19th March 2025 By Staff Reporter | news@propertyticker.co.nz | @propertyticker
The Nelson-Marlborough districts reported the highest occupancy levels among New Zealand’s key hotel markets in February 2025, according to Horwath HTL.
The consultancy’s latest New Zealand Hotel Performance Focus for February 2025, which uses Hotel Council Aotearoa’s hotel data, painted a mixed picture, with the top of the South Island and Queenstown faring best.
“Nelson-Marlborough reported the highest occupancy levels among key markets at 93% and the second-highest RevPAR at $255, representing a 13.2% year-on-year increase,” Horwath HTL’s report, authored by Wim Ruepert, stated.
“The region saw strong uptake of wholesale business from Europe and North America, as well as FIT business from Australia. Business travel bookings were also robust, with many related to ‘blue economy’ activities such as fisheries, aquaculture and other coastal-related activities.”
Queenstown continued its strong performance, with RevPAR reaching $322 on average across February, which Horwath HTL said was a 7.7% increase driven by strong rate growth, despite a slight dip in occupancy.
“The region’s hotel demand was bolstered by various film crews, including for Heart of the Beaststarring Brad Pitt, which used Queenstown as a backdrop to replicate the Alaskan wilderness.
“Non-New Zealand resident airport arrivals in Queenstown increased by 3.5% year-on-year and were 31% higher compared to 2019.”
In contrast, Wellington saw the worst of the month.
“Wellington hotels continue to face challenges, reporting a decline in occupancy levels from 78% to 74%, representing a 5% decrease in occupied rooms.
“The majority of the decline came from international visitors, with room nights dropping by 12% year-on-year, compared to a 2% decline in domestic room nights. This coincided with a 6.1% decrease in non-New Zealand resident arrivals at Wellington airport.”
Horwath HTL said all of Wellington’s key metrics – occupancy, ADR, and RevPAR – for February were below pre-Covid 2019 levels.
The consultancy’s latest New Zealand Hotel Performance Focus can be read here.
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