‘Rough Diamond’ Brisbane Pubs to Fix Hotel Undersupply

The Brisbane City Council is making a push to add accommodation to Queensland’s pubs ahead of the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games. 

The council has launched a consultation into its Suburban Pub Stays Strategy, asking pub owners and operators what they need to deliver new hotel rooms and function spaces in the run-up to the Games.

The city has predicted that redeveloping 20 suburban pubs could add 1600 rooms to the hotel supply.

Hotel sector undersupply

According to the council, Brisbane with 46,000 hotel rooms has less than half of Los Angeles at 120,000 rooms and Paris, which has 133,000 rooms. 

With a shortfall of about 30,000 rooms and a 90 per cent drop in hotel construction between 2019 and 2024, the need is becoming dire.

To combat the deficit, the Sunshine Coast Council has also launched its own program that allows increased height and density on certain sites. 

The newly approved Crowne Plaza Maroochydore was the second hotel to benefit from the council’s incentive measures. 

▲ The Crowne Plaza Maroochydore was approved this month.

The Brisbane City Council consultation is allowing the industry to have its say on planning measures that could encourage more of the 260 licensed hotels in Brisbane to add hotel components.

According to advocacy group Suburban Futures, of those licensed venues, more than 70 are on sites of more than 2000sq m of largely underdeveloped land, according to group adviser Ross Elliott. 

“Many of these pubs are in very large sites … and a lot of them are really interested in this, but they haven’t been able to explore it because the current land use just doesn’t allow them to get the scale they need,” Elliott said.

Proving project feasibility

Many pubs said they needed about 60 to 80 rooms for a hotel conversion to be financially viable, Elliott said.

To help make these hotel conversion projects feasible, Suburban Futures has put forward the idea of a relaxation on car parking requirements, density and site cover, as well as infrastructure levy exemptions.

“The notion here is to look at all of the elements that are affecting the financial viability of adding more rooms and meeting facilities to these suburban pubs,” Elliott said.

▲ The Calamvale Hotel was redeveloped by McGuires Group in 2015 to add 60 rooms and a 250-capacity function room.

New hotel construction is becoming pricier, with an estimated 40 per cent increase in hotel room construction costs, prompting the city to turn to existing sites to provide rooms.

“This would be a Tier 3 builder product market. We’re not talking 20-storey buildings that require a Tier 2 or Tier 1 builder, which are completely maxed out at the moment,” Elliott said. 

Renewal opportunity rises

Pubs are already taking on conversions off their own bat. The Brook Hotel at Mitchelton in 2023 underwent a redevelopment by owners ALH Group, part of Endeavour Group, that added 40 rooms as well as function rooms, which was reportedly completed in a year.

Owners of the 160-year-old Glen Hotel at Eight Mile Plains revealed this month plans for a $30-million redevelopment that would add more than 100 five-star hotel rooms ahead of the 2032 Games.

The strategy provides a “city-wide suburban renewal opportunity,” Elliott said. 

“It’s not going to happen everywhere. There might only be 20 pubs taking up the opportunity out of 200 or so licensed premises across Brisbane, but I would not be surprised if you saw Moreton Bay, Logan and Ipswich have a look at this as well.

“We’ve been driving past these rough diamonds for years and years, and now we have an opportunity to look at them in a fresh light.”

The consultation is open until February 28, 2026.