so on,” Dr Wen said.

“Most are able to travel but remain vulnerable during trips and need intensive services. Staff and stakeholders need training to be made aware of vulnerable travellers’ needs and demands.”

ECU PhD candidate, Fangli Hu, explained the benefits for publicans and hoteliers of ensuring their venues are suitable for these customers.

“This niche market diversifies pub operators’ customer base and contributes to economic gains. It also helps operators proactively address challenges posed by an increasingly ageing society.”