Traveling Families Prefer Catered Rooms on Vacation reports Untitled Prahran

(EstateNewsWire.com, November 12, 2012 ) Victoria, Australia -- More families are switching to using apartments on their vacations, rather than the traditional hotel rooms.

Nearly 20% of those who head out on vacation are deciding on apartments as their staying quarters rather than in standard quarters.

The number of vacationers looking to use a serviced apartment in Australia has gone up 73% over the last ten years to over two million, and the trend seems to be still growing.

Simultaneously, the number of guest nights in all types of accommodations has increased over one-quarter, says the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Over 20% of guests prefer a stay at a serviced apartment.

Experts believe people that families traveling together are attracted to the extra space apartments offer, as they are able to cook their own meals. The convenience of doing one’s own laundry is also an enticing capability for families.

Chief operating officer of Accor, Simon McGrath stated that apartments were 25% of hotel group’s offering , which is up nearly 10% from the last decade.

"Apartments are where the massive growth has been,'' he said.

"The space offered by apartments gives families and people who are travelling in a group a more cost effective way to travel.

"There's a trend for two or three families to travel together. The apartment model allows the freedom to design your own holiday but also make sure you can still cater for yourself, which makes it a little bit cheaper than your mainstream hotel.''

McGrath did state that he did not believe the apartments were taking away from traditional hotel businesses, saying there were more options opening up to the influx of travelers.

He pointed out that couples likely still wished to stay in traditional hotel rooms, and it was likely families that had multiple children who desired to use the serviced apartments.

"Forty years ago, travel was just for the rich,'' he said. adding that it the trend was not simply local, but instead was seen in markets worldwide. "Apartments have been popular in Europe for some time and we're starting to see more and more apartments in Asia, so it's not just in Australia,'' he said.

Mantra Hotels and Resorts director of marketing Ken Minnikin stated that while the old days saw families cramming into small apartments, people were now more capable of affording properly priced serviced rooms.

"People have realized that for the same sort of price as a hotel room you can stay in a two or three bedroom apartment which has a lot more space with a lounge room and a kitchen,'' he said.

"It makes it much more affordable because you can choose to be self-catering,” Minnikin said. "It was originally driven by leisure travelers in destinations like the Gold Coast and North Queensland but it's grown into CBD locations around Australia as well.''

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