Melbourne’s reputation of being Australia’s sporting capital is expected to drive the highest annual performance. Accor Since 2019,
Accor, Australia’s largest hotel company, has 51 hotels in Greater Melbourne as well as 13 hotels throughout regional Victoria.
The city started 2025 with the most successful Australian Open in history (1.2m fans at the gates) as well as a Formula 1 Rolex Australian Grand Prix record (465,498 visitors over four days).
Last month, Accor’s hotels – including Sofitel Melbourne on Collins and Pullman Melbourne on the Park – were central to Melbourne’s largest-ever international incentive event, with the city successfully hosting almost 16,000 delegates for the Amway China Leadership Seminar. Amway China’s top sellers arrived as groups of over 2,500 delegates. Each group experienced five days of business seminar, tours and a gala meal. The incentive had a $100 million economic impact on the state.
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This momentum is expected to continue into the second half of the year, with Melbourne poised for a major uplift from two marquee events: the British & Irish Lions Tour in July and the Boxing Day Ashes Test at year’s end.
While Melbourne is not traditionally considered a rugby union stronghold, it stands to benefit significantly from the anticipated 40,000 international visitors travelling for the Lions Tour – the first since 2013. The MCG should be packed to capacity for this match (100,000.+), and many UK fans are likely to stay for an extra week.
The Ashes match between Australia and England could also draw a record crowd at the MCG, possibly surpassing the Test Cricket attendance record set by the venue in 2023 during the Boxing Day test against India, which was 373,691.
Hotel supply increases due to events
Melbourne’s reputation of hosting world-class sporting events has led to an expansion in hotel stock. In recent years, the city has seen the most new hotels open in Australia.
Melbourne will add 22 new hotels between January 2019 to January 2025 (more than 5, 000 rooms). This is an impressive 21% increase in the hotel inventory.
Accor and Ennismore – the Group’s fast-growing lifestyle collective – have been at the forefront of delivering new hotels across Melbourne, including the Australian debut of the Hyde Hotels brand with Hyde Melbourne Place, The Sebel Melbourne Kew, and Novotel and ibis Styles Melbourne Airport. In September, a major renovation of Mantra Melbourne Airport will be completed.
The pipeline of new hotels includes Mercure Melbourne La Trobe, The Hoxton Melbourne and SO/ Melbourne.
Accor Pacific’s Chief Operating Officer Adrian Williams said Melbourne has a proven track record of delivering major events, ensuring that demand keeps pace with growing hotel supply.
“Melbourne has some of its finest new hotels in a decade, which combine exceptionally well with Melbourne’s reputation as an exciting leisure destination to continue building visitor numbers,” Mr. Williams
“The recovery in international travel, business, conference, and group travel, coupled with an event-packed calendar, has seen our occupancy predictions track 7 per cent ahead from last year.
Winter in Melbourne is normally a slow time, but this year was different. In the last four weeks, Melbourne and its surrounding areas have seen an increase of 6 percent in the average rate of bookings.
“The fact that the British & Irish Lions rugby tour and the Boxing Day Ashes Test will draw substantial international, interstate and intrastate visitation gives us every confidence we’re on track to deliver the strongest year for our Melbourne hotels since 2019.
The AFL continues to be an important tourism force, drawing visitors from interstate and the region throughout winter, and boosting hotel occupancy by a significant amount. We are proud to be the official accommodation partner for the AFL. The league plays a vital role in the tourism and hospitality industry of Melbourne. While the Lions tour will roar through Melbourne for one week in July, the AFL delivers a season-long influx of fans – culminating in peak occupancy during the Grand Final weekend.
Sporting events are a major demand driver for Melbourne hotels. But the benefits go beyond the event itself. They encourage extended stays, return visits, and global visibility for the city.
The Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix, and Australian Open are both world-class sporting events that draw a large international audience. These global events are increasingly being prioritized by guests as a non-discretionary experience. They choose to extend their stay to make the most out of the attractions in the state and city.
Melbourne’s sporting pedigree will be even more diverse next year thanks to Visit Victoria multi-year agreement to host regular American National Football League games, which will attract a new and high yielding audience to the city.
“The strength of recovery across various market sectors this year is very encouraging, and given there is further potential to increase both international tourism and business travel, the outlook offers real optimism for the hotel sector – even against the backdrop of cost-of-living pressures and international trade uncertainty.”
Supporting diversity in employment – Diversity Pathways project launches in Melbourne
Mr Williams said that the rapid expansion of the hotel industry created exciting new opportunities for hospitality workers. He added that there was a high demand for people who were qualified and passionate to help open the many new hotels being built in the city.
“The industry’s priority remains the recruitment and training of hotel and catering staff.” Mr. Williams
Accor is a company that has always aimed to grow within its own organisation. But the rate of hotel expansion has been unprecedented in Melbourne, and we require governments to provide support for skilled migration and to invest in tertiary or trade education in the hospitality industry.
“One way to do this is to bring in new entrants into the industry. To help achieve this, Accor partnered with Flinders University Centre for Social Impact and launched the Diversity Pathways project, starting at the beginning of the month, in Melbourne.
“This is a six-phase initiative designed to boost employment opportunities for people with cognitive disabilities in the hospitality sector. The program will involve Accor lounges and hotels in Melbourne, then later throughout the country, taking part in a tailored mentorship program. This program will be supported by experts in disabilities employment, hospitality, as well as Disability Employment Services (DES).
“Accor’s long-standing commitment to fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace in the industry is reinforced by this new partnership.”
From luxury to economy, Accor operates more than 400 hotels in the Pacific region under renowned brands such as Sofitel, MGallery, Art Series, Pullman, Swissôtel, Mövenpick, Grand Mercure, Peppers, The Sebel, Mantra, Handwritten Collection, Novotel, TRIBE, Mercure, BreakFree, ibis, ibis Styles and ibis Budgets are available for all budgets.Ennismore’s Hyde, and SO/.
