Cairns fills up fast around big sporting events, festivals and school holidays. With a little forward planning you can capture premium rates and keep occupancy smooth after the crowds leave. Here’s the practical local playbook.
Know your spike types (and how they book)
| Event Type | Booking Pattern | Pricing Move | Min Stay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Endurance / sports | Early team/family bookings + late “last few rooms” rush | Base → Event → Last-rooms premium as availability tightens | 3–5 nights (bigger homes: 4–6) |
| Festivals / arts | Weekend compression; softer mid-week | Stronger Fri–Sun; modest mid-week uplift | 3–4 nights over the core dates |
| School holidays | Longer lead, family clusters | Lift ADR bands across the fortnight | 4–5 nights (homes), 3–4 (apartments) |
Build a simple pricing tier
- Base tier: Your normal weekend/weekday rates for the season.
- Event tier: +10–30% depending on comp set and pick-up.
- Last-rooms tier: Extra uplift when market availability is very low (don’t set and forget—watch pacing).
Minimum stays that protect your net
Every extra clean eats margin. Event weeks are the perfect time to stretch minimum stays and avoid uneconomical churn.
- Event weekend: 3–5 nights; 5 nights for marquee events or premium homes.
- Lead-in / lead-out days: Keep 3–4 nights to “pull” multi-night bookings across the weekend.
- One-night gaps: Auto-block until last-minute and only open if profitable after cleaning.
Pacing checks (your early warning system)
- Pickup vs last year/last month: If you sell out too early—raise the event tier next time.
- Comp set: Track similar listings; mirror uplifts to avoid leaving $$ on the table.
- Window focus: 30/60/90-day dashboards keep you from reacting too late.
Avoid the post-event slump
- Revert quickly: Drop back to shoulder rates the morning after.
- Reopen shorter minimums: 2–3 nights to refill Mon–Wed with late travellers and remote workers.
- Smart promos: “Stay 4, pay 3” beats cutting the nightly rate deep.
Multi-platform note (only if your ops are tight)
Cross-listing can scoop the last rooms, but only with API calendar sync and consistent rules. See our Multi-Platform Hosting playbook.
Quick checklist
- Tag event weeks in your calendar 6–9 months ahead.
- Set event and last-rooms tiers + stronger minimum stays.
- Watch 30/60/90-day pacing and comp set weekly.
- Reset to shoulder rates + shorter minimums after the event.
Want a hand mapping your calendar and pricing tiers for Cairns events? We’ll do the pacing setup and hand you a simple dashboard.
Run the earnings & turnover calculator or book a free consult.