Where's my Christmas card??

Thank you for all the cards and well wishes we've received. If you're wondering why you haven't received a Christmas card from us, we've chosen instead (like the last few years) to make a donation to the Starlight Foundation.

This year we are fortunate enough to be able to shut down the office and take some well-earned time off. The office will officially be closed from Friday, December 16 through until Monday, January 9. If you need anything during this time please send me an e-mail or leave a voice-mail message on the phone.

I wish you and your families a very enjoyable and relaxing festive season and we look forward to looking after you again in 2012.

Festival of food

Many people know that the way to my heart is through food ... so not surprisingly when peak corporate travel season finishes its a great time to catch up with sales & reservations managers over lunch.

Last Wednesday we had a nice long lunch with Zana and Brad from The Point Hotel. We did a lot of work with the hotel in November so it was a good time to discuss possibilities for 2012 as well as have a look at their new tower of rooms (that opened in October). The rooms look fantastic and I'm lucky enough to be staying in one this Saturday night which I'm looking forward to.

Wednesday night I had dinner with friends at the Sofitel. Since lunch (which was excellent) at The Point finished around 2:30 or so I wasn't sure how good an effort I was going to be able to put in to the buffet but somehow I managed to do ok!

Thursday lunch was spent with Nicole at the Brisbane Marriott checking out their new restaurant, Motion Bar & Grill. Nicole is one of our best contacts and has been for a while so it was good to catch up with her after she had been so helpful during November. Motion is a nice change from the normal 5 star hotel buffet (not that there's anything wrong with a buffet!) and the refurbishment of the restaurant decor looks great.

Thursday night was dinner at The Surf Club (celebrity chef Ben O'Donoghue) and then Saturday night was my mum's birthday so we had dinner at the Hundred Acre Bar & Restaurant at St Lucia.

Thankfully I've been working out almost every day so despite all the dining out I'm not as big as a house!!

Day at the cricket

We've done a LOT of work with Mantra Pandanas in Darwin over the last 18 months and this (mainly) led to an invite for me to a corporate box at the cricket on the second day of the first test between Australia and New Zealand.

I'm not a huge cricket fan but a day out of the office after the madness of peak season was something to look forward to. Plus, corporate box, food & drink, etc ... unlikely I'm going to turn that down! As you can see from the picture below, the weather wasn't great but that was a good thing for us (and no doubt the players) as it wasn't too hot.

The action on the field was a little slow but the company was great and the food and drinks flowed. Thanks so much to Edith, our sales manager from Mantra for the invite and her generous hospitality, it was a fantastic way to spend a Friday afternoon!

Busiest week of the year?

The end of year peak corporate travel season in Australia essentially runs from the end of September school holidays until early December. We have been flat out every day since Melbourne Cup (Nov 1) and this week was the ultimate for Australian hotels.

Here is what happened:

* Adelaide - filled last night
* Brisbane - filled Tuesday, Wednesday and almost Thursday
* Canberra - filled Tuesday, Wednesday
* Melbourne - filled Wednesday, Thursday
* Perth - filled Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday
* Sydney - filled Tuesday, Wednesday and almost Thursday

It got so busy, the cities so full and we ran out of our allotments so early (especially for Perth) that we had to give up on this week enquiries on Tuesday and focus on the week after.

There looks to be another 2 or 3 weeks left before things quieten down so if you have any travel to do in that time and need to book accommodation, make sure you organise your hotel before you book your flights!

The Tiger Woods effect

He may not be the # 1 golfer in the world anymore but that doesn't lessen the pulling power of Tigers Woods playing tournaments in Australia. This then flows through to the hotels in the city that he's playing in.

Last week Tiger was in Sydney playing in the Australian Open and virtually every CBD hotel was fully booked Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. This week he joined the USA's President's Cup team in Melbourne and all the hotels in and around the CBD have filled for at least Wednesday and Thursday nights.

