Sydney’s winter hotel market found welcome momentum in June. A busy run of festivals, concerts and cultural events helped the city record annual gains across all three key hotel measures.
Preliminary CoStar data showed occupancy at 74.1 per cent, up 1.1 per cent from June 2025. The average daily rate rose 2.6 per cent to $243.81. Revenue per available room increased 3.7 per cent to $180.77.
It was Sydney’s best June occupancy result since 2019. That is no small feat for a month that often needs more than an extra blanket and a fine harbour view to fill rooms.
The peak came on 6 June, near the end of Vivid Sydney. Occupancy reached 92.7 per cent, while the average daily rate climbed to $323.93. Revenue per available room, or RevPAR, hit $300.39.
It was the only night in June when both the average daily rate and RevPAR passed the $300 mark.
The Al Shami concert and Sydney Film Festival also added weight to the demand. Vivid Sydney ran from 22 May to 13 June, while the 73rd Sydney Film Festival was held from 3 to 14 June. Together, they showed what a strong events calendar can do for the visitor economy.
“Given the 0.1% supply decrease in the market, all demand growth builds occupancy in Sydney,” said Matthew Burke, STR’s regional director. “The annual Vivid Sydney and Sydney Film Festival underpin demand for Sydney’s historically softest occupancy month.”
Occupancy stayed above 60 per cent on all but three nights. That suggests the result was not simply one bright flash from Vivid.
The months ahead look sound, although bookings are behind last year’s pace.
“Sydney’s occupancy on the books is tracking two percentage points below the same time last year for July and one percentage point below for August,” Burke said. “However, the overall level remains a positive indicator, given that demand last year was boosted by the British & Irish Lions tour.”
For Sydney’s hotels, the lesson is clear. Major events are not decorative extras. They create room nights, lift rates, and keep the city humming when winter might otherwise put demand into hibernation.
By: My Thanh Pham – © 2026.
Read Time: 2 minutes.
Author Bio:
My Thanh Pham has led a life of travel more than most people ever do. After studying tourism, she went straight into the work of building journeys across South-East Asia, temples, beaches, night trains, and all, quietly fixing the messy bits so others could enjoy the ride.
She was never meant to stay behind a desk. Airline life followed, dividing her days between reservations and the airport floor, right where travel shows its true colours. Missed flights, tight hugs, frayed tempers, sudden joy, she saw it all, close up.
Now at Global Travel Media, My Thanh has traded ticket stubs for a keyboard. She writes the way she once worked: steady, clear-eyed and respectful of the road’s unpredictable rhythm, guiding readers through a world she knows from the inside.
