Luxury Home Hotel Service and official AirBnb Parner, Luxico, noted some unexpected positives to travel bookings as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, with increasing localised travel and a new market of remote home-stay guests looking to self-isolate for the duration.
“Some of the unexpected outcomes from the coronavirus outbreak have been people seeking properties so remote they have their own heli-pad to gain access and a willingness to spend upwards of $200K to self-isolate for the duration,” says co-founder and Luxico Managing Director Alexandra Ormerod.
For the luxury home hotel service whose properties are sprinkled across the east coast of Australia, they’ve been fortunate to experience a spike in domestic travel outweighing foreign traveller cancellations.
“We had our strongest December ever, despite the bushfires, with a 34% increase on the previous year, with people booking last minute. We’re seeing the same thing happen with Coronavirus, with people waiting to book last minute but we’re also seeing lots of Aussie’s choosing stay local and book coastal regions for Easter instead of heading oversees. Our bushfire-affected properties on the South Coast of NSW have been the lucky beneficiaries of the increase in local travel, which is great,” she says.
“We’ve updated our cancellation terms and policies to allow greater flexibility for travellers, so guests can book in advance without worrying about losing their booking deposit.”
Last year Luxico announced their partnership with Airbnb, just one of six accredited Airbnb co-host partners worldwide. With more than 200 luxury properties listed on the platform, it has been interesting to see which properties are faring best.
“We’re the lucky ones, but many travel businesses are in crisis,” says Ormerod. “We’ve seen Alan Joyce forfeit his salary for the remainder of the year and many businesses taking drastic measures.”
“Tourism Australia have been fantastic in supporting the industry. Exhibitors at The Australian Tourism Exchange (ATE) have all been refunded their attendance fees, with no cost to attend Australia’s largest international tourism exchange trade event.”
Without knowing how long or how widespread the outbreak will be, here are 3 of the most surprising responses Luxico Managing Director Alexandra Ormerod has seen so far:
- Self-isolating –while locals go to ground with hoardes of toilet paper, a wealthy few are spending thousands a night on remote accommodation. Some of these are overseas travellers looking to Australian regional properties as isolated refuges away from the sickly crowds. Luxico has been commissioned with the task of sourcing homes similar to https://luxico.com.au/rentals/allrentals/sweven-estate for foreign guests looking to call Australia home for the duration, in out-of-town locations away from Corona-crisis and are willing to pay upwards of $200k for the privilege.
- Homes over hotels– Staying in homes over hotels to avoid co-mingling with swarms of travellers
- Longer stays– international guests choosing to stay in Australia rather than head home, and also guests extending stays in single locations rather than breaking their trip up between multiple destinations.
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