AU and NZ Market Pulse · November 2026 · Pillar
Reviewed by Mark Joefer, Hotel Market Intelligence Researcher · 13 October 2026 · 16 min read
Australia and New Zealand hotel rates for November 2026, across 48 markets, show one clear pattern: most matched hotels showed the same or a very similar rate on the two midweek nights we compared. Of 2,894 hotels paired across Tuesday 10 and Wednesday 11 November, 1,870 priced both nights identically.
This pillar sets out the market middle, spread and Friday behaviour for all 29 Australian and 19 New Zealand markets we captured between 5 and 12 October 2026, with links to every city read. All rates use the same search basis: 1 night, 2 adults, 1 room, cheapest offer; refund and board unknown.
Australia and New Zealand hotel rates for November 2026 range from an A$141 market middle in Mackay to A$337 in Noosa in Australia on Wednesday 11 November (captured 12 October), and reach NZ$526 in Queenstown (20 priced, a small sample) in New Zealand. Of paired hotels, 64.6% priced Tuesday 10 and Wednesday 11 November identically (captured 11 and 12 October), and 42.9% lifted Friday 6 November (captured 7 October) more than 2% above Tuesday 10 November.
What are hotels asking across Australia and New Zealand in November 2026?
On Wednesday 11 November 2026 (captured 12 October), the market middle ranged from A$141 in Mackay to A$337 in Noosa across the Australian markets. In New Zealand the highest middle was NZ$526 in Queenstown, a small sample with 20 properties priced that night. We do not publish a market middle for any night with fewer than 15 properties priced.
Among the larger searches (100 or more priced that night), New Zealand runs from NZ$286 in Christchurch down to NZ$190 in Marlborough. In Australia, only 4 searches returned that many: the Gold Coast at A$291 (198 priced), Brisbane at A$259 (200 priced), Hobart at A$236 (107 priced, some NZ$ rates converted at the provider's rate) and the Sunshine Coast at A$226 (140 priced). Australian rates are in A$ and New Zealand rates in NZ$, and we don't compare them across the Tasman.
The table lists the markets with 15 or more properties priced on Wednesday 11 November, the one night captured in every market. Markets with fewer than 15 priced that night, or fewer than 15 properties seen across all nights, are left out. The last column gives each market's median own Friday premium, with the number of paired hotels, where a Friday pair exists.
| Market | Country | Seen (all nights) | Wed 11 Nov middle (priced) | Wed 11 Nov middle 50% | Own Friday premium (pairs) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Noosa | AU | 113 | A$337 (89) | A$215 to A$450 | +8.5% (43) |
| Bay of Fires | AU | 31 | A$315 (22) small sample | A$187 to A$425 | no pair |
| Magnetic Island | AU | 30 | A$302 (28) small sample | A$165 to A$403 | no pair |
| Gold Coast | AU | 283 | A$291 (198) | A$212 to A$404 | +30.8% (116) |
| Airlie Beach | AU | 70 | A$284 (54) | A$195 to A$384 | no pair |
| St Helens | AU | 39 | A$276 (30) | A$162 to A$389 | 0.0% (23) |
| Brisbane | AU | 292 | A$259 (200) | A$185 to A$357 | +15.2% (135) |
| Port Douglas | AU | 74 | A$254 (40) | A$190 to A$436 | 0.0% (26) |
| Whitsundays | AU | 103 | A$245 (97) | A$154 to A$384 | 0.0% (55) |
