Photo: Scott Eger, General Manager of Sofitel Adelaide
Adelaide hotels achieved a record-breaking Mad March season this year, with new data revealing the highest-ever number of room occupancy and monthly revenue. This strong trend continued into April, assisted greatly by AFL Gather Round 2024. This is according to the latest figures from hotel data analytics firm, STR.
The report indicates that March 2024, better known as Mad March, recorded an average of 8,687 occupied rooms each night across metropolitan Adelaide. This number eclipses the previous record set in October 2019, which saw an average of 8,465 rooms occupied each night. As far as revenue is concerned, March 2024 delivered an exceptional result, with average nightly earnings reaching $2.1 million. This surpasses the previous high of $1.9 million per night in March 2023.
Events such as the Adelaide Fringe, Adelaide Festival, WOMADelaide, Adelaide Cup long weekend and Easter contributed strongly to these record results. The month of March also saw eight conferences hosting a combined 3,600 delegates.
The Gather Round event’s Saturday night saw accommodation revenue across metropolitan Adelaide hit an impressive $3.9 million, closely followed by Friday night’s earnings of $3.7 million – the second-highest night on record. The event’s Thursday night revenue of $3.3 million ranked fourth on the successful record list. Overall, there was a 16% rise in revenue from the respective Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights of the 2023 event.
Premier Peter Malinauskas said, “Each night in March pumped a record high $2.1 million into South Australia’s visitor economy, thanks to our world-class arts and cultural offerings bringing visitors to our state. And we are not dropping the ball in April, with the AFL Gather Round delivering three nightly accommodation revenue records and the return of LIV Golf Adelaide which is once again drawing tens of thousands to our state.”
Minister for Tourism Zoe Bettison also applauded the figures, stating, “Events in South Australia continue to kick goals for our state’s visitor economy, as our world-renowned Mad March delivered the strongest month on record for the number of hotel rooms filled and for revenue.”
Key stakeholders in Adelaide’s tourism and hospitality industry also expressed their enthusiasm following the recent success. Scott Eger, General Manager of Sofitel Adelaide, welcomes major events as they help drive high occupancy rates and create energy for guests. He stated, “Events give people a reason to travel to Adelaide and beyond, to experience all that our region offers and can help to fill our hotels, especially in slower months.”
Adrian Williams, Chief Operating Officer PM&E in the Pacific region, was also pleased with the recent upward trend. He noted, “Our hotels in Adelaide saw strong occupancies during March and April, largely driven by the many major sporting, cultural and business events held in the city.” He further added that these events fuel the engine of the tourism industry, leading to a wave of opportunities and economic growth.
It appears the tourism industry expects an even stronger April, given the success of sporting events such as the Australian Athletics Championships and Adelaide Equestrian Festival. LIV Golf Adelaide is also expected to draw a crowd of 30,000 attendees per day – a striking increase from last year’s capacity of 20,000. The city anticipates this rise in demand with 42% of tickets already sold to interstate and overseas golf fans.
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