Cairns real estate: Backpacker hostels for sale as Covid-19 ravages international travel
Fancy owning a backpacker hostel right in the guts of town? The sector has been obliterated by international travel bans – so now is your chance.
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NEW names could soon emerge in a slice of the accommodation sector that has taken a particularly nasty knock since Covid-19 struck.
The absence of international travellers has butchered the backpacker hostel market across Australia – and the cut is being keenly felt across the Far North.
Hostels have sat empty, waiting for overseas travellers to finally return.
However, not everyone can hold on.
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In late-June the Tourism Adventure Group, which was behind one of Australia’s biggest hostel franchises Nomads, went into voluntary administration.
The company used to run the Nomads Cairns Hostel on Lake St, which is now known as the Summer House Backpackers Cairns.
Tourism Adventure Group directors believe a rebound in youth travel is on the cards – but plenty of operators are unwilling or unable to hang on.
Here are four backpacker hostels currently on the market in Cairns alone.
Globetrotters International
6 Upward St, Cairns North
■ For sale by expressions of interest
■ Operating as a 26-room, 103-person hostel
■ Currently vacant with no guests
■ Coffee shop has preliminary council approvals in place
■ Marketed as a redevelopment opportunity for specialist medical suites “on the doorstep of the future JCU teaching facility” as part of the Cairns University Hospital upgrade
■ Pool, deck area, common kitchens and barbecue area
■ Off-street parking for five cars
Tropic Days Boutique Hostel
28 Bunting St, Bungalow
■ For sale by formal offer on walk in/out basis
■ Two double-level Queenslanders with a central driveway
■ 12 rooms and 21 beds
■ Currently vacant
■ Covered gazebo and yoga lawn area
■ In-ground pool, barbecue area and extensive gardens
■ Veggie patches and chicken coop
■ Two fully equipped kitchens
Dreamtime Travellers Rest
4 Terminus St, Parramatta Park
■ $650,000 asking price
■ Two-storey Queenslander with 11 rooms and 24 guests
■ All contents included in sale
■ Extra room for live-in caretaker
■ 100m from Cairns Central Shopping Centre
■ Three shared bathrooms, in-ground pool, solar inverters
■Option to buy next-door building with 10 rooms for up to 20 people – currently for sale at $675,000
Asylum Cairns Mega Share House
149 Grafton St, Cairns City
■ For sale by expressions of interest
■ Big 3056sq m block and 1700sq m of buildings
■ Five separate buildings including owner’s residence and offices, accommodation and amenities
■ Corner block with dual frontage to Grafton and Minnie streets
■ Currently tenanted “with good residents who have been there a long time”
Originally published as Cairns real estate: Backpacker hostels for sale as Covid-19 ravages international travel
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