I think I've explained this concept before, but when a sporting event happens in a city, strangely its not the nights of the event that actually fill, its only the nights that overlap with corporate travel. For instance, the golf got underway today in Melbourne but the worst nights for accommodation were actually last night and tonight with there still being availability over the weekend (while the tournament is still running).

I know he's become a controversial figure after his off-course antics that have come to light but as a golf fan and a business owner that benefits from him coming to Australia, I for one hope he comes back every year!

Gold Coast 600 in style!

I get some pretty cool invites and this ranks right up there. Last Friday I was lucky enough to be invited by Palazzo Versace to their trackside corporate suite for the Gold Coast 600 (formerly Indy).

Now, I'm not a petrol head by any stretch but when the invite is for a sporting event and there's a corporate suite involved, I'm there!

I went to the Indy many years ago for my brother's buck's day but Friday was definitely more about doing it in style! Good food, great view (see below), wait-staff bringing you drinks all day and some celebrities as well. In the suite we had Tom Williams (briefly), Haley Bateup (iron woman ... so fit!) as well as Travis Cloke and Cameron Wood from Collingwood. There were also a few of the drivers wives and girlfriends.

A massive thank you to Andrew who is the DOSM at Palazzo Versace for the invite and his generous hospitality.

Perth and October don't mix

Perth is NOT the place to be in October if you can help it!

Everyone knows about CHOGM (Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting) and the visit of the Queen but its now every week in October that the Perth hotels are full.

October started a little slowly for Perth due to the school holidays in QLD, VIC and NSW. Not as many corporates travelling so for once the city didn't actually fill midweek. Every other week has been nuts and next week is one of the worst. The reason? Well, its the week before CHOGM so everyone that doesn't want to pay $500/night for a 4 star hotel is coming next week and now every hotel is sold out on Tuesday, Wednesday and many on Thursday as well.

Normally for Perth, I suggest booking two weeks in advance to ensure you can get availability at a decent price, this month I just recommend postponing your travel until November.

Diamant Hotel Brisbane

What's in a name?

What is now the Diamant Hotel Brisbane has been The Portal Hotel, the Best Western Portal Hotel, back to The Portal Hotel and now the Diamant!

I visited the hotel back in the Best Western stage and reviewing that post I notice I compared it to the Kirketon Hotel in Sydney. Well, the reason its now called the Diamant Hotel is that its been taken over by the 8 Hotels Group which in fact manage the Kirketon!

With the change in name and ownership came new management and since we do a bit of work with the hotel Adam and I received an invite to have a look around and meet the team. I had seen the rooms before but it was good for Adam so he knew exactly what he was talking about when describing the hotel to clients.

After having a look around we sat down with Branka (the GM) and Tamara (reservations) in the restaurant and enjoyed a glass of wine and an array of finger food. Its always great to actually meet people that you talk to so often so it was a very enjoyable afternoon.

To celebrate the new name (and new management) the hotel is currently running a weekend promotion where you receive a celebratory bottle of Moet & Chandon champagne when you stay on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday night ("neighbour rates" package).

Sydney conference

I've been lucky enough to be able to do a bit of travel this year and that continued last week when I went down to a three day conference in Sydney.

The conference was being held at the Masonic Centre which is at the south end of the CBD and since I was with a couple of friends the best option was a 2 bedroom apartment at Meriton Kent Street. I've stayed at the hotel previously so I knew what to expect and since we were there for a couple of days I upgraded to a sky view apartment (higher floors). The weather was terrible on the first day but thankfully it cleared up over the next few days so we could actually admire the view (see pictures below).

Thankfully we booked a couple of weeks early as two bedroom apartments sell out virtually every weekend in Sydney. That didn't stop us having to pay top dollar for the apartment on Saturday night ... which hurts as I'm obviously used to being "looked after" by hotels when I travel!

Perth trip

Considering the amount of bookings we make in Perth it was a little embarassing to admit that I hadn't been there in 30 years and certainly hadn't seen any of the hotels (other than online).