| Hobart | AU | 122 | A$236 (107) | A$170 to A$317 | no pair |
| Sunshine Coast | AU | 274 | A$226 (140) | A$181 to A$329 | +9.5% (109) |
| West Coast | AU | 23 | A$207 (22) small sample | A$164 to A$276 | no pair |
| Launceston | AU | 74 | A$202 (60) | A$145 to A$281 | +1.5% (49) |
| Stanthorpe | AU | 26 | A$195 (26) small sample | A$143 to A$250 | no pair |
| Strahan | AU | 33 | A$195 (26) small sample | A$139 to A$283 | 0.0% (23) |
| Agnes Water | AU | 36 | A$181 (28) small sample | A$148 to A$282 | 0.0% (21) |
| Sheffield | AU | 47 | A$179 (40) | A$148 to A$236 | 0.0% (29) |
| Devonport | AU | 47 | A$170 (40) | A$147 to A$208 | 0.0% (34) |
| Cairns | AU | 97 | A$166 (92) | A$115 to A$239 | 0.0% (85) |
| Rockhampton | AU | 46 | A$162 (45) | A$144 to A$193 | no pair |
| Hervey Bay | AU | 41 | A$155 (40) | A$131 to A$251 | 0.0% (29) |
| Toowoomba | AU | 58 | A$152 (57) | A$138 to A$200 | 0.0% (54) |
| Bundaberg | AU | 31 | A$150 (29) small sample | A$137 to A$171 | 0.0% (26) |
| Townsville | AU | 59 | A$148 (58) | A$135 to A$186 | +58.9% (38) |
| Gladstone | AU | 32 | A$143 (31) | A$110 to A$196 | 0.0% (28) |
| Mackay | AU | 49 | A$141 (48) | A$123 to A$174 | 0.0% (48) |
| Queenstown | NZ | 297 | NZ$526 (20) small sample | NZ$216 to NZ$781 | 0.0% (100) |
| Wanaka | NZ | 135 | NZ$402 (56) | NZ$276 to NZ$692 | 0.0% (30) |
| Kaikoura | NZ | 109 | NZ$289 (85) | NZ$181 to NZ$387 | Sat 0.0% (50) |
| Christchurch | NZ | 322 | NZ$286 (199) | NZ$213 to NZ$342 | no pair |
| Te Anau | NZ | 39 | NZ$267 (25) small sample | NZ$194 to NZ$432 | no pair |
| Wellington | NZ | 197 | NZ$228 (161) | NZ$181 to NZ$292 | no pair |
| Taupo | NZ | 158 | NZ$213 (125) | NZ$154 to NZ$340 | +5.3% (89) |
| Auckland | NZ | 271 | NZ$205 (199) | NZ$135 to NZ$304 | +2.9% (155) |
| Rotorua | NZ | 238 | NZ$203 (200) | NZ$149 to NZ$319 | 0.0% (164) |
| Dunedin | NZ | 117 | NZ$191 (85) | NZ$140 to NZ$270 | 0.0% (67) |
| Marlborough | NZ | 158 | NZ$190 (135) | NZ$148 to NZ$270 | 0.0% (101) |
| Paihia | NZ | 56 | NZ$187 (47) | NZ$117 to NZ$276 | Sat -0.4% (41) |
| Nelson | NZ | 64 | NZ$180 (55) | NZ$133 to NZ$254 | no pair |
| Gisborne | NZ | 32 | NZ$174 (29) small sample | NZ$156 to NZ$235 | Sat 0.0% (26) |
| Blenheim | NZ | 63 | NZ$172 (49) | NZ$152 to NZ$224 | 0.0% (30) |
| Whangarei | NZ | 76 | NZ$161 (68) | NZ$130 to NZ$201 | Sat 0.0% (53) |
| Palmerston North | NZ | 59 | NZ$157 (52) | NZ$127 to NZ$195 | Sat 0.0% (48) |
| New Plymouth | NZ | 70 | NZ$156 (67) | NZ$120 to NZ$209 | Sat 0.0% (37) |
Market Pulse Basic. public OTA search, same search basis: 1 night, 2 adults, 1 room, cheapest offer; refund and board unknown. Wednesday 11 November captured 12 October 2026. For Hobart and Launceston, some rates returned in NZ$ were converted at the provider's rate; some Paihia rates were also returned in the wrong currency and converted at the provider's rate. Middle shown only where 15 or more properties were priced; under 30 priced is marked as a small sample. Friday premium = median of each hotel's own Fri 6 Nov rate (captured 7 Oct) against its own Tue 10 Nov rate (captured 11 Oct); "Sat" marks a Sat 7 Nov (captured 8 Oct) pair instead. "Seen" = unique properties returned across that market's captured nights, not the size of the market.
