AU and NZ Market Pulse · November 2026 · Queensland
Reviewed by Mark Joefer, Hotel Market Intelligence Researcher · 13 October 2026 · 10 min read
Townsville hotel rates for November 2026 hold a tight band midweek, then jump on one Friday. The market middle was A$155 on Tuesday 10 November (captured 11 October) and A$250 on Friday 6 November (captured 7 October), and the median hotel priced its own Friday +58.9% above its Tuesday.
This post reads Townsville, Mackay and Magnetic Island side by side: three neighbouring markets with three different shapes. All rates use the same search basis: 1 night, 2 adults, 1 room, cheapest offer; refund and board unknown.
Townsville hotel rates for November 2026 centre on a market middle of A$155 for Tuesday 10 November (captured 11 October). For Friday 6 November (captured 7 October), the median hotel priced +58.9% above its own Tuesday, the largest Friday premium in AU and NZ, from 38 hotels. Mackay held Friday flat at an A$142 middle.
What are Townsville hotels asking for November nights?
On Tuesday 10 November (captured 11 October), the Townsville search returned 57 properties with a public rate. The market middle was A$155 and the middle 50% sat in a narrow band of A$136 to A$188. On Wednesday 11 November (captured 12 October), the middle was A$148 from 58 properties (middle 50% A$135 to A$186). On Friday 6 November (captured 7 October), it jumped to A$250 from 39 properties, with a much wider middle 50% of A$156 to A$363.
| Search | Night (capture date) | Returned | Middle | Middle 50% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Townsville | Friday 6 November (captured 7 October) | 39 | A$250 | A$156 to A$363 |
| Townsville | Tuesday 10 November (captured 11 October) | 57 | A$155 | A$136 to A$188 |
| Townsville | Wednesday 11 November (captured 12 October) | 58 | A$148 | A$135 to A$186 |
| Mackay | Friday 6 November (captured 7 October) | 48 | A$142 | A$123 to A$171 |
| Mackay | Tuesday 10 November (captured 11 October) | 49 | A$141 | A$121 to A$174 |
| Mackay | Wednesday 11 November (captured 12 October) | 48 | A$141 | A$123 to A$174 |
Market Pulse Basic. public OTA search, same search basis: 1 night, 2 adults, 1 room, cheapest offer; refund and board unknown. Counts are properties returned, not the size of the market.
The Tuesday band is 33.5% as wide as its middle; Friday's is 82.8%. On a normal Townsville weekday, hotels agree closely on price. On Friday 6 November, they did not. Fewer properties also returned a Friday rate (39 against 57 on Tuesday), which on its own says nothing about occupancy: a missing rate is no public rate.
Why is the Townsville Friday premium the largest in AU and NZ?
Hotel by hotel, Townsville's Friday premium is +58.9%. That is the median of each hotel's own Friday 6 November rate against its own Tuesday 10 November rate, across 38 hotels priced on both nights. 29 of them (76.3%) priced Friday more than 2% higher, 8 held it within 2%, and 1 priced it lower. It is a Friday-to-Tuesday comparison, captured four days apart (preview basis).
Of the 27 AU and NZ markets with a Friday pair, it is the largest. The next is the Gold Coast at +30.8%. Read it with two caveats. First, 38 pairs is a modest sample, and a few hotels can move the median. Second, Friday 6 November is one night. A jump this large across most of a town usually points to something happening that night, but the driver isn't confirmed in this data. Check the local events calendar before treating it as a normal Townsville Friday.
The +58.9% figure tells you what Townsville hotels asked for Friday 6 November, captured 7 October. It does not tell you what they ask for an ordinary Friday. If you price that night, check your own pickup for it; if you price other Fridays, compare a quiet Friday in your own extranet.
Midweek, Townsville is calm. Of 57 hotels priced on both Tuesday 10 November (captured 11 October) and Wednesday 11 November (captured 12 October), 43 (75.4%) were identical. Across the three nights, 59 unique properties appeared at least once. For the town-by-town view, see the Queensland Friday premium map. For rate levels in every market, see rates across all 48 Australian and NZ markets.
How does Mackay price the week?
Mackay is the opposite of Townsville. Its market middle was A$142 on Friday 6 November (captured 7 October), A$141 on Tuesday 10 November (captured 11 October) and A$141 on Wednesday 11 November (captured 12 October). The middle 50% hardly moves either: A$123 to A$171 on Friday and A$121 to A$174 on Tuesday. Across the three nights, 49 unique properties appeared.
Hotel by hotel, the median Mackay hotel's own Friday premium is 0.0%. Of 48 hotels priced on both nights, 31 (64.6%) stayed within 2% of Tuesday and 27 were identical. Only 6 lifted Friday, and 11 (22.9%) priced Friday more than 2% below Tuesday. Same Friday-to-Tuesday comparison, captured four days apart (preview basis).
