’Twas the $1000-a-night before Christmas

With overseas travel out, Aussies are blowing the budget on premium properties in hot spots like Noosa and Byron Bay.

Michele Neylan of Noosa Holiday Rentals, celebrating with inspections officer Erika Drenth, says landlords can pretty much name their price. Picture: Lyndon Mechielsen

With no option to head overseas for Christmas, Australians are blowing their budgets on premium properties in holiday hotspots such as Noosa, Byron Bay, Yamba and the Gold Coast.

Many hotels are already booked out for the peak festive period of Christmas to New Year, and rental homes and apartments are hard to come by.

As demand outstrips supply, money is proving to be no object, with many well-located holiday properties charging in excess of $1000 a night for one-bedroom apartments or suites.

Short-term rental site Stayz.com had nothing left on its books for Byron Bay, Coffs Harbour, Port Macquarie and Yamba in the Christmas week, and just one property each available at Maroochydore and Jervis Bay.

Stayz travel expert Simone Scoppa said they had never seen such high demand for summer holiday rentals. “This is great news for a lot of our holiday homeowners who were impacted so heavily by bushfires last summer and the recent travel restrictions,” Ms Scoppa said.

“Some places up and down the coast are near completely booked for Christmas, so those wanting to get away for a break should look to the third week in January.”

Daniel Finch from travel booking site Wotif said the appetite for cross-border travel was immense, with Gold Coast accommodation searches up 550 per cent compared to last year.

Shepparton in ­Victoria had ­experienced a 615 per cent surge, and inquiries for Agnes Water were up 590 per cent.

“Destinations right across the country are trending with both interstate and intrastate travellers,” Mr Finch said.

Noosa Holiday Rentals principal Michele Neylan estimated that demand for summer homes in the region was up about 25 per cent on previous years, with money no object for those seeking a Noosa Christmas.

Most premium properties were rented for between $5000 and $10,000 a week, and some fetched as much as $15,000.

“It’s a big relief for the local economy. There have been many months of very little activity, so December-January is critical,” Ms Neylan said.

“It’s very important to our shops, our restaurants, tours — the whole economy trades on it.”

The heat in the market was even extending to property sales, with people from interstate buying homes in the area without even inspecting them.

“Our agents are ringing property owners around town and ­offering them money to sell,” Ms Neylan said.

 

There was similar interest on the Gold Coast from interstate residents seeking to permanently relocate to the sunshine strip.

Gold Coast Holiday Homes owner Tammy Stringer said quite a few Victorians were seeking short-term rental properties while they waited for permanent rentals to become available.

“There are a lot of people now calling from Victoria looking to book now that they know borders are reopening,” Ms Stringer said. “But we’ve got absolutely nothing available for the Christmas week, and a waiting list of people looking for accommodation.”

Byron Bay-based company A Perfect Stay was also out of stock for the festive period, other than the occasional “filler” of two or three days in between bookings.

“We have the advantage that we’re not reliant on international visitors and the 10 per cent of the market that does come from overseas has easily been covered by intrastate visitors,” said marketing manager Angela Spehr.

Accommodation Association of Australia chief executive Dean Long said it was great to see such strong demand for regional destinations but the capital cities were not faring so well.

Melbourne in particular was struggling to fill hotel rooms, with the corporate travel market yet to return, and few leisure travellers heading to the Victorian capital.

“It will probably be February or March before a lot of places see business improve,” Mr Long said.

“For anyone looking for a bargain, I’d recommend that they check out the deals at city hotels, especially mid-week.”