Several markets in the table priced fewer than 30 properties on Wednesday 11 November, so their middles are marked as small samples. In all, 5 searches hit or came within two of the 200-property cap that night: Auckland, Christchurch, Rotorua, Gold Coast and Brisbane. In those cities, the count tells you where the search stopped, not how many hotels exist.
How many AU and NZ hotels charge more on a Friday?
Fewer than half. Across 27 markets where hotels could be paired with themselves on Friday 6 and Tuesday 10 November, 733 of 1,707 hotels (42.9%) priced Friday more than 2% above their own Tuesday. 713 (41.8%) stayed within 2%, and 261 (15.3%) priced Friday more than 2% lower. This is a Friday-to-Tuesday comparison, captured four days apart (preview basis).
By market, the median hotel's own Friday premium was above zero in only 8 of the 27 and exactly 0.0% in the other 19. No market had a negative median. The eight with a premium: Townsville (+58.9%), Gold Coast (+30.8%), Brisbane (+15.2%), Sunshine Coast (+9.5%), Noosa (+8.5%), Taupo (+5.3%), Auckland (+2.9%) and Launceston (+1.5%). Five of the eight are in Queensland, which the Queensland Friday premium map by town lays out town by town.
| Market | Country | Pairs | Median own premium | Up more than 2% (share) | Within 2% | Down more than 2% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Townsville | AU | 38 | +58.9% | 29 (76.3%) | 8 | 1 |
| Gold Coast | AU | 116 | +30.8% | 96 (82.8%) | 15 | 5 |
| Brisbane | AU | 135 | +15.2% | 82 (60.7%) | 31 | 22 |
| Sunshine Coast | AU | 109 | +9.5% | 80 (73.4%) | 26 | 3 |
| Noosa | AU | 43 | +8.5% | 25 (58.1%) | 14 | 4 |
| Taupo | NZ | 89 | +5.3% | 51 (57.3%) | 30 | 8 |
| Auckland | NZ | 155 | +2.9% | 79 (51.0%) | 40 | 36 |
| Launceston | AU | 49 | +1.5% | 23 (46.9%) | 16 | 10 |
| Whitsundays | AU | 55 | 0.0% | 26 (47.3%) | 26 | 3 |
| Rotorua | NZ | 164 | 0.0% | 71 (43.3%) | 76 | 17 |
| Blenheim | NZ | 30 | 0.0% | 12 (40.0%) | 17 | 1 |
| Port Douglas | AU | 26 | 0.0% | 10 (38.5%) | 14 | 2 |
| Cairns | AU | 85 | 0.0% | 30 (35.3%) | 40 | 15 |
| St Helens | AU | 23 | 0.0% | 7 (30.4%) | 15 | 1 |
| Queenstown | NZ | 100 | 0.0% | 29 (29.0%) | 30 | 41 |
| Toowoomba | AU | 54 | 0.0% | 13 (24.1%) | 32 | 9 |
| Wanaka | NZ | 30 | 0.0% | 7 (23.3%) | 18 | 5 |
| Marlborough | NZ | 101 | 0.0% | 23 (22.8%) | 66 | 12 |
| Dunedin | NZ | 67 | 0.0% | 14 (20.9%) | 39 | 14 |
| Hervey Bay | AU | 29 | 0.0% | 6 (20.7%) | 20 | 3 |
| Mackay | AU | 48 | 0.0% | 6 (12.5%) | 31 | 11 |
| Gladstone | AU | 28 | 0.0% | 3 (10.7%) | 22 | 3 |
| Sheffield | AU | 29 | 0.0% | 3 (10.3%) | 16 | 10 |
| Agnes Water | AU | 21 | 0.0% | 2 (9.5%) | 17 | 2 |
| Devonport | AU | 34 | 0.0% | 3 (8.8%) | 22 | 9 |
| Bundaberg | AU | 26 | 0.0% | 2 (7.7%) | 13 | 11 |
| Strahan | AU | 23 | 0.0% | 1 (4.3%) | 19 | 3 |
Same-hotel comparison of Fri 6 Nov (captured 7 Oct) with Tue 10 Nov (captured 11 Oct). Pairs under 30 are small samples. Sorted by median, then by share lifting Friday.
