Hotels lead increase in February guest nights

Total guest nights in short-term commercial accommodation in February 2008 were 3 percent higher than in February 2007, Statistics New Zealand said today.

The 2008 calendar year is a leap year, with the extra day in February 2008 falling on a Friday.

All five accommodation types showed higher guest nights than the same month one year ago, with hotels showing the largest increase. Hotel guest nights were 8 percent higher and recorded their highest monthly total since the survey began in 1996. Hotels also had the highest occupancy rate of all the accommodation types in February 2008.

Eight of the 12 regions recorded higher guest nights in February 2008 compared with February 2007, with the Auckland region showing the largest increase.

International guest nights slightly outnumbered domestic guest nights in February 2008. The Canterbury region had the highest number of international guest nights and the Auckland region had the highest number of domestic guest nights.