It wasn't quite the three Cunard line "queens" but this week Sydney harbour was home to five P&O ships, which proved a bonanza for hotel operators, retail landlords and the plethora of food outlets across town.
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Sporting and tourist events are the big ticket items for the hotel industry, particularly cruise ships, as they generally see tourists fly in the day before departure and book a hotel room.
Mantra chief executive Bob East said events, such as cruises, are big business for the hotel sector as they come with before-and-after hotel bookings.
"People are changing their travel habits around major events and that is being reflected in their hotel bookings." Mr East said.
He said the hotel sector was having one of the best years, "if not the best" thanks the lower Australian dollar which had made domestic travel more appealing and also attractive for inbound international visitors.
According to the latest data, hotel occupancy is Australia is an average 85 per cent and slightly higher in Sydney.
Mr East said Sydney was very tight and the new hotel developments were welcome to boost the number of beds.
While Sydney enjoyed the extravaganza of the five-ship P&O ships in the harbour on Wednesday, Melbourne's hotel market has long been bolstered by major sporting events such as The Australian Open, the Australian Formula One Grand Prix, the AFL Grand Final, the Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival and the Boxing Day Test Match.
But, as Sydney continues to grow as a major international cruise destination, Sydney's inner CBD hotels will clearly reap the benefits.
According to the Port Authority of New South Wales, more than 346 cruise ships are expected to enter Sydney's ports in the next 12 months, with passenger days expected to surpass 1.35 million.
This will contribute to demand for Sydney hotel rooms, adding further pressure on existing high occupancy levels.
According to Savills Hotel Australia team, Sydney remains the main port for embarkation and disembarkation in Australia and continues to grow as a major international cruise destination.
This is boosted by the fact Sydney is the only port in Australia which has two dedicated cruise facilities, the Overseas Passenger Terminal and White Bay, which can accommodate three cruise ships simultaneously.
More recently the Overseas Passenger Terminal underwent a major upgrade and can now accommodate the "megaliners", such as Cunard's Queen Elizabeth. It has also recently been reported that Ovation of the Seas, a $1.4 billion, 5000-passenger cruise ship, will be arriving into Sydney waters in 2017.
As the majority of passengers on cruise ships either start or finish their cruise in Sydney the impact will be felt by the hotels nearest Circular Quay and then rippling out towards Sydney's remaining southern CBD hotels.
The redevelopment of Barangaroo South, which will include the Crown Resort and the new Sofitel at Darling Harbour, will see demand from travellers who board the ships from White Bay.
Vasso Zographou, director of Savills Hotels Australia said cruise ship guests were taking the opportunity to explore Sydney and staying additional nights in hotels. Furthermore, international guests were capitalising on the falling Australian dollar and staying at Sydney five-star hotels, which have become more affordable.
"Sydney is a 'bucket list' destination and will receive maiden voyages throughout 2015/2016 from cruise ships including: Costa Luminosa, Golden Princess, Pacific Aria, Pacific Eden, Explorer of the Seas, Superstar Virgo, Azamara Quest and Pacific Venus," Mr Zographou said.
"In 2013-2014 there was a reported 256 cruise ship visits, with passenger days exceeding one million, up from 240 visits and 0.97 million passenger days in 2012-2013. Additionally, Destination NSW reported that in 2013-14 around 84 per cent of international passengers stayed up to three nights in Sydney, which is a typical embarkation/disembarkation travel pattern displayed in other global port cities."