By country, 447 of 971 paired Australian hotels (46.0%) lifted Friday, against 286 of 736 in New Zealand (38.9%). Seven markets had a Saturday 7 November pair (Palmerston North, Paihia, Strahan, Kaikoura, Whangarei, New Plymouth and Gisborne). Comparing Saturday 7 November (captured 8 October) with Tuesday 10 November, 164 of 276 hotels (59.4%) stayed within 2%, 75 lifted Saturday and 37 lowered it.
Two cautions. Townsville's +58.9% comes from one Friday whose driver isn't confirmed in this data, from 38 pairs. And a median of 0.0% can hide a split market: in Rotorua, 71 of 164 hotels lifted Friday while most held flat. For the deepest city read in this group, start with the Brisbane Friday premium analysis.
Do hotels price Tuesday and Wednesday the same?
Mostly, yes. Across 41 markets with a same-hotel pair for Tuesday 10 November (captured 11 October) and Wednesday 11 November (captured 12 October), 1,870 of 2,894 hotels (64.6%) had identical rates, within half a percent. Counting everything within 2%, it is 2,029 (70.1%).
By country, 952 of 1,444 Australian pairs (65.9%) were identical, and 918 of 1,450 in New Zealand (63.3%). The most uniform markets were Magnetic Island (95.8%), Stanthorpe and West Coast, all small. The least uniform were two big searches, Christchurch (37.1%) and Brisbane (37.7%), where more hotels move rate night to night.
In every market with 15 or more matched hotels, the median hotel's Tuesday-to-Wednesday change was 0.0%. Where the market middle moved between the two nights, different properties had appeared in the two searches, so that move should not be read as the typical hotel's price change. The full midweek story is in how many AU and NZ hotels priced Tuesday and Wednesday the same.
How wide is the spread of rates in each market?
Spread is the middle 50% of priced properties, from the 25th to the 75th percentile, shown here as a share of the middle. On Wednesday 11 November (captured 12 October), the narrowest band was Bundaberg at 22.7% (A$137 to A$171) (small sample), then Rockhampton at 30.2%. The widest were Queenstown at 107.4% (small sample) and Wanaka at 103.5%.
A narrow band means most properties ask nearly the same, so small differences show on a price-sorted list. A wide band means hotels disagree on price or sell very different products under one place name, so the middle is a looser anchor. In wide markets, position against properties like yours, not the middle alone.
Spread often widens on Friday in markets captured on both Friday 6 and Tuesday 10 November. In the Gold Coast, the middle 50% was 81.8% of the middle on Friday 6 November against 67.8% on Tuesday 10 November. In Townsville it was 82.8% against 33.5%. More disagreement on Friday is itself a signal: some hotels price the night up and others don't.
How should a GM read these numbers?
Start with the method, because it decides what the numbers can and can't say.
- Same search basis. Every rate is the cheapest offer from a public OTA search for 1 night, 2 adults, 1 room, with refund terms and board unknown.
- Market middle. The median of the properties priced that night, published only when 15 or more are priced. It is never a mean across hotels.
- Properties returned. The search is price-sorted and capped at about 200, so the count shows where it stopped, not the size of the market. Some searches overlap, such as Blenheim inside Marlborough and Airlie Beach inside the Whitsundays, so the 4,685 total is a sum of each market's unique properties.
- One capture per stay date. Each night was captured once, between 5 and 12 October 2026. That gives a rate level, never a trend.
- Same-hotel pairs. Friday and Wednesday reads compare each hotel with itself. The market figure is the median of those own changes, never the ratio of two market middles.
- No public rate. A property without a rate on a given search is recorded as no public rate. That is not a sign the hotel was full.
For the wider framework behind these reads, see our complete guide to hotel market demand intelligence. Rate levels here are context. The right rate for your hotel comes from your own occupancy, pickup and guests.
A simple test before acting on any market number: run break-even. Break-even occupancy = your current occupancy × your current rate ÷ the new rate. If a 10% rate step needs you to hold occupancy above a level you rarely reach, the market number is telling you about other hotels, not yours.
Where can I read each market in more detail?
