Huge interest in Hobart Travelodge

Hobart’s Travelodge hotel is expected to fetch more than $20m when it is sold in May.

The inner-city hotel hit the market this week and the firm selling the property has been flooded with inquiries from potential buyers.

Hotel real estate specialists JLL Hotels & Hospitality Group is selling the hotel, which they say will be the first major hotel sale in Hobart in three to four years.

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JLL executive vice president of investment sales Peter Harper says they launched the property on Tuesday and have been overwhelmed by an “incredible amount of interest”.

He says it speaks volumes about the state of Australia’s hotel market and investors’ growing desire to look at opportunities in Tasmania and Hobart in particular.

Harper says there is a severe lack of opportunities to buy hotels interstate — including just one asset for sale in Sydney.

We are expecting a good level of interest in the Travelodge Hobart, but I was surprised at how much there has been in such a short amount of time

“We have seen groups that traditionally focus on eastern seaboard capital cities or only Melbourne and Sydney have now been priced out of these cities, or they simply can’t find any available stock,” he says.

“Investors are looking further afield.

“We are expecting a good level of interest in the Travelodge Hobart, but I was surprised at how much there has been in such a short amount of time.”

Macquarie St’s Travelodge was last on the market in 2013 and CoreLogic RP Data statistics show it sold for $13.65 million.

Harper says he is expecting to achieve a sale price in the “high 20s”.

“This is a reflection of how the property is performing, and where the market sits,” he said.

Travelodge Hobart is operated by TFE Hotels.

Its owners are selling to pursue new opportunities.

The EOI will close on May 26.

Meanwhile, LJ Hooker Hobart recently sold an office block next door to Bathurst St’s Midcity Hotel for $11 million.

Managing director Mark Devine says the sale is an outstanding result.

He says the new owners are now considering converting the building into an apartment-style hotel and a retail arcade.

This article from The Mercury was originally published as “Hobart Travelodge in Macquarie St tipped to sell for well over $20m“.