Australia’s hotels spent 2025 close to full, leaving little room for price relief. Sydney CBD averaged 83.6 per cent occupancy across the year.
Accommodation Australia’s end-of-year report card, released today, scored the national hotel sector an A- for occupancy.
Average daily room rates climbed above $230 in the second half of the year across Sydney, Brisbane, Perth and Hobart.
Perth led the country on occupancy across 2025, followed by Sydney, Hobart and Adelaide.
Two cities went the other way. Brisbane slipped 0.6 per cent. The Gold Coast fell 2.8 per cent after cyclone disruption in March.
“Australia’s capital cities delivered a solid A-,” Accommodation Australia CEO James Goodwin said.
Sydney and Adelaide did the heavy lifting
Sydney CBD posted the sharpest lift of any market, rising 5.2 per cent to an annual average occupancy of 83.6 per cent. Adelaide followed with a five per cent increase after a stronger second half.
“A record New Year’s Eve result in Sydney provides a sense of optimism heading into 2026,” Goodwin said.
International arrivals remained below 2019 levels throughout 2025.
“The score would have been higher with stronger overseas arrivals,” Goodwin said.
Accommodation Australia chair David Mansfield said the sector was looking to lift results further through collaboration.
“There is a strong sense that we can improve demand by working together as a sector with governments and other tourism stakeholders for sustainable growth,” Mansfield said.
The next mid-year report card will be released in June.
KARRYON UNPACKS: High occupancy left little slack in most capital-city hotel markets, pushing rates higher as Brisbane and the Gold Coast remained the only cities with room to recover.
