M&N Posted June 14, 2019 Share Posted June 14, 2019 I’ve been a long-time follower of the forum, but this will be my first time posting. I was just wondering if anyone has ever run a hotel, guesthouse, or motel business in Australia, because I would be very interested to get some feedback – both positive and negative experiences. I’m a Pom with Australian citizenship and my wife’s Aussie. We decided to have a sea-change almost three years ago so we upped sticks from Brissie and moved to Chiang Mai, Thailand, where we’ve been running a small guesthouse. On the whole it’s been great but our three-year lease will soon be up and we’ve decided to move on to pastures new. I‘d give it another three years here but my wife is keen to get back to family and friends. Now we have some experience under our belts, we are thinking about leasing a small motel business in Queensland or Northern NSW. We’ll need to sell our house in Brisbane (which we’ve been renting out) to finance this so there's some risk involved, but we are both up for the challenge and would like to do this for the next 10-15 years until we retire. I’m assuming that you don’t need any special qualifications to run the motel in Australia, but I imagine there’s a lot more compliance than in Thailand to deal with. I’ve already done a fair amount of research but I would be very grateful to hear from anyone with experience, who can point out potential fit pitfalls. Many thanks in advance! Maree & Nathan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MARYROSE02 Posted July 31, 2019 Share Posted July 31, 2019 I know nothing about running any kind of business but selling your house to finance a business sounds scary, although if you are buying another property it might be so bad. I've got a feeling that the cafes and restaurants in my part of Sydney are doing it tough at the moment. Perhaps there are too many of them but I would think the rents and other costs are high. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoll Posted July 31, 2019 Share Posted July 31, 2019 We havent but my DH's cousin did run a country motel and it damned near killed him. He was fortunate enough to own the motel outright but the tie of having to be there 24/7 ran them into the ground and they eventually decided they needed a life and put in managers but he's struggling with the manager he has at the moment. A motel owner we spoke to in Clunes was very disparaging about the whole thing but, then, Clunes is hardly the centre of the tourist world. On our recent trip we encountered a number of Chinese/East Asian motel owner/managers, they generally don't mind hard work I guess. It isn't something I would be doing but you've got the experience under your belt I guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ali Posted July 31, 2019 Share Posted July 31, 2019 No, experience, but I would imagine that the right location will be the key. Thinking aloud - do people still go to guest houses rather than hotels/motels here in Aus? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted August 1, 2019 Share Posted August 1, 2019 From a customer's perspective, I'd expect running a guest house in Australia would be tough. Firstly, I don't find that Australians have a tradition of bed and breakfast/guest houses. When people go on holiday, they stay in a motel, or a hotel, or a holiday apartment. The only places where you see a lot of guest houses is in "olde worlde" tourist areas like the Southern Highlands, where it fits that "quaint" vibe. Secondly, there's AirBnB, which is huge in Australia. Nowadays when I'm travelling interstate, I go straight to AirBnB because I know it's going to be the best value. Take some time to browse through the site and see whether you could afford to compete. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toots Posted August 1, 2019 Share Posted August 1, 2019 53 minutes ago, Marisawright said: From a customer's perspective, I'd expect running a guest house in Australia would be tough. Firstly, I don't find that Australians have a tradition of bed and breakfast/guest houses. When people go on holiday, they stay in a motel, or a hotel, or a holiday apartment. The only places where you see a lot of guest houses is in "olde worlde" tourist areas like the Southern Highlands, where it fits that "quaint" vibe. Secondly, there's AirBnB, which is huge in Australia. Nowadays when I'm travelling interstate, I go straight to AirBnB because I know it's going to be the best value. Take some time to browse through the site and see whether you could afford to compete. Self catering accommodation is pretty common here. This place round the corner from us is always busy. http://www.birchwoodontheriver.com.au/ There are two motels in our street (close to the sea) and one of them is always full the other which has changed hands twice in 5 years never seems to be busy. I don't know why as it looks a very nice place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted August 1, 2019 Share Posted August 1, 2019 21 minutes ago, Toots said: Self catering accommodation is pretty common here. This place round the corner from us is always busy. http://www.birchwoodontheriver.com.au/ There are two motels in our street (close to the sea) and one of them is always full the other which has changed hands twice in 5 years never seems to be busy. I don't know why as it looks a very nice place. That's what I mean. It's either self-catering or a motel - guest houses are less common I think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toots Posted August 1, 2019 Share Posted August 1, 2019 My oldest friend from school days has just sent me some pictures of a recent school reunion. The first photo is of our class in 3rd year secondary school. The next few pictures are of the ex pupils who made it to the reunion which was roughly half the class as sadly some of the pupils are dead and the others are now living abroad. Most of them in the current photos I haven't seen since I left school. Some have aged very well others not so much. My friend said they had a lovely evening in a local pub and out of the group only 2 (one of them is my friend) had lived continuously in the area since leaving school. The others travelled from Kent, Sussex, Yorkshire, the Midlands, Edinburgh and Glasgow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MARYROSE02 Posted August 1, 2019 Share Posted August 1, 2019 8 hours ago, ali said: No, experience, but I would imagine that the right location will be the key. Thinking aloud - do people still go to guest houses rather than hotels/motels here in Aus? Last time I did a big road trip, nearly a decade ago, I stayed in either pubs or motels, both with disadvantages and advantages. Pubs are usually cheaper and you can get a meal but you don't normally get an ensuite room, plus you may have to drag your bags up a flight of stairs. With motels you can usually park right outside your room and you get an en suite but it's dearer and you may not get a meal on site. Some of the pubs have been converted into hostels with multiple bunks in the rooms, which may have happened with some motels? There are guest houses in Australia but I think they are more up market, not to say you can't get "posh" B & B in the UK but there are a wide range. There did used to be a lot of private hotels (i.e. no bar). I stayed in one, the Royal Private Hotel in Neutral Bay for most of my first year in Sydney, seven breakfasts, five evening dinners, two lunches at the weekend, mostly no en suites. There were a few in Pitt St, near Central, CB Private Hotel, the People's Palace?, all redeveloped or turned into hostels? I stayed in one called Marr's in Brisbane in 1979. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starlight7 Posted August 1, 2019 Share Posted August 1, 2019 A lot of caravan parks are now building rows of cabins with kitchens and ensuite facilities and in some areas they are a lot more popular than motels. Their advantage is that they are usually very close to beaches, rivers and in areas of natural beauty unlike many motels. Price is similar for a night but self catering of course, no meals provided. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toots Posted August 1, 2019 Share Posted August 1, 2019 6 hours ago, Toots said: My oldest friend from school days has just sent me some pictures of a recent school reunion. The first photo is of our class in 3rd year secondary school. The next few pictures are of the ex pupils who made it to the reunion which was roughly half the class as sadly some of the pupils are dead and the others are now living abroad. Most of them in the current photos I haven't seen since I left school. Some have aged very well others not so much. My friend said they had a lovely evening in a local pub and out of the group only 2 (one of them is my friend) had lived continuously in the area since leaving school. The others travelled from Kent, Sussex, Yorkshire, the Midlands, Edinburgh and Glasgow. Wrong thread. Had a senior's moment. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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