Noosa beachside eco lodge Domik available for Christmas rent at $100k

Evgeny Skigin’s eco-friendly luxe beach house Domik is one of the last prestige homes available to rent in Noosa this Christmas.

The eco-friendly architecture of Noosa’s Domik is a beautiful backdrop to the pool.

Russian hemp businessman Evgeny Skigin’s eco-friendly luxe beach house Domik is one of the last prestige homes available to rent in Noosa on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast this Christmas.

High above Sunshine Beach and adjacent to Noosa National Park, the multi-domed house is far from prying eyes and covered in green roofs to complement the natural environment.

Completed earlier this year, the three-level, six-bedroom and nine-bathroom property cost an estimated $23m and is available to rent for $50,000 a week in low season.

For the upcoming Christmas and New Year period, the figure doubles to $100,000 for the week.

Domik’s curves go for $100,000 a week in high season.

R&W Noosa Holidays managing director Sue Willis knows there will be takers for the Noel Robinson-designed property, not least because everything else is booked.

“It’s still available although we’ve had a couple of inquiries,” she says of the new listing.

“We’re really targeting the executives out of Hollywood studios on the Gold Coast and going direct to those agents.

“That’s the target market for that kind of property. Once we get all the marketing completed we’ll see a booking for Christmas.”

Up and down the eastern seaboard, travel agents and property managers of luxury homes in coastal hot spots are scrambling for stock, as “no vacancy” signs go up months in advance of the peak season.

But it’s not all bubbly and roses.

With strict travel restrictions still in place, Ms Willis says a decision would need to be made in the coming weeks about forward bookings as 80 per cent of R&W’s business came from people in NSW and Victoria. The remaining 20 per cent of visitors were based in other states and overseas.

“At the moment, we are full and things are looking brilliant,” Ms Willis says.

“We’re not complaining but it’s all a little bit of a false reality. It all depends on the borders. Noosa will be in a spot of bother if the borders don’t open.

“The hardest thing has been the uncertainty.

“We had a rush on bookings after the first lockdown but when the second wave of restrictions were introduced we went from 90 per cent occupancy in September school holidays to 40 per cent occupancy.”

Poolside shelter and comfort in Byron Bay.

Similarly, bookings in the NSW and Victorian hotspots of Byron Bay and the Mornington Peninsula have been snapped up as COVID case numbers ease and wealthy Australians, unable to spend Christmas in Bali, Japan, Europe or the US, swap Sydney and Melbourne for the beach.

Alexandra Ormerod, managing director of prestige holiday booking agency Luxico, says: “After watching 70 per cent of bookings cancel between March and June, we’ve seen a huge upturn from domestic travellers spending extended stays in regional areas.

“This week has been our biggest sales week ever and September has beaten previous sales by nearly 20 per cent. Given 52 per cent of our guests are international, this sales surge represents a huge shift in domestic travel with Aussies spending more on local holidays to make up for the fact that they are not heading overseas.”

An influx of visitors to the laid-back NSW coastal hub of Byron Bay has seen vacancy rates plummet from 7.3 per cent in April to 0.5 per cent by the end of August, according to SQM Research figures.

It’s a trend reflected across many Australian regional areas, with record low vacancies recorded in Sydney’s Blue Mountains (0.7 per cent) and the Mornington Peninsula (0.7 per cent).

Compounding the situation in Byron Bay has been the relocation of city-dwellers to the township indefinitely.

The take-up of short-term holiday homes more permanently has affected the leisure market’s seasonal cycle, Ms Ormerod says.

The high demand has also caused rates to increase, with the most luxurious of properties attracting nightly fees of between $15,000 and $20,000.

Inquiries are already being made for soon-to-be-listed waterfront properties at Airlie Beach in North Queensland, which come with private helipads and a price tag of $15,000 a night.