‘Up 30 per cent’: Why it’s costing you more to vacation in Qld

Holidaying at home is costing us more, with hotel prices soaring post-pandemic. SEE THE DETAILS

Brisbane's Calile Hotel in Fortitude Valley. Picture: Supplied

Queenslanders are paying 30 per cent more to holiday in their own backyard compared to before the pandemic, with hotel prices on the rise.

Statistics from hospitality data provider STR revealed the average daily rate for a hotel room in the Sunshine State reached $230.41 in June this year, up from $177.04 in 2019.

“Queensland has been a key beneficiary of both an increased demand in the domestic leisure-based sector and the recovery in international arrivals (currently sitting at 85 per cent of pre-pandemic rates),” said CBRE head of hotels research Ally Gibson.

Recording significant price growth has been Brisbane, with the average daily rate for a hotel up 46 per cent from 2019 to $228 in June this year.

With new hotels opening across the Queensland capital, including The Star Grand, Dorsett and Rosewood at the newly developed $3.6b Queen’s Wharf precinct, Ms Gibson said Queenslanders could expect to see accommodation prices continue to rise.

“The new Queen’s Wharf hotel openings are upper to luxury graded hotels which we expect to reach new price guides for our capital city,” she said.

Queen’s Wharf will feature new hotels including The Star Grand, Dorsett and Rosewood.

Queensland Hotels Association chief executive Bernie Hogan said accommodation prices in Brisbane had risen about five to six per cent on average this year, which was in line with inflation and cost increases across the economy.

“When considering increased energy costs, wage and super increases in July and insurance cover increases, the six per cent year-on-year increase is to be expected,” he said.

Mr Hogan said it was difficult to tell how new hotel openings would affect prices, but said the fresh accommodation outlets were necessary to “accommodate the expected growth in tourism numbers”.

The soaring costs means Brisbane’s most expensive hotel per square metre, the much-hyped Calile in Fortitude Valley, is actually more pricey per square metre for the night than Capella Bangkok, which this month claimed the title of No.1 in the World’s 50 Best Hotel awards.

The Calile hotel in Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley. Picture: Sean Fennessey

Capella includes breakfast, bubbles and bonbons with your stay and starts at just over $16 per square metre for a spacious 61sq m room; while the Calile Hotel will set visitors back about $18.50 per square metre for a night in their 27sq m Essential room with breakfast.

Escape managing editor Kelli Armstrong said hotels across the world had risen in price as a result of inflation and global staffing challenges, with The Calile, which was crowned No.25 in the World’s Best list, no exception.

“Everything from the interiors to the amenities and service is world class for a boutique hotel. That said, I have noticed their nightly rate is much less affordable than it was four or five years ago,” she said.

Originally published as ‘Up 30 per cent’: Why it’s costing you more to vacation in Qld