Thankfully I remedied this in the last week of July when I spent two days looking through hotels, introducing myself to sales managers and thanking a number of reservations staff that have been so helpful for us.

I stayed at the Mantra on Murray and was pleasantly surprised to find out when I checked in that I had been upgraded to an executive studio suite (pictured below), had a welcome note from the GM and a bottle of wine.

Here is the list of hotels I visited in Perth:

Aarons All Suites
Mantra on Hay
Mantra on Murray
Citigate Perth
Perth Ambassador

It was interesting to hear that despite the WA economy smashing it on the back of the mining boom, it was a case of the haves (the mining industry) and the have nots (anyone not linked to the mining industry). From our perspective, the Perth hotel market has been doing extremely well this year but after speaking to the sales managers you find out that they sell out every Tuesday and Wednesday night, sometimes Thursdays but the rest of the week is pretty quiet. I also learnt that regional WA Tourism (and course retail) is struggling at the moment like the rest of the country.

Lessons from Disney

Disney has always been renowned for their excellence in customer service. Thanks to his twitter feed, I came across a good story by legendary entrepreneur Guy Kawasaki and what he learned from a recent trip to Disneyland.


What I Learned From A Mouse With Big Ears

Guy Kawasaki Co-Founder, Alltop

According to Bruce Kimbrell, a facilitator for the West Coast operations of the Disney Institute, people come back to Disneyland for three reasons: cleanliness, friendliness and safety. A few weeks ago Bruce took me on a behind-the-scenes tour of Disneyland to show me how Disneyland employees make the enchantment happen.


This is what I learned:


1. Focus on the right stuff and the money will come


The top three priorities of Disneyland management is leadership excellence, cast excellence and guest satisfaction. The fourth priority is financial results. My interpretation is that if you do the first three things right, money is a natural outcome.


2. Take care of your employees (cast members)


Disneyland has “team centers” to serve the needs of its employees. These centers provide insurance, discounts, tickets, transportation services and payroll services. The message I picked up was “be good to your employees, and they’ll be good to your customers.”


3. Everybody should do the “dirty jobs”


How many people are there in the park sweeping up trash? Take a guess. The right answer is an astoundingly low number: eight. (I guessed 250 when Bruce asked me.) This is possible because every employee is supposed to keep the park clean, not just the janitors.


4. Everybody is customer service.


Here’s another question for you: How long do you think the training is for the people with brooms sweeping up the trash? The right answer is an astoundingly high number: six weeks. This is necessary because guests ask janitors questions, so the folks with brooms must be experts about the park. By the way, the training for parking lot attendants can be as long as eight weeks.


5. Pay attention to the details


Bruce told me that Walt Disney himself specified the type of trash can for the park. These cans are currently swapped out every two years and Disney repaints them every four months. Steve Jobs was a perfectionist about the Macintosh trash can icon—the similarity between Steve Jobs and Walt Disney is not a coincidence.


6. Pay attention to even more details


A hairdresser in the wig department told me that it takes 30-45 minutes to wash and set the wig for Ariel. Then it takes 90-120 minutes to dry it. Finally, there’s another 30 minutes to comb it out. This is for a wig. Most entrepreneurs don’t spend this much time practicing their pitch for venture capitalists.


7. Make your customers feel close and important


The buildings on Main Street are 5/8th scale. This is to make people feel like they are closer to the action and important. Most companies erect edifices to make their customers feel small, and their bosses feel big. Disneyland does the opposite. Walt Disney used to crouch down to see Disneyland from a child’s perspective.


8. Know the facts


Here’s yet-another question for you: What is the ratio of adults to kids at any given moment in the park? Believe it or not, there are four adults for every kid. I would have never guessed that. This has big ramifications: Disneyland can’t just be a place for kids since kids are only 20 percent of the customers.


9. Green is good


The floats are all battery-powered. The fireworks are launched with compressed air, not explosive charges. The trains are bio-diesel and burn the oil from the park’s restaurants. Currently, 80 percent of the 1.3 pounds of trash that each guest produces per day is recycled.


