This weekend’s Australian Grand Prix is lifting Melbourne’s hotel occupancy on the books to its highest level since November 2019, according to STR’s Forward STAR. 

As of 4 April, the Thursday-Sunday (7-10 April) average in the market is 89% with a peak of 94% on Saturday night.

Should that Saturday level actualize, it would be the market’s highest daily occupancy since 30 November 2019 as well as the highest occupancy for any major Australian capital since New Year’s Eve 2019.

“Ever since the calendar dates were announced, Melbourne’s bookings have been progressively building for the race weekend,” said Matthew Burke, STR’s Regional Director – Pacific, Japan & Central South Asia.

“At the beginning of 2022, occupancy on the books was trending at an average of 35%, so it is clear that growing confidence around the event and ‘F1 fever’ has captivated the traveling public.”

STR provides premium data benchmarking, analytics and marketplace insights for the global hospitality industry. Founded in 1985, STR maintains a presence in 15 countries with a corporate North American headquarters in Hendersonville, Tennessee, an international headquarters in London, and an Asia Pacific headquarters in Singapore. STR was acquired in October 2019 by CoStar Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSGP), the leading provider of commercial real estate information, analytics and online marketplaces. For more information, please visit www.str.com