Melbourne posts a record September
Melbourne's hotel industry recorded its highest September average daily rate and revenue per available room in September 2026, according to CoStar preliminary market data. Hotel Online carries the release datelined Arlington, Virginia, 15 October 2026.
Occupancy reached 75.6 per cent, up 9.7 per cent year on year. Average daily rate reached AUD242.11, up 16.2 per cent. Revenue per available room reached AUD182.99, up 27.5 per cent.
CoStar attributes the lift to the AFL Grand Final and the Melbourne Royal Show, with the city's first NFL game adding occupancy and rate.
26 September carries the month
All three measures peaked on Saturday, 26 September, the night of the AFL Grand Final between Fremantle and Brisbane. Occupancy reached 93.4 per cent. Average daily rate reached AUD420.50. Revenue per available room reached AUD392.84.
That night's rate sat 73.7 per cent above the month's average daily rate of AUD242.11. Its revenue per available room sat 114.7 per cent above the month's AUD182.99. Both figures are arithmetic run on the release's own numbers.
CoStar names the Melbourne Royal Show as a second demand source behind the same night. The release gives the Show's run as 24 September to 4 October.
The NFL night before
The release credits the city's first NFL game, at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Friday, 11 September. The night before the Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers game pushed occupancy to 89.3 per cent. Average daily rate reached AUD372.09 and revenue per available room AUD332.12 on the same night.
That night sat 13.7 percentage points above the month's 75.6 per cent occupancy, and its rate sat 53.7 per cent above the monthly figure.
What a revenue desk dates ahead
Both rate nights sat inside fixed-date windows. A desk could date the Grand Final and the NFL fixture before the month opened.
CoStar places the month's occupancy as the market's highest September level since 2019, and the average daily rate and revenue per available room marks as the highest it has recorded for the month. The provider's hotel performance sample covers 95,000 properties and 12.2 million rooms worldwide. The September figures are preliminary.
The day-use line the release does not carry
The release states no hourly rate, no daytime window and no part-day revenue figure for Melbourne.
Dayuse's Australia page carried 50 cards on 16 October 2026, eight of them in greater Melbourne. Day rates on those eight ran from US$61.81 to US$89.60, an average of US$76.57, against overnight comparators of US$104.18 to US$145.16.
The eight sit in Carlton, Docklands, Southbank, Tullamarine, South Yarra, South Wharf and South Melbourne, with windows opening between 8 a.m. and 2 p.m. and closing between 2 p.m. and 10 p.m.