Those wanting to travel to Warrnambool this summer will be hard-pressed to find accommodation as hoteliers say they're nearly fully-booked through the new year.
Warrnambool's Mahogany Motel owner operator Marty Williams said it was at 100 per cent occupancy and it had been very busy.
He said the motel had a three-night minimum stay and the average booking was for five nights.
"People are now staying longer which is good news," he said.
"There's so much demand in Warrnambool as it is but even more so since the Gateway Motel and Motel Warrnambool have shut (to make way for new Officeworks and JB Hi-Fi stores which are under construction)."
Mr Williams said for the month of January the motel was at about 70 per cent occupancy.
"We put the three-night minimum on to get longer stays because the other thing we're facing is staff shortages," he said.
"That's why we created the minimum stays because it creates less work for us. It's less cleaning and less fatigue on our staff.
"By setting minimum night stays it gives us a chance to give them a day off."
The Deep Blue Hotel & Hot Springs and Mid City Motel marketing manager Lauren Orero said both hotels were at 100 per cent occupancy over Christmas.
Ms Orero said there was still some availability for January at both providers but expected they would be booked up in the coming weeks.
She said the occupancy rate was on par with the previous year and the hotel and motel didn't impose a minimum night stay.
A handful of rooms at both providers were available on Booking.com on Wednesday with the hotels commanding peak season prices.
One night's accommodation at the Mid City on Wednesday night through the online booking service was $425 for a premium queen room or $434 for a premium king room.
The Deep Blue had a twin room with a balcony available on Booking.com for $524.
Ms Orero said there were four daily hot springs sessions at the sanctuary over summer.
"While forward bookings are really strong, fortunately for those wanting to book at the last minute, there are still options to do so," she said.
She said throughout 2022 it had focused on gaining exposure in the South Australian market and had started to see a strong conversion at the hot springs from those interstate areas.
Best Western Olde Maritime manager Courtney Gleeson said she'd also seen a flurry of interstate bookings.
"We're doing fantastic, we're pretty much fully-booked," she said.
"If we do get a cancellation, it's filled straight away.
"We've got 43 rooms, we've been booked out from about the 23rd of December and it's strong the whole way through January.
"They're mostly from Melbourne, quite a few from Sydney actually and we've had internationals as well including your German, English and Chinese tourists.
"It's a nice mix of everyone. There are no restrictions and everyone's travelling."
Blue Whale part-owner Daljeet Grewal said she'd seen a similar trend to what others had observed.
"All the rooms are booked out, we have 24," she said.
"They're mainly families from Melbourne and Adelaide.
"Most just come here for a night, but when they leave another person books in."
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Jessica Greenan
Journalist at The Warrnambool Standard covering Corangamite Shire Council. Sometimes court. Special interest in all things environment.
Journalist at The Warrnambool Standard covering Corangamite Shire Council. Sometimes court. Special interest in all things environment.
