Star power: fresh bid to attract luxury hotels

The Sunshine Coast has launched an initiative to attract new luxury hotel brands to create jobs, retain talent and boost our vital tourism industry.

The region has long been a mecca for family and drive-market tourists, but urgently needs more four- and five-star, full-service hotels to provide greater variety and grow visitation.

Four-star hotels currently account for 34 per cent of the region’s accommodation with five-star offerings making up only one per cent.

Sunshine Coast Council has recognised the opportunity to attract more luxury brands, including international chains, and their huge potential flow-on benefits to our community and economy.

These include hospitality careers, education, extra business for local food and beverage providers, as well as construction work close to home.

To encourage the development of more upscale hotels, including boutique hotels, Council has supported the Accommodation Hotel Incentives Strategic Policy.

At the Ordinary Meeting on Thursday August 29, Councillors endorsed financial and non-financial incentives to encourage the development of upscale hotels (four-star and above) in specific locations in Alexandra Headland, Mooloolaba, Maroochydore, Cotton Tree, Caloundra, Nambour, Sippy Downs, Coolum and Beerwah.

The Accommodation Hotel Incentives Strategic Policy offers:

• A waiver of development application fees for code assessable development
• A reduction in and deferral of infrastructure charges for code assessable development
• A free personalised case management pre-lodgement service
• A dedicated development assessment team
• A waiver of temporary works fees

Sunshine Coast Mayor Rosanna Natoli said Council acknowledged that the region needed to encourage and incentivise the development of four- and five-star hotels, which would add great value and variety to the Sunshine Coast’s offerings.

“We hope the immediate introduction of the policy signals to industry that Council is serious. We want and need four- to five-star globally branded hotels,” Mayor Natoli said.

“We must address the shortfall in serviced visitor accommodation of more than 2,000 hotel rooms. Even just two or three upscale hotels would provide a massive boost to our economy.”

Every additional hotel is estimated to create 422 new local jobs during construction,165 new jobs annually and inject $29.5 million into the Sunshine Coast economy each year.

Why we need to be more competitive

Mayor Natoli said the package had been developed in consultation with hotel industry experts.

“These experts have advised that this package would make the Sunshine Coast more competitive among comparable regions,’’ Mayor Natoli said.

“More luxury hotels would complement the Sunshine Coast Airport international runway, which provides a direct gateway to our region, increasing the potential for tourism dollars.

“We need to provide a breadth of accommodation options to suit different needs. About 70 per cent of our current visitor accommodation is self-catering, limited-service apartment accommodation.

“We need to attract more full-service international brands to attract new markets, including international and high-value visitors.”

Visit Sunshine Coast CEO Matt Stoeckel said that the main barrier to encouraging thousands more international leisure travellers was the lack of globally recognised four- or five-star hotels.

“For the year ending March 2024, our region attracted 4.2 million domestic and 311,000 international visitors, who stayed a total of 19.5 million room nights,” Mr Stoeckel said.

“What’s more, the Sunshine Coast has huge potential to grow its business, conference and leisure markets if there is greater investment in new and renovated quality hotel developments.”

The countdown to the Games is on

Mayor Natoli highlighted how important the right mix of accommodation was to capitalise on the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

“The Games are now only eight years away and we are working hard to see more legacy opportunities and benefits come to our region,” Mayor Natoli said.

“Ensuring we can provide accommodation options for the influx of competitors, support staff and spectators is necessary to deliver a successful Games and importantly, these hotels will continue to support our region’s economy long after the Games have ended.

“And while we wait for the throngs of Olympic visitors to hit our shores, our community can enjoy the benefits such as new restaurants and roof top bars.”

Council is also undertaking community consultation on a proposed Temporary Local Planning Instrument to allow for additional building height, in areas where hotels are already able to be built, and a reduced number of on-site car parks for hotels that meet certain eligibility criteria.

This applies to less than 1 per cent of the Sunshine Coast region and is unlikely to result in development substantially different to existing development.

Fast facts

• The region welcomes more than 4.4 million overnight visitors per year, generating $4.2 billion in visitor expenditure.
• A total of 2,450 new hotel rooms are required on the Sunshine Coast over the next decade.
• If the Sunshine Coast was to accommodate five per cent of the total number of rooms required by the Olympic community, then the region would require the equivalent to around six to seven new hotels to meet the demand.
• Upscale (four-star) hotels account for 34 per cent of the Sunshine Coast region’s accommodation with only one per cent luxury (five-star).
• The Sunshine Coast is the third highest visited region in the state behind Brisbane and the Gold Coast.