feb-2018c

14 15 OPENING LINES air arrival growth and increased leisure visitor spending. In 2017,the 35thAmerica’s Cup played a critical role in driving demand and higher visitor spending,not only in Mayand Junebut throughoutmuchof theyear. “Thenumberofvisitorswhochosevacationrentalswhen theytraveledtoBermudasurged133percent in2017versus 2016,accordingtoAirbnbdatasharedwiththeBermuda TourismAuthority.Meantimeyear-endhotel occupancy passedthe60percentmarkfor the first timesince2007. Shawn Sullivan of Airbnb said: “Bermuda represents an incredibly important and growingmarket forAirbnb. ThroughourpartnershipagreementwithBermuda’sgov- ernment andtourismauthority,wehavesignificantlygrown oursupplyandincreasedthenumberofvisitorsforBermudian homeowners.In2018,weplantofurtherdevelopourpart- nership inBermudaandengage thecommunitywithmore homesharingeducational seminarsacross the island.With allvacationrentals factored intotheequation,tenpercentof totalvisitorschosevacationrentals lastyear.” Simultaneously,the hotel sector island-wide experi- enced a strong growth year with occupancyclimbing 9 percent to 63 percent for the year.While the Bermuda hotel sector as awhole requires further growth to reach sustainable profitability levels,the performance in 2017 was the best in a decade. On the revenue side,performancewas evenmore im- pressive for local hotels with revenue per available room going up 19.5 percent, and the average daily rate mov- ing 9 percent higher.The 35th America’s Cup in 2017 played a critical role in driving demand and higher visitor spending for the hotel sector, not only in May and June but throughout much of the year. Meantime,a sizable increase in hotel inventory is in the pipeline for the first time in a generation.ByNewYear’s Day2018,Azura,Caroline Bay,and the St George’s Resort all had shovels in the ground,and in some cases,struc- tures taking shape.Whenwork is completed,Bermuda will have 240 additional hotel rooms to join upwith a growingvacationrental inventorywhich surged 96 percent in 2017,amongAirbnb listings.