Metro Motel Rockhampton QLD sells for $2.7 million
A Central Queensland has sold for $2.7 million as the city ramps up for its biggest event in Beef Australia later this year.
Rockhampton
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There is strong interest in Rockhampton’s motel industry as one motel has sold for $2.7 million and the new owners are moving from interstate to run it.
The Metro Motel on the highway strip along George Street, near McDonalds and Foodworks, sold in December 2023 for $2,726,500.
The 3.5 star freehold motel has 28 refurbished rooms, with a combination of single, twin and family rooms on a 2,034 sqm block.
It had been owned by the previous owners for 10 years, having last sold in 2013 for $2.38 million.
Knight Frank Rockhampton’s Jonathon Offord conducted the sale and said he had an overwhelming amount of genuine interest in the property, with more than 80 enquiries and multiple offers.
“The new owners have shown huge faith in Rockhampton by selling up in Sydney and moving here to run the motel,” he said.
Porky’s Motel, on the other side of the highway near Hungry Jacks, sold in May 2023 for $900,000.
CLOSED ACCOMMODATION
The Leichhardt Hotel on Bolsover Street has been closed since April 2022, and is now under demolition.
A new development set to take its place will be a single-storey restaurant and bar, with no accommodation.
The Rockhampton Plaza Hotel has been closed off-and-on for the better part of the past decade and requires major renovations before it can be legally reopened.
In October 2023, 16 charges were brought against the hotel occupier by Queensland Fire and Emergency Services as the property did not meet the fire safety requirements of the Fire and Emergency Services Act 1990 and the Building Fire Safety Regulation 2008.
The Rockhampton Supreme Court found it could not reopen unless it complies with the notices from QFES and provides a certificate of from a qualified building certifier.
The Ambassador Motel, which had 32 rooms, on the northside near Emmaus College, has been closed since October 2023, with a tool shop to be built in its place.
It has been destroyed and looted in the few months it has been closed and police are investigating two suspicious fires at the property from two days in a row on February 5 and 6.
Combined, The Leichhardt, Plaza and Ambassador have taken 165 motel rooms out of action in the city.
With the triennial Beef Australia event coming up this year, there is a bigger push on accommodation in the city with motels booked out months in advance.
More and more guests are turning to Airbnbs, and locals are renting out their own homes.
Rockhampton was named the number one search destination on Airbnb by users in Australia from January to September 2023, likely attributed to Beef in 2024.
There are more than 170 Airbnb listings in the Rockhampton area.
Airbnb listings for dates during Beef Australia range from $4,622 for two bedrooms (private floor) in Frenchville ($660.28) and up to $15,886 for a four-bedroom home in Wandal ($2,269.42 per night).
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