Industry Trends
What's moving in the asset classes — visa cohorts, lender appetite, CapEx cycles, regulatory drift.
Visa cohorts and what they mean for backpacker demand.
Working-holiday-visa intakes for 2026 are tracking 18% above pre-COVID. The implications for backpacker occupancy are not small.
what's cool in The INDUSTRY
Copacabana Palace Rio de Janiero, Brazil
Market Outlook: Victoria
In this Q&A, our local Victorian brokers Chris Boschetti, East Victoria, and Hugh Thomas, West Victoria, talk about high buyer demand, the diverse occupancy drivers for their zones, stamp duty concessions for regional assets and the benefit to traditional accommodation businesses the upcoming Airbnb surcharge is likely to have.
Market Outlook: Brisbane Management Rights
A management rights specialist broker since 2011, Alex is the 2023 REIQ Commercial Salesperson of the Year, and a short-listed nominee for the upcoming 2024 awards, as well as ARAMA’s 2023 Broker of the Year.
- 27 Sept 2024Read →
Market Outlook: South Australia & Northern Territory
To ignore the regions is to ignore opportunity, writes our SA & NT broker Kelli Crouch.
- 26 Sept 2024Read →
Market Outlook: NSW Central Coast
Jacqueline Featherby, our broker on NSW’s Central Coast, on why buyer demand in her zone remains sky high.
- 6 Dec 2023Read →
What’s Cool In The Industry
Director of New Developments and Hotels Tim Crooks checks in to check out the hottest hotel experiences.
- 19 July 2023Read →
What’s Cool In The Industry
Director of New Developments and Hotels Tim Crooks checks in to check out the hottest hotel experiences.
- 22 June 2023Read →
What’s Cool In The Accommodation Industry
Director of New Developments and Hotels Tim Crooks checks in to check out the latest in the hotel industry.
- 9 May 2023Read →
Gold Coast Tourism By The Numbers
Although the challenges of state borders acting as barriers for tourism operators seem in some ways a distant memory, Queensland’s borders only reopened a little over a year ago — 17 December 2021 to be precise.
- 1 Mar 2023Read →
What’s Cool In The Accommodation Industry
From “Zero Star” hotels to $60,000 beds and tiny snug rooms in between, Director of New Developments and Hotels Tim Crooks dives under the doona to check out the latest trends.
- 30 Nov 2022Read →
What’s Cool In The Accommodation Industry
What’s Cool In The Accommodation Industry with Tim Crooks
- 15 July 2022Read →
What's Cool In The Accommodation Industry
From luxury brands in bed with high-end hotels, to cryptic ways to pay for your vacation, and new methods to measure your sustainability, Director of New Developments and Hotels Tim Crooks looks at the latest trends in the industry.
- 16 Dec 2021Read →
Regional demand still runs strong
From the start of this financial year, it feels like we’re all aboard a runaway train with a slew of sales going through to settlement and levels of inquiry which we’ve never experienced previously. A large percentage of the inquiry is from people who are reassessing the way they want to live, with COVID-19 the obvious reason behind that.
- 23 Sept 2021Read →
The Rise Of Ecotourism & Glamping
If you love the idea of getting out into the great outdoors but are not keen on the creepy crawlies, a sleeping bag full of sand or mud or the thought of needing a shovel to go and dig a toilet, then glamping might be a good alternative for you.
- 18 June 2021Read →
Strong turnout for management rights seminar a sign of demand in Brisbane
Around 40 people turned out for the latest Management Rights Made Easy seminar in Brisbane, highlighting the strong demand for assets in this accommodation sector.
- 7 Dec 2019Read →
TOP SPA & WELLNESS TRENDS
Today’s resorts and hotels have a dizzying array of wellness and spa treatments on offer from fully immersive health retreats to meditation and yoga and massage and facials. But if you’re looking for something a little bit different, there’s also plenty of new experiences to consider. Here’s our top pick of what’s trending across Australia right now.
- 17 Sept 2019Read →
Market Update With Greg James: Why Our Region Is Set To Benefit From A Surge in Tourism
The Gold Coast market had a bit of a hiccup obviously during the Commonwealth Games and the debacle that went on there, but it's really bouncing back and the accommodation industry is strong. There has been a lot of development on the Gold Coast with infrastructure projects like the tram service, but motel sales are few and far between and obviously the caravan parks are pretty well-controlled by the councils and the government.