A town where more hotels discount Friday than raise it has a weekday-shaped calendar. This data can't confirm who the guests are, but the pattern is consistent with a weekday-led mix. If that is your market, the pricing questions are about midweek, not Friday, which our guide to when midweek corporate discounts cost small hotels works through.
Midweek, 37 of 48 Mackay hotels (77.1%) were identical Tuesday to Wednesday, with 6 higher and 2 lower.
What about Magnetic Island?
Magnetic Island is a small, separate search off Townsville. On Tuesday 10 November (captured 11 October), it returned 25 properties with a middle of A$318 (middle 50% A$169 to A$401). On Wednesday 11 November (captured 12 October), 28 were returned and the middle was A$302 (middle 50% A$165 to A$403). Both are small samples.
On Friday 6 November (captured 7 October), only 17 properties returned a rate, so the A$222 middle is a small sample, and there is no same-hotel Friday pair for the island. We don't estimate a Friday premium. Midweek is the most uniform we saw anywhere: 23 of 24 paired properties (95.8%) were identical Tuesday to Wednesday, the highest share of any of the 41 markets.
Island rates sit well above mainland Townsville midweek (A$318 against A$155 on Tuesday 10 November, both captured 11 October). It is a different product with ferry access, so the two are not comps for each other.
What would a Friday rate change do to revenue?
We don't know your occupancy, so we give break-even, not dollars. Break-even occupancy = your current occupancy × your current rate ÷ the new rate. The table uses two simple steps, since a one-night median is not a target.
| Rate step | Your break-even occupancy | Worked example at 93.2% (synthetic data) |
|---|---|---|
| +10.0% | your occupancy ÷ 1.1 | 84.7% |
| +20.0% | your occupancy ÷ 1.2 | 77.7% |
Break-even = occupancy × current rate ÷ new rate, which equals occupancy ÷ (1 + rate step). The last column is a worked example (synthetic data): a fictional 40-cabin NZ holiday park at 93.2% occupancy over 90 nights; it is not a real property or market data. Use your own occupancy for the middle column.
In Townsville, the question is about the busy night: did your own Friday 6 November fill early at a rate close to Tuesday's? If it did, that may mean the last rooms sold before the price could respond. In Mackay, the question runs the other way: is a Friday discount winning bookings you would not otherwise get, or giving away rate to guests who would stay anyway?
For the wider set of smaller Queensland towns, the regional Queensland town-by-town read covers Rockhampton, Gladstone, Bundaberg and five more.
RevPARGenius Take
Townsville priced Friday 6 November far above its Tuesday: the median hotel's own premium was +58.9% across 38 hotels (captured 7 and 11 October), the largest in AU and NZ, on a modest sample and one night whose driver isn't confirmed.
Mackay is flat to lower on Friday (0.0% median; 11 of 48 lower). Magnetic Island is the most uniform midweek market we captured. Three neighbouring markets, three different shapes.
What to do this week in Townsville and Mackay
Five checks for a GM in either town.
- Townsville: compare your own Friday 6 November rate with your Tuesday 10 November rate, and check the local events calendar for that date.
- Townsville: look at how far ahead Friday 6 November filled in your PMS, and note it for the next similar night.
- Mackay: if you price Friday below Tuesday, check whether Friday bookings rose when you started doing so.
- Both: list November nights with no public rate for your property and confirm each restriction is deliberate.
- Run the break-even table with your real occupancy before any change, and log the date of the change.
Frequently asked questions
Why were Townsville hotels so expensive on Friday 6 November 2026?
The data shows the jump but not its cause. Most paired hotels priced that Friday well above their own Tuesday, which usually points to something on that night. Check the local events calendar before treating it as a normal Friday.
Is the Townsville Friday premium reliable?
It comes from 38 hotels priced on both nights, a modest sample, and from one Friday and one Tuesday captured four days apart. It is a preview basis. It reliably describes Friday 6 November, not every Friday.
Why do some Mackay hotels charge less on Friday?
11 of 48 paired Mackay hotels priced Friday 6 November more than 2% below Tuesday 10 November. The data does not say why, but a lower Friday is consistent with a weekday-led guest mix. Check your own Friday and Tuesday pickup before copying it.
Are Magnetic Island hotels comparable with Townsville hotels?
No. The island is a separate search with ferry access and a different product mix, and its midweek middles sit well above Townsville's. Use island properties as comps for each other only.
How many hotels are in Townsville?
This data can't say. The search returned up to 58 properties with a rate on a given night, and 59 unique properties appeared across three nights. That is a count of properties returned, not the size of the market.
If you want to see nights like Friday 6 November coming in your own comp set, with your rate and the market middle side by side, RevPARGenius builds it from public rates.
Data sources: RevPARGenius Market Pulse Basic, Townsville, Mackay and Magnetic Island (public OTA search; 1 night, 2 adults, 1 room, cheapest offer; refund and board unknown), stay dates Fri 6, Tue 10 and Wed 11 November 2026, captured 7, 11 and 12 October 2026. 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.
