TWO days after American Express predicted that Australian hoteliers will be able to squeeze rate increases of more than 8% from corporate clients in some markets, STR Global released the following September hotel performance figures for Australia and Oceania.

Room rates down 5.7%; occupancy rates down 6.3%; revenue per available room down 11.6% - September was a shocker compared with last year.

And the story was even worse for Sydney, Australia's biggest hotel market: room rates down 15.5%, occupancy rates down 9.8%, revenue per available room down 23.7%.

Amex, meanwhile, has forecast that corporate rates will rise over the coming year.

It believes the strongest rises will be in Brisbane (8.2%) and Perth (8%), followed by Melbourne (4.7%), Sydney and Adelaide (both 4.6%). But hey, things change.

www.traveltrends.biz/ttn445-australian-hotel-momentum-shift-but-amex-bullish