Each market in this table has its own read, grouped by region. In New Zealand, start with the New Zealand hotel rates hub for 19 towns, which leads to the city reads for Auckland, Rotorua, Christchurch, Wellington, Queenstown, Taupō, Marlborough, Dunedin, Wānaka and Northland and central New Zealand.
In Australia, the Queensland reads cover Brisbane, Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, Noosa, Whitsundays and Airlie Beach, Cairns and Port Douglas, Townsville and Mackay and regional Queensland, and the Tasmania roundup runs from Hobart to Strahan. Each one uses the same method and the same capture dates as this page, so figures line up across posts.
RevPARGenius Take
Across 48 AU and NZ markets in November 2026, most matched hotels showed the same or a very similar rate on Tuesday 10 and Wednesday 11 November: 64.6% priced Tuesday 10 and Wednesday 11 November identically, and 42.9% lifted Friday 6 November by more than 2% (captured 7 to 12 October).
Friday premiums concentrate in Queensland's coastal cities, with smaller ones in a few other markets; 19 of 27 markets had a median own Friday premium of 0.0%. Treat every figure as a dated rate level on a preview basis, and let your own data decide your rate.
What to do this week
Five checks any AU or NZ GM can run in under an hour.
- Find your market in the table and place your own Wednesday 11 November rate inside its middle 50%.
- Work out your own Friday premium for 6 November as Friday ÷ Tuesday − 1, and compare it with your market's median.
- Check whether your Tuesday and Wednesday rates are identical, and whether that matches your own midweek pickup.
- List every November night where you show no public rate, and confirm each restriction is deliberate.
- Before changing any rate, run break-even with your real occupancy and write the answer next to the change.
Frequently asked questions
Which Australian hotel market was most expensive in November 2026?
On Wednesday 11 November (captured 12 October), Noosa had the highest market middle of the 29 Australian markets at A$337. On Friday 6 November (captured 7 October), Port Douglas was higher at A$632, though a different set of properties returned a rate that night, so it is not a like-for-like change.
Which New Zealand hotel market was most expensive in November 2026?
Queenstown had the highest Wednesday 11 November middle at NZ$526, but only 20 properties were priced that night. On Tuesday 10 November (captured 11 October), with 177 priced, its middle was NZ$548, still the highest in New Zealand.
Do most AU and NZ hotels charge more on weekends?
Not in this round. Of 1,707 hotels paired across Friday 6 and Tuesday 10 November, 733 lifted Friday by more than 2% and 713 stayed within 2%. The median own Friday premium was 0.0% in 19 of 27 markets.
How many hotels are in this AU and NZ dataset?
The searches returned 4,685 unique properties when each market is counted separately across its captured nights. Some searches overlap and each is capped at about 200, so this is a count of properties returned, not the number of hotels in either country.
Can these November 2026 rates predict future rates?
No. Each stay date was captured once, between 5 and 12 October 2026, which gives a rate level rather than a trend. Use them as a dated reference and check your own pickup as the dates approach.
If you want this read for your own comp set, with your rate and the market middle side by side for every night, RevPARGenius builds it from public rates.
Data sources: RevPARGenius Market Pulse Basic, 48 Australian and New Zealand markets (public OTA search; 1 night, 2 adults, 1 room, cheapest offer; refund and board unknown; some Hobart, Launceston and Paihia rates were returned in the wrong currency and converted at the provider's rate), stay dates Wed 4 to Wed 11 November 2026, captured 5 to 12 October 2026; RevPARGenius cross-market pair summary. Analysis run October 2026. Last reviewed October 2026. RevPARGenius is a hotel market intelligence platform. It is not affiliated with any online travel agency or hotel chain.
Research methodology and disclosures: Market figures in this article are calculated by RevPARGenius from room rates publicly displayed on online travel agency (OTA) channels, on one search basis (1 night, 2 adults, 1 room, cheapest offer shown). We publish a market figure only where at least 15 properties were priced. The figures are advertised asking prices. They do not show occupancy, bookings, negotiated corporate rates or revenue achieved. Worked examples marked as synthetic use invented data. This article is general information, not pricing advice: each hotel sets its own rates independently. RevPARGenius and CloseMode are commercially affiliated platforms.
