Mr Brownrigg said numbers at the Redwoods were the best since Christmas time.
"The weather played its part as well.
"We had lots of Aucklanders calling on Saturday making inquiries before they left, but they missed out and that saved them a trip.
"We were packed to capacity and that proves there is room for more accommodation, especially at the busy times, but we are getting even busier and are expecting this summer to be fantastic.
"The message we are sending is to book well ahead in advance."
"All of our teams said they were really busy, and they are used to being busy, so I guess that says a lot."
Rotorua Association of Motels chairman Mike Gallagher, owner of Arista of Rotorua and Arista Capri, said he was co-ordinating the www.stayrotorua.nz website on the weekend and "everything was chock full, there was nothing on any other booking sites either".
"It was unbelievable, people were desperate for rooms, the closest room we could find was in Morrinsville.
"I also found a couple rooms in Turangi and a couple of high-end rooms in Taupo."
He said all of the association's 52 motels were booked out for the entire weekend.
"It's a shame not all of the motels are on our website because we would be able to help all of them out."
He said now Rotorua was booming it was time to lift the bar and "start charging accordingly so we can make it a better product for our visitors".
"For too long it's been quite cheap here in Rotorua, some are charging $120 a night, those prices are 10 years old."
Destination Rotorua Marketing general manager Oscar Nathan said he had been recently saying this coming season would be one of the best on record and it was building up already.
"This summer's going to be extra busy with all the additional international demand and domestically with even more visitors from Auckland.
"Three years of the Famously Rotorua campaign in the market and the perception of Rotorua changing is really paying off.
"All good things take time, but we've got a lot of things to do and tourism is only going to get more popular. It's great to have a sense of us coming into our own."
Mr Nathan said it was a good time to be looking at investing in boutique or 5-star accommodation.
"It's also time to build on our service levels and consistency. Businesses need to believe in themselves and invest in themselves," he said.
Skyline Rotorua general manager Bruce Thomasen said visitor numbers at the popular attraction reflected what was happening in town.
"Labour weekend has always been good for us when the weather has been good.
"We are 15 per cent up on our normal Labour weekend numbers."
He said numbers of riders using Skyline's Gravity Park were up as well as their zip line and luge that were "exceptionally busy".
"And the restaurant was really full for the last couple of nights.
"It's really pleasing to see domestic tourism doing so well and this summer is looking like it wil be another record-breaker."
