Occupancy rates for March 2017 were higher compared to March last year, up 9.3 percentage points (pp) to 68%. A 1.2% decrease in room rates may have contributed to the lift in occupancy rates. The number of room supply at the end of the month was 5,122.

Now with four consecutive months of positive growth in occupancy rates since supply increased significantly in 2015, the year ending March 2017 results now reflect positive growth from the average annual occupancy rates. These were up 0.8pp to 69% on the same period last year. This result has been driven by the growth in demand as the overall number of room nights increased by 5.8% to 1.3 million.

The increase in demand in March was most likely influenced by the -1.2% drop in the Average Daily Room Rates to $116 compared to March 2016. The positive growth in both demand and occupancy rates extended to the average revenue per available room (RevPAR), which increased by $10 (or 15%) to $79. The Daily Rate and RevPAR for the year ending March 2017 were $145 (down 7.1%) and $104 (down 6.6%) respectively.

Daily Occupancy Rates throughout the month of March 2017 performed more strongly, very close to the results experienced back in 2014. Daily Room Rates and RevPAR remain down througout the weeks of March 2017 compared to other years.

Room demand continues to follow the traditional seasonal pattern with smaller numbers during the off-peak months. Regardless of this yearly pattern, room demand has been growing each year since 2015.

Average Daily Room Rates have for the first time shown potential signs of improvement, as the March 2017 results were consistent with March last year.

The data in this report is sourced from STR and is collected from a sample of 22 hotels with 10 or more rooms in Darwin. Data is collected daily and collated to represent the industry. This sample represents 50% of the establishments in Darwin and 63% of the room supply.

Note: The total Darwin sample size increased in September 2015. Changes in data since September 2015 means that reports produced before September 2015 should not be compared to reports from September 2015 onwards. All data has been backdated to include the new sample in historic data and the reports are now a broader representation of the accommodation market in Darwin.