Darwin Travelodge sale could bring student housing boost

Darwin’s Travelodge is on the market - and the opportunities are limitless. Read why.

Five swimming pools, Treetops Restaurant, a conference room and sun deck are some of many talking points in a rare Darwin CBD property sale.

Agents Savills and Knight Frank have offered for expression of interest sale Darwin’s Travelodge Resort at 64 Cavenagh Street to meet anticipated future demand in student accommodation, with a target for Darwin’s international student population to reach 10,000 by 2030.

Aside from the bling, Travelodge has 224 rooms including 32 townhouses, a gymnasium, events facility, BBQ area, 115 carparking spaces and four separate street frontages on a large central land parcel in excess of 13,000sq m.

Darwin Travelodge is for sale.

The agents say it is an “exceptional opportunity” to “purchase a freehold hotel with vacant possession” and similarly “to repurpose the asset to student accommodation or redevelop to other short term ‘living solutions’.”

Mark Durran, managing director Hotel Capital Markets at Savills Australia and New Zealand, said: “The Travelodge Resort Darwin is a truly unique resort hotel in the centre of Darwin, presenting extremely well after a recent refurbishment of the hotel accommodation and offers extensive resort amenities.

“This asset provides a very rare opportunity for an incoming buyer to add value to an income producing asset by repurposing or implementing a change of use. The 1.31ha site has advantageous zoning allowing near-term student accommodation use as well as longer-term redevelopment.”

Mr Durran said that, following a $4m refurbishment in 2020, the resort was “positioned superbly for future growth”.

It said for the full year 2023, the Darwin market achieved a 33 per cent revenue per available room, based mainly on average daily growth.

Agents say they expect occupancy to continue to recover later this year and in 2025 “as inbound international travel rebounds”.

Darwin Travelodge fills the entire block.

Knight Frank Darwin’s Peter McVann was also optimistic.

“The increased state and federal government spending budget directed into Darwin will only prove to increase economic and cultural growth in the area and bring in more domestic and international visitors and students from overseas.

“The best example of this is the new Charles Darwin University conveniently located adjacent to the Travelodge Resort Darwin.”

More than 5600 international students study in the Northern Territory, contributing about $170m annually to the Territory economy.

Savills Australia director Paul Savitz said Property Council figures showed Darwin was already an undersupplied student accommodation market, with the country’s highest student per purpose built accommodation (PBSA) bed ratio in the country, at 33 students to each bed.

“With Charles Darwin University and the state government aiming to grow international students to 10,000 by 2030, the already severe shortfall of student accommodation will only get worse, with no new accommodation to open in the near term,” he said.

“With Travelodge Darwin being located immediately opposite the new $250m CDU City Campus, the hotel can operate as student accommodation with little modification, and be ready to welcome students in time for when the campus is expected to open in the third semester of this year.”

Travelodge Darwin is offered for sale by Expressions of Interest closing on July 25 at 1pm.