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There’s a quiet confidence rolling through Australia’s hotel lobbies and holiday parks, and it’s not just because the barista finally learned how you take your flat white.

According to the third edition of Booking.com’s Australian Accommodation Barometer, developed in partnership with Statista, three in four accommodation operators expect positive business development over the next six months. In an industry that has had more plot twists than a long-running soap opera, that is no small thing.

Even better, this optimism is not built on wishful thinking or the vague hope that the weather will behave. It is being driven by something more dependable: events.

From weddings and conferences to sporting tournaments and cultural festivals, event tourism is fast becoming the industry’s great season-slayer, smoothing out demand, stretching occupancy beyond the traditional summer peak, and turning shoulder seasons into something far more muscular.

And yes, hoteliers are smiling again.

Confidence Returns, Wallets Open

The Barometer’s headline figure is a bracing one: 75 per cent of Australian accommodation providers share a positive business outlook for the coming season. That is well above the sector’s low-water mark of 61 per cent in 2022, when border closures and labour shortages were still haunting the industry like unwelcome house guests.

Sentiment varies by state. Victoria is currently the cheerleader, with 68 per cent of properties reporting positive business development over the past six months, but the broader mood is unmistakably upbeat.

That optimism is translating into capital expenditure. Nearly half of accommodation providers (48 per cent) plan to increase investment in the months ahead, while another 35 per cent intend to hold steady.

Chain hotels are charging ahead more aggressively, while smaller, lower-star properties are playing it safe, understandably wary of rising costs, staffing pressures, and tech headaches. But the direction of travel is clear: this is an industry no longer crouching behind the sofa.

Event Tourism: The New Insurance Policy

For decades, Australian tourism has danced to the seasonal drumbeat: summer peaks, winter lulls, and a lot of crossed fingers in between.

Event tourism is now rewriting that rhythm.

Among accommodation providers that have felt its impact, the benefits are tangible:

49 per cent reported an increase in international or long-haul guests
46 per cent saw a rise in bookings during traditionally low-demand periods
40 per cent enjoyed improved revenue per room
15 per cent experienced a stronger demand for longer stays

In plain English: fewer empty rooms, steadier cash flow, and less reliance on the sun behaving itself.

Hotels are not waiting around for someone else to fix seasonality. They are taking matters into their own hands.

Already, 38 per cent of properties host their own events to attract non-leisure and group travellers. Nearly two-thirds (63 per cent) say partnerships with wedding and event planners are highly effective in driving off-season bookings.

Looking ahead, 52 per cent plan to actively partner with event organisers, while 44 per cent intend to work more closely with local councils and destination marketing bodies.

It is strategic, collaborative, and refreshingly practical, exactly the sort of thinking an industry needs to achieve year-round relevance rather than seasonal heroics.

Staffing: The Achilles Heel

The only thing hotter than event tourism right now is the labour market, and not in a good way.

Australian hotels plan to hire an average of 7.3 employees over the next 12 months. Seasonal roles are relatively easy to fill. Senior, specialised roles? Not so much.

More than half of respondents (56 per cent) pointed to high salary expectations as a major barrier to recruitment. Another 45 per cent said candidates are discouraged by long or irregular hours.

Nearly half (47 per cent) cited a lack of necessary skills or experience as a core hiring challenge.

Training underqualified staff is not a silver bullet either. Upskilling costs money, time and managerial capacity, three things many operators are already short of.

In short, the people problem is real, persistent, and expensive.

Digital Dreams, Practical Nightmares

Artificial intelligence and digital tools promise everything from smarter marketing to smoother customer service and stronger cybersecurity.

And Australian accommodation providers know it.

According to the Barometer:

63 per cent see marketing benefits from AI
54 per cent see customer service gains
71 per cent see cybersecurity improvements

Yet adoption remains stubbornly slow.

Why? Cost and complexity.

About a third of operators (34 per cent) cited high implementation costs as a major barrier. Four in ten (40 per cent) said integration complexity was their biggest headache.

And then there is the skills gap. One in four properties (25 per cent) reported a lack of technical expertise in their teams as a barrier to adopting digital technology and AI.

For smaller operators, the maths often does not add up. The promised benefits are real, but so are the risks, training demands and opportunity costs.

The result is a growing digital divide, one that threatens to leave smaller properties behind just as technology becomes central to competitiveness.

The Industry Knows What Must Be Done

Todd Lacey, Regional Manager for Oceania at Booking.com, did not mince words.

“While the sustained optimism among Australian accommodation providers is genuinely encouraging, our findings highlight clear and urgent challenges,” he said.

“The skills shortage remains a major bottleneck, and the high cost and complexity of digital technology risks creating a ‘digital divide’ where smaller businesses are left behind.

“However, the industry is not standing still; proactive strategies like embracing collaborative approaches to event tourism are showing real success in tackling seasonality, with accommodations seeing a crucial rise in bookings during typically low-demand periods.

“Booking.com is committed to leveraging this data to drive targeted solutions and cross-industry partnerships that ensure every operator, large or small, can participate fully in this period of growth.”

It is a measured, pragmatic message and one that rings true.

A Cautious Optimism, Well Earned

Australia’s accommodation sector is not out of the woods. Skills shortages, wage pressures, digital disruption and geopolitical uncertainty are all still in play.

But for the first time in several years, the industry is not just surviving; it is thriving. It is planned. Investing. Innovating.

Event tourism is no longer a nice-to-have. It is a structural solution to seasonality.

Digital transformation is no longer optional. It is becoming existential.

And workforce development is no longer a back-office issue. It is a frontline business risk.

The good news? Operators are not burying their heads in the sand. They are experimenting, collaborating and adapting the way this industry has always done when the pressure is on.

After a bruising few years, Australian accommodation providers are not just looking beyond summer.

They are building a future that does not depend on it.