The Western Downs and Central Highlands regions of Queensland have emerged as high demand locations for motels and caravan parks during COVID-19 with infrastructure and resources investments underpinning confidence in the area’s accommodation assets.  

ResortBrokers, Australia’s longest established and most experienced specialist agency operating in the accommodation and hospitality sector, reports it has settled or agreed deals totalling almost $9 million in sales over the past two months in Chinchilla and Blackwater on the back of high enquiry levels.

“These regions have remained largely unaffected by COVID-19 and savvy investors are looking for accommodation assets that are cash flow positive now, with the added bonus of having the potential to increase revenue in the future because of the infrastructure and resources investment,” said ResortBrokers Managing Director Trudy Crooks.

“This investment is driving the local economies. These major infrastructure and resource projects also deliver government and corporate workers who all need somewhere to stay and often their accommodation is needed on a long term basis which is where the motels and caravan parks come in,” Ms Crooks said.

“We’re also hearing from accommodation operators that record cattle prices are also driving confidence in these western Queensland economies.”

In the Western Downs region, infrastructure projects worth $7 billion have been approved or are underway, generating an estimated 3,000 new jobs in construction phases, while the Central Highlands is adding gas and renewable energy as major growth industries along with its traditional coal production and export base.

The recent sales include:

• The freehold passive investment of the Chinchilla Tourist Park for $3.35 million
• Both the freehold and leasehold for the Chinchilla Motor Inn for $2.6 million and $465,000 respectively,
• and the freehold passive investment to the Blackwater Central Motel for $2.395 million.

The purchaser of the leasehold to the Chinchilla Motor Inn was the Brisbane-based hotel management company, Maico Group.  

“We were interested in purchasing a motel business in the Western Downs region as we were excited to hear of the ongoing proposed projects in and around the region,” said Maico Group’s Director of Operations, Brett Myers.

“With the gas projects already providing so much activity to the area, we researched several proposed projects including the renewable energy, solar farms and wind farms as well as other infrastructure projects already in progress to find the Western Downs is going from strength to strength,” Mr Myers said.

“We were confident that if we found the right motel product, there would be an opportunity to provide a form of accommodation for people travelling to the area that is more than just a comfortable bed and friendly service.

“The Chinchilla Motor Inn has allowed us to provide an all-inclusive service of accommodation, food and beverage and training room facilities to suit all travel needs, whether it is for business, leisure, groups or the solo traveller. We are excited to be a part of this great community here.”

The Western Downs has taken a proactive approach towards new developments and has embraced its self-styled moniker as the “Energy Capital of Queensland” and its influx of renewable energy projects is forecast to generate almost $4 billion in the region, according to the Western Downs Development Status Report. There are 25 solar and wind farm projects listed in the report.

The largest renewable energy projects include the Western Downs Green Power Hub and the $1.5 billion Wandoan South Solar Project which is currently under construction 50 kilometres north of Miles.

The Central Highlands region, which includes Blackwater, covers a large section of the Bowen Basin which is Australia’s largest coal reserve with over 100 million tonnes extracted annually.

Major solar and gas projects are also underway to complement the revenue and employment generated out of the Bowen Basin. The emerging solar and green energy industry includes two operational solar farms, one under development and a further nine proposed across the region.

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