- 27 Aug 2018Read →
Queensland’s Tourism Growth
It’s widely acknowledged that tourism is a primary engine of economic growth in Queensland. Infrastructure development, it can be said, is the fuel for that engine. A new wave of public and private infrastructure investment is set to propel our visitor economy forward over the coming years.
- 6 Oct 2015Read →
Tourism boosts sales
Investment in accommodation property in the Cairns region is continuing to climb on the back of strong tourism demand, favourable exchange rates and rising property market confidence.
- 20 July 2015Read →
The Many Faces of the Tourism Industry
Continuing our series profiling the many faces of Australian tourism and accommodation, we introduce you to the leaders and innovators, characters and canny operators of our industry. These are their stories.
- 3 Feb 2014Read →
The Sunshine Coast - The Tourism Industry is show up there!! Isn't it?
Phrases like this are common when I speak with buyers from my database on my regular contact calls. What is frustrating is that the press still hasn't got it that we are not only open for business, but we on the Sunshine Coast were never really impacted at all from the floods and cyclone Yasi, apart from the perceptions from sections of the media who seemed to think all of Queensland was closed for business. But far from it - The recent Audi Noosa Food and Wine Festival drew an estimated 27,000…
- 1 Jan 2014Read →
New Motels Needed to Satisfy Demand
Demand for accommodation in some areas of Australia, particularly in towns and cities servicing the mining and resources sector, far outstrips supply. Property developers frustrated with a sluggish residential market might do well to turn their attention to building new motels. Australia’s first modern American-style motel opened in Bathurst in 1954. Today there are roughly 3,800 motels across the country. But I’d say we would be lucky if 100 of these have been built during the last 15 to 20 ye…
- 27 Dec 2013Read →
The Importance of Management Rights to the ongoing sucess of the QLD Tourism Industry
It's a fact that the management rights industry in conjunction with unit owners who have entrusted their units to short-term letting, form the backbone of the Queensland Tourism Industry. The majority of apartment owners are mum and dad investors who bought an investment apartment with the long-term dream of retiring in sunny Queensland. The boom years for property development of the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s saw large numbers of apartments built, which in turn provided the accommodation that enabled…
- 19 Nov 2013Read →
Foxy Robinson - A Legend Of Top End Tourism
John ‘Foxy’ Robinson’s climb to prominence in the Top End is the stuff of legends. From an abattoir worker to number ?? on the Northern Territory’s ‘most powerful’ list, his is one of Australia’s greatest accommodation industry success stories. Knowing John Robinson’s ‘rags to riches’ tale, it is natural to assume his nickname owes to his cunning ingenuity, his ability to go after and get what he wants. But no. ‘Foxy’ is simply an innocent tag bestowed in childhood because of his red hair. Yet,…
- 13 Nov 2013Read →
Brisbane Motel Market Update
2008 to the Present Market The period leading up to 2007 and 2008 was very strong for Brisbane motels. A strong trading environment, coinciding with a property boom, resulted in motels being tightly held and in high demand. This market continued even into the early stages of the GFC. Although motels took a little longer to be affected, in 2009 and 2010 we saw a downturn in trade, and at the same time an increase in motel listings. Vendor and purchaser expectations were not always aligned, and t…
- 31 Oct 2013Read →
A Word On Finance Trends
Interesting developments in the accommodation industry lately, particularly with the lenders. After the GFC most lenders really restricted lending to business unless they had real estate based security. So called specialised lending for assets such as motels’ caravan parks and managements rights was impacted by the events of 2007 – 08, particularly for leaseholds. Over the ensuing years bank credit policy has slowly improved ad the appetite for funding these assets is now as good as it’s been f…
- 30 Aug 2013Read →
Sunny Outlook - Plan to put the Shine Back on Queensland Tourism
If a ‘change is as good as a holiday’, Queensland has embarked on the trip of a lifetime. The March vote to change the government could not have been more emphatic. Even before the new LNP team had their feet under the desks, a palpable mood of optimism had begun to reinvigorate the Sunshine State’s tourism industry. Tourism is back at the big table, recognised by Premier Campbell Newman as one of the “four pillars” on which he will rebuild Queensland’s economy. Relishing the new senior cabinet…
- 16 Aug 2013Read →
