Lombok Market Pulse, Early Oct 2026: Race Week Fills Mandalika and Mataram’s Star Hotels, Budget Rooms and Gili Lag

As of: Friday 2 October 2026 (Asia/Makassar / WITA)

This Lombok market pulse covers race week: the MotoGP race runs 9–11 October, one week from now. Lodging is tighter than it was a week ago, but not evenly. Mandalika is reported full, Mataram’s star-rated hotels have jumped, its budget hotels have not, Senggigi is high, and the Gili Islands are still an underwriting caution. Every figure carries its source and date, and where two sources differ, both are shown.

Demand meter: tickets sold out (7 Oct)

Troy Reza Warokka, chairman of the organizer and ITDC operations director, said on Monday 28 September that tickets were “perhaps a little over 53 percent” sold (KoranLombok, RRI and InsideLombok, 28–29 September). That is a verbal organizer estimate, not an audited count. He also said the first KTP NTB quota is 100% sold and the next quota is open.

Update, 5 October 2026: on airport traffic, InJourney projects 98,670 passengers from 5 to 15 October 2026, peaking at around 9,600 on 12 October.

For history, Troy’s earlier hard mark on 14 September was 53% general and 91% KTP NTB. The newer figure is a modest move on the general number. For how to treat race week in a rental model, see our MotoGP villa rental underwriting guide.

Update, 8 October 2026: ITDC operations director Troy Reza Warokka said on 5 October that 75% of MotoGP Mandalika tickets had sold as of 3 October (IDN Times). On 7 October he said tickets had sold out, though the final count was still to come (detikBali, Inside Lombok).

Where rooms are: Mandalika and Kuta

On 1 October (H-9), Aulia of Disparekraf NTB said the Mandalika area is about 100% booked for the three race days (SuaraNTB, 1 October). A separate print from the Mandalika hotel association (MHA) put bookings at about 86% (Suara / ANTARA FOTO, 28–29 September), a snapshot taken before the usual lift in the last three to four days. These are different sources on different dates. We show them side by side and do not blend them.

With the core full, overflow is going to camping grounds, camper vans and the new Sade Social Club, which adds 38 rooms (SuaraNTB, 1 October). ITDC’s camping area on the west side of Kuta Beach Park opens on 8 October. Treat this as a capacity-pressure signal, not a rate print or year-round ADR. See our Kuta Lombok property investment page for the longer-term picture.

The Mataram split

Mataram is the clearest change this week, and it is a split.

Aulia expects melati to follow once star hotels fill, but that is an expectation, not a measured number. We do not publish a blended Mataram figure, because the two tiers are not one market.

Readiness is a separate question. Mataram’s tourism office said about 3,000–4,000 rooms, star through melati, are ready for MotoGP, and that it is coordinating an upper-bound tariff with PHRI and the Mataram hotel association, with a public warning against broker and speculator pricing (ANTARA, 24 September). Readiness is inventory, not occupancy. For scale, PHRI counts 3,390 rooms across 145 hotels in Mataram, and 13,039 rooms across 1,123 hotels in Lombok. NTB plus Sumbawa is 1,318 hotels and 15,715 rooms (EkbisNTB / RRI, 23 September).

Earlier prints are the baseline before the 1 October upgrade. PHRI’s Wolini said on 23 September that many rooms were empty, Aruna’s general manager said on 24 September that Mataram demand was not yet high, and Lanang Patra reported about 40% booked on 14 September. Those fit the melati tier today.

Senggigi

Aulia put Senggigi at about 80% on 1 October. MHA gave a parallel 80–90% (Suara, 29 September). On pricing, Aulia said hotel rates across the province are “very good” and there has been no extraordinary increase (SuaraNTB, 1 October). That is a qualitative statement, not an ADR print.

At operator level, Aruna Senggigi’s general manager told RRI on 24 September that the hotel keeps rates “wajar” and tied to demand, and will not raise them without a matching service level. Mid-September coverage from Dinas Lobar named Merumatta, Holiday Inn and Aruna as full or near-full for the race window. That is the older print. See our Senggigi property investment page for the longer view.

Gili caution box

Underwrite Gili as utility risk plus regulatory risk.

• Retribusi lag: the levy target was cut from roughly Rp100B+ to Rp60B, and year-to-date only about Rp7B had been collected by mid-September. Reporting ties the shortfall to uncleared land and contracts (about 65 ha), conservation status and the water crisis (EkbisNTB, 21 September; InsideLombok, 22 September).
• Operations versus legal status: about 10 hotels were back after water reopened on 11 September, and October occupancy was cited at about 50% (Disparekraf / AHG via Ekbis, 16 September). Separately, the Attorney General’s office (Kejagung) is reviewing the TCN director’s dossier. Operations recovering is not the same as legal clearance.
• What is missing: no October figure fresher than 50%, and no legal-status change in the 1–2 October window.

What this means for buyers

• Event income is a pulse, not a base. Tickets sold out (organizer, 7 October), a reported ~100% (Aulia) or ~86% (MHA) in Mandalika, and overflow into camping and new rooms support a race-week thesis. Model those nights separately from your annual case. Our rental yield page covers the base case.
• Mataram: underwrite the tier you are buying. Star-rated stock has the 80–90% print. Melati has about 40%. Do not apply the first to the second, and do not read 3,000–4,000 rooms of readiness as demand.
• Senggigi: high occupancy, no rate data. About 80% and operators describing discipline on rates. Ask the operator for actual race-week rates before you price anything.
• Gili: price the risk. Recovered operations and a ~50% October print do not offset the retribusi shortfall, the open land questions or the Kejagung review. Wait for a legal-status change before changing assumptions.
• Check dates. Several prints above are one to three weeks old, and race-day occupancy will move again before 9 October.

Sources: KoranLombok, RRI, InsideLombok (28–29 September); SuaraNTB (1 October); Suara / ANTARA FOTO (28–29 September); ANTARA Mataram (24 September); PHRI via EkbisNTB / RRI (23 September); RRI (24 September); EkbisNTB (16, 21 September); InsideLombok (22 September). A dated digest, not investment advice.

Author: Brusca

Living in Indonesia for 15 years, with hands-on experience in how the Indonesian real estate industry actually works. Lombok is currently the fastest-growing property market in Southeast Asia. Every listing on this site is vetted where timing allows.