Sorry if I sound like a typical Murican Yank here. I am deciding to visit Australia sometime in January or February of next year, but I am planning to be in Sydney and maybe the Gold Coast. I am surprised at the amount of nice hotels in the CBD costing less than 150 USD to 225 AUD a night. I cannot find this in Chicago or Toronto unless I go in the middle of winter and have to endure -15°C weather.
Accommodation in US capital cities is pretty expensive. Inflation has hit the US harder than Australia over the past few years.