Tourism Apps - Changing the Way We Holiday
Up until a few years ago, the array of paraphernalia crammed into your average holiday maker’s backpack could be quite awe-inspiring. Invariably, there would be several badly folded maps, some dog-eared guide books, a misleading phrase book (destined to be more of a hindrance than a help), an out-of date currency converter, a note book crammed with people and places to visit, some reading material, a couple of cameras, flight and accommodation bookings and perhaps a mobile phone, to name but a…
- 14 Aug 2013Read →
Tourism Australia Unveils New Marketing Push in Asia
Tourism Australia has today confirmed plans to accelerate its marketing activities in Asia, with four key strategic projects to be funded this year under the Australian Government’s new Asia Marketing Fund. The new funding - worth up to A$48.5million over the next four years – aims to generate greater visitation and economic returns from Australia’s fastest growing tourism region, expected to deliver A$19 billion in annualised tourism spending by the end of the decade. The fund is in addition t…
- 26 July 2013Read →
Management Rights and Leasebacks: Valuation Risk and Market Demand
Last month I broached the subject of NRAS in the context of management rights. To my surprise (no, really) many of the parties who chose to provide feedback on the article simply failed to grasp the concept. The banks seem to have a wildly divergent view of the situation although discussions would suggest that some of the lenders policy makers need to have a cup of tea and a good lie down ! Like many new ideas I suspect that over time the NRAS model will find its place in the management rights…
- 25 July 2013Read →
Stella Deal Comes as Domestic Tourism Lifts
Big news on two fronts greeted me when I returned refreshed after two weeks holiday in Bali – fund manager MFS’s sale of half its Stella travel and accommodation business, and the release of figures confirming the continued revival of domestic tourism in Australia.First to the Stella deal. Congratulations must go to our own Gold Coast based MFS, which announced the massive sale of a half-stake in its travel and accommodation assets for a reported $1.2 billion. This is quite likely the biggest d…
- 17 July 2013Read →
The many faces of the tourism industry - Allan Walls
It is pure coincidence that the first sales business opened by Allan Walls in the early 1970s specialised in selling caravans. Ultimately, it wasn’t caravans so much as caravan parks that would come to dominate his successful business life. Four decades later, Allan Walls is widely considered to have been one of Australia’s foremost caravan park sales specialists, and a great contributor to the industry he came to love. Though now retired from business broking, Walls is a national director of B…
- 3 July 2013Read →
Tourism Informer Editorial: July 2012 - Don’t Worry, Be Happy
For those of you who study such things this will come as no shock. It turns out the name Rebecca, loosely translated, is ancient Hebrew for Born Under a Bad Sign. I kid you not and should there be any doubt I’ll introduce you to my daughter, innocently christened by that very name. Yes, it is true that as an infant she was truly beautiful of mind and spirit but as the teenage years approached the awful truth became clear. The thousands of dollars on private school fees translated to numerous fa…
- 3 July 2013Read →
Tourism: State of the Nation
I recently attended the Tourism & Transport Forum (TTF Australia) Outlook ’07 conference, which attracted CEOs from Australia’s leading accommodation, aviation and tourism companies.Many operators are still complaining about the “same old things” – no money to refurbish, can’t find good staff, overly aggressive room discounting, etc. Key challenges raised by delegates were:
- 5 Mar 2013Read →
3 to -star accommodation in demand
Twenty-six per cent of domestic tourists stayed at a three or four-star motel or hotel on their last domestic holiday, compared to 43% who took the cheaper option of staying with a friend or relative, according to the latest Roy Morgan Research Single Source data.Best Western is the most popular motel/hotel brand, with 20% of holidaymakers who have stayed at a motel or hotel in the last 12 months choosing Best Western. Serviced apartments or rented houses/units are growing in popularity with 19…
- 18 Dec 2012Read →
Green Shoots (Accommodation industry benefits from tourism funding)
Accommodation Industry benefits from tourism funding
- 28 Mar 2012Read →
Break into the Victoria Tourism Market with your own Resort
Owning your own resort would be a great way to start out in tourism property investment if you are interested in carving out your own niche in the Victoria tourism market. You can venture into this with the professional service and expertise from Resort Brokers.