A flurry of top-tier activity was a major factor in Melbourne hotel rates and revenue hitting record highs in November, new figures show.
A series of events including the Oasis Live 25 tour and the Melbourne Cup Carnival drove significant increases in average room rates and RevPAR at Melbourne hotels last month, with advance bookings in December well ahead of last year, according to preliminary data from analytics provider CoStar.
The occupancy rate in November increased by 82.6%, a year-on-year increase of 4.9%, the average room rate increased by 3.6%, reaching 243.47 Australian dollars, and the revenue per available room (RevPAR) was 201.05 Australian dollars, an increase of 8.6%.
In addition to record ADR and RevPAR, the market's occupancy rate reached its highest monthly level since late 2019.
On November 1, the first night of the Melbourne Cup Carnival and the second night of the first Oasis Live 25 tour held in the city, Melbourne's average room rate jumped to AU$347.80, and revenue per available room (RevPAR) rose to AU$311.23, both new monthly highs. It was also the only night in November that Melbourne's RevPAR exceeded the AU$300 mark.
On November 12, the first night of the AC/DC Power Up tour, Melbourne's daily occupancy peaked at 94.7%, having hit its second-highest level of 92.2% the night before.
Matthew Burke, regional director at STR, said: “The outlook for December is also very positive, with booking occupancy rates at 62% in December compared to 53% for the same period last year.”
“The upcoming Boxing Day Ashes Test on December 26 has been the strongest performer, with an average occupancy rate of 74% between December 24 and 29.”
