BRISBANE will welcome five new hotels and close to 600 new rooms prior to the G20 Leaders Summit 2014 in November, easing a room inventory shortage that has hampered the city’s tourism development in recent years.
According to Brisbane Marketing’s latest guide on hotel investment, the city’s room shortage is causing the market to defer an estimated 278,000 roomnights every year – about 14 per cent of current demand – and an annual loss of about 121,000 visitors and A$140 million (US$131 million) in visitor expenditure.
However, a fresh injection of new hotels currently unfolding across Brisbane’s hospitality scene will “help the city become a world-class destination with accommodation that will appeal to both business and leisure travellers”, said John Aitken, CEO of Brisbane Marketing.
Said Brad Mercer, general manager of Four Points by Sheraton Brisbane, which debuted in March with 246 rooms: “Brisbane as a city is experiencing unprecedented growth and development with major international events hosted there now. This destination is being profiled internationally which makes it beneficial for Starwood to open a new hotel in this market now.”
Meanwhile, the five-star, 680-room Gambaro Hotel opened its doors earlier this month while the 65-room TRYP Hotel by Wyndham and the 48-room Alpha Mosaic Hotel are expected to be ready by mid-2014 in Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley.
By September, SilverNeedle Hospitality would also have completed the A$50 million revamp of The Chifley at Lennons, doubling its room count to 304, which will be renamed as NEXT Hotel, according to the company’s assistant vice president, sales, Mark Pollard.
