Hotels in Sydney and Melbourne are benefitting from an influx of interstate visitors for their respective public holiday weekends with major sporting events taking place across the two cities.
In Saturday’s AFL Grand Final, the Brisbane Lions clash with Collingwood in Melbourne, while on Sunday, the Brisbane Broncos take on the Penrith Panthers in the NRL Grand Final in Sydney.
Accommodation Australia reported sporting fans from Queensland and around the country are jetting interstate to enjoy the action, resulting in “skyrocketing” occupancy levels for hotels.
“Sydney hotel occupancies are expected to exceed 94% ahead of Sunday’s NRL Grand Final – a huge spike compared to 62% the previous weekend and a predicted 76% the weekend after,” said Accommodation Australia CEO Michael Johnson.
“We have seen a rush of last-minute bookings from Queenslanders keen to see the Broncos defeat Penrith, and win or lose, the influx of people will flow through to food, beverage and other parts of the visitor economy.
“Northerners keen to see in the AFL on Saturday have also boosted Melbourne hotels with around 80% occupancy for both Friday and Saturday nights.”
AA NSW Accommodation Manager, Stacey McBride, said sports and major events are continuing to have a positive impact on the sector.
“We saw it with Vivid and the FIFA Women’s World Cup and now the footy finals,” she said.
“Our hotels are truly shaking off the winter shackles and kicking some real goals.”