Revealed: Brisbane hotel rooms now cost $274 a night

Brisbane hotel rates have surged 40 per cent to $274 a night as the inner city booms, with international students now making up one-fifth of CBD residents.

(clockwise from top left) The Wendy's opening in the Queen Street Mall; the Kangaroo Point green bridge has been a hit; Committee For Brisbane's Jen Williams; the record Ekka crowd on the last day of the Show this year.

Brisbane is booming but there’s a big downside for visitors, with a hotel building crunch driving room rates up by 40 per cent in just one year to $274 a night, the latest economic snapshot of the inner city has revealed.

Overseas students now also made up one in five of all residents in the CBD, the 2025 Inner City Vitality Report found.

The Committee for Brisbane research painted a picture of a modern city which has well and truly turned the corner on the Covid lockdown era.

CEO Jen Williams said the report showed the inner city was far more than a hub for office workers, with thriving education, tourism, arts, retail and residential sectors.

“The number of people visiting the South Brisbane cultural precinct and attending major events is phenomenal,’’ Ms Williams said.

“As an example, over 425,000 people visited the Ekka in August, backed up by over 500,000 at Riverfire in September.

“The Queensland Museum welcomed almost 2.3 million visitors last financial.

“Hotels and dining establishments are seeing similar demand.’’

The report found only 834 hotel rooms have been built in the inner city since 2021, underscoring fears of a visitor accommodation shortage by the 2032 Olympics.

But in some good news, the Vitality report revealed that 3554 new hotel rooms were under construction this year, mostly in the CBD and South Brisbane.

The education sector still has not fully recovered from the federal government’s visa crackdown.

Despite that international students were an important driver of inner-city activity.

The report said each student contributed about $55,000 per year to the broader economy, spread across retail spending, leisure and tuition fees.

In the CBD, students spent up big on eating out and luxury goods.

Ms Williams said active transport had boomed, helped by the Kangaroo Point green bridge, with the CBD recording more than 13.5 million trips on e-scooters in the past six years.

“While the number of people getting around by active transport or utilising the bus network continues to grow, patronage of the city’s rail network is now lower than it was in the years post-COVID,’’ she said.

“The State Government has invested heavily in 50c fares, however this is failing to translate into new public transport users.

“This reinforces the importance of major new infrastructure, like Cross River Rail and Metro, along with the need for further investment in ‘first and last mile’ connections that continue to create a barrier for many users.’’

A swag of major new health projects were expected to boost the economic contribution of the sector in coming years.

They included: the St Vincent’s Health Precinct in Kangaroo Point; Wickham Private in Spring Hill; Buranda Health Hub; Princess Alexandra Hospital expansion; Herston Quarter; Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital upgrades.

Despite the impact of work from home, vacancy rates in Brisbane’s office market remained at historic lows.

About 136,000sq m of office space was under construction in CBD.

Newly-built projects such as Cbus Property’s 30-level North Quay tower, which was already fully tenanted, showed the strength of the sector.

The Cbus tower also highlighted the tricks developers and bosses were using to lure office workers back to the inner city, including a 25m lap pool, wellness deck and 210-seat auditorium.

Brisbane faces a hotel room crunch. Picture: Sandy Gillis

“Brisbane’s office market has continued to rebound faster than many other world cities,’’ the Vitality report said.

“Additional supply of commercial office space remains tight in the city centre, compared to the previous year.

“Business registrations continue in an upward trend from 2022, at more than 10,500 concentrated in the CBD.’’

For the first time there were more than 2000 registered retail businesses in the inner city this year.

Queen Street Mall had a record eight million pedestrian movements in the year to July despite recent major closures.

New retailers included Wendy’s burgers and more than 110,000sq m of new retail space was proposed including Queens Wharf and Post Office Square.

“Even through tough times like the pandemic and cost-of-living pressures, Brisbane’s dining scene has kept growing,’’ Harajuku Gyoza, Spaghetti House, Fritzenberger, Ma Pa Me and Yoyogi craft brewery owner Andrew Jeffreys said.

“That kind of resilience doesn’t happen by accident. It’s built on creativity and quality and backed by a vibrant city that’s constantly evolving.

“Right now, it feels like Brisbane is stepping into its next chapter.’’

Leading unit developer Pikos Group said Kangaroo Point had been a star performer in the residential market, posting the highest median rent in the inner city at $680 per week.

The residential vacancy rate was at a low of 1.35 per cent, one-quarter of what it was during Covid lockdown, underpinning prices.

“The opening of the Kangaroo Point green bridge and Dexus’ Waterfront development has been a game-changer, catalysing the revitalisation of Edward St retail and restaurants,’’ CEO Michelle Wooldridge said.

“This gateway to the city has been reshaped and, in this context, has firmly established Kangaroo Point as one of Brisbane’s most premium inner-city precincts.’’