Melbourne hotels are gearing up for a bumper weekend with Australia’s largest motorsport event, the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix, coming to town.
At Accor, occupancy is significantly up on last year over the entire weekend at its 51 hotels across Melbourne (8,781 keys), with its busiest night being Sunday, up 7.3% on last year.
Speaking exclusively to HM, Accor Pacific Chief Executive Officer PM&E, Adrian Williams, said the event continues to be one of the biggest drawcards on Australia’s events calendar,
“This year’s race has already delivered strong year-on-year occupancy growth across our hotels in Melbourne, reinforcing the huge value major sporting events bring to Victoria’s tourism sector,” Williams told HM.
“We continue to see guests prioritising these global events as non-discretionary leisure experiences, choosing to extend their stay and make the most of this world-class event.
“We love the Grand Prix in Melbourne, and we’re proud to play a key role in welcoming visitors to the city.”
Marriott International has reported high occupancy levels this week across its 10 Melbourne hotels, up 8% year on year.
According to Marriott International, this Saturday March 15 is a city-wide sell-out, with the same expected for Friday night. The hotelier has also seen double digit ADR growth year on year (YOY).
“The majority of growth is driven through international travel, with the largest proportion of our guests coming from the USA,” said Marriott International Area Vice President – Australia, New Zealand and Pacific, Jason Nuell.
“International room nights increased 25% year on year to almost half of all stays, highlighting the growing international appeal of the sporting event to our traveller base.”
The operator’s Melbourne portfolio amounts to over 2,200 keys across The Ritz-Carlton, Melbourne, W Melbourne, The Westin Melbourne, Melbourne Marriott Hotel and Melbourne Marriott Hotel Docklands, Le Meridien Melbourne, Sheraton Melbourne Hotel, Courtyard by Marriott Flagstaff Gardens, AC Hotel Melbourne Southbank and Element Hotel Richmond.