Finals football weekend in Australia had more than two winners.
Along with AFL champions Sydney Swans and NRL kings, Melbourne Storm, Accor hotels in Sydney and Melbourne kicked a heap of goals.
Initial figures from Accor suggest that both Sydney and Melbourne recorded their highest weekend hotel occupancy figures for the year.
Melbourne attracted the largest number of interstate visitors to the city, with Accor’s 17 hotels in the area boosted by an influx of Sydney Swans visitors.
Sunday is normally the quietest night in Sydney for hotel occupancy, but thanks to the NRL grand final, Accor’s nine hotels in western Sydney – including four in Sydney Olympic Park – all recorded 100% occupancies.
The Sydney Swans added about 12 percentage points to Accor’s Melbourne hotels over the weekend.
“We would like to see it compulsory for an interstate team to be in the Grand Final,” said Accor’s Victorian regional manager, Adrian Williams. “It has such a positive effect on Melbourne tourism.”
