Billboard Group Files Plans for $85m Airport Hotel

Billboard company Manboom Group is planning 588 hotel rooms near Sydney Airport, lodging plans with the Bayside Council as the Australian hotel sector eagerly awaits occupancies to rise.

The development application, submitted through the Manboom Pty Limited ATF Outdoor Signage Unit Trust, are for two 12-storey buildings at 50-52 Baxter Road, Mascot.

There are multiple plans in the pipeline for the one-time industrial suburb including Boston Global and Atlas Investment Corporation $130-million 12-storey hotel development.

Manboom’s plans, designed by PBD Architects, include a three-store podium with lobbies, a shared porte-cochere, parking, plant services and a gym, with nine stories of hotel above.

There would also be cafes on each lot, new footpaths, communal rooftop space—and large billboards to the rear of the building.

A 13-storey hotel tower with 301 rooms has already been approved for the site. This proposal would add two towers on the remaining 5950 square metres.

Short-term accommodation is an appropriate future use of the site which is currently used as a carpark and for billboards, according to the application.

“It is compatible with the existing commercial buildings and apartment buildings, as well as the future mixed use and residential character of the locality,” the application said.

“The proposal will positively contribute to the quality and transitioning identity of the locality.”

Construction of new hotels in Australia dropped 13 per cent in 2021 and planning dropped -11 per cent, despite the Asia Pacific market growing 5 per cent.

Sydney recorded occupancy of 45 per cent in December 2021 with an average daily rate of $237—the highest since the end of 2021, according to hotel data group STR.