10. Keep customers coming back


The Star Wars inspired ride called Star Tours has six different destinations, two beginning scenes and three holograms. This means that there are 54 different combinations. If you’re very lucky, you can see all the combinations in three rides—or, much more likely, you’ll have to keep coming back for more.


You should check out the Disney Institute for its seminar offerings. The institute covers topics such as leadership, brand loyalty, creativity and service quality. Many programs include behind-the-scenes tours like the one I went on. And the next time you schedule an event, consider a Disney meeting facility because of the blend of inspiration, education and entertainment that’s offered. There are few institutions that can put theories into practice like Disney can.

Corporate suite - Lions vs Power

I was lucky enough to get an invite from Mirvac Hotels & Resorts to their corporate suite for the Brisbane Lions AFL game against the Port Adelaide Power. I'm a die-hard Bombers fan so while I don't follow the Lions it was the first AFL invite I've received for a while and I jumped at the chance!

The suite was hosted by the GM from Quay West Suites Brisbane (Anthony Carter) and Mirvac's Regional BDM for conference & events (Rachael Hopkins). I actually used to work with Rachael many years ago at the Sheraton Brisbane so it was great to catch up.

Mirvac went all out with the suite, PLENTY of food throughout the game, a steady flow of drinks and obviously a great spot to watch the game itself. They even managed to organise a rare win by the Brisbane Lions!

State of Origin 3 accommodation

If you're after Brisbane accommodation for State of Origin 3 now is the time to be booking. With this in mind, here's an update of availability from our allotment:

* One night stays, 4.5 star hotel $399
(Last minute websites have rates starting from $450)

* We have a 5 star hotel with a rate of $399 for a two night minimum stay

* We have plenty of one bedroom apartments up our sleeve, for a 3 night stay rates start from $241/night (on average)

There is also a large conference at the convention centre as the same time as Origin so expect it to be a VERY busy week for Brisbane hotels.

And of course ... go Queensland!!

Ash Tuesday

With over 200 flights around the country cancelled today, our phones rang off the hook with people needing last minute accommodation. The bulk of our calls were for Brisbane which isn't directly affected by the ash cloud but with so many other airports closed, most people were re-routed here or unable to fly out.

Unfortunately, Brisbane hotels were already very heavily booked for tonight so it was a frustrating day where we were had to say no to a lot of requests but a BIG thank you to our great hotel contacts who called us throughout the day when they had cancellations.

Ash cloud disrupts flights to Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Adelaide and Tasmania | The Australian

MORE than 100,000 passengers' journeys have been disrupted by the latest volcanic ash cloud, with delays expected to continue tomorrow.

Qantas has cancelled flights to Sydney, Canberra and Melbourne for tomorrow, and will continue to monitor the flight path between Perth and Melbourne.

Airlines cancelled flights to Adelaide last night and today added Sydney, Canberra and, in some cases, Melbourne. Qantas also brought forward departure times for some international flights from Sydney this afternoon to avoid the ash.

Brisbane and the Gold Coast are unlikely to be affected.

The head of the Darwin Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre, Dr Andrew Tupper, said the ash had wrapped around a low-pressure system building over south-eastern Australia and had crossed the South Australian coast early this morning.

It is expected to remain over Sydney overnight but move south tomorrow and expectations are that it will clear Australia tomorrow night.

2011 Salary Survey: Travel Weekly

I came across the survey below that may be of interest to my colleagues in the travel industry. Click on the title below to read the full article.

2011 Salary Survey: Wages and trends Travel Weekly
By Louise Wallace

As the Beatles once suggested, money can't buy you love. Sure, the message may have been at the heart of a catchy tune back in the 1960s, but even now, maybe more than ever, money is a touchy topic. Some argue it brings security and reinforces self-worth, while others are adamant money can't buy happiness.

Whatever the verdict, the Travel Weekly 2011 Salary Survey showed most travel industry employees might be better off whistling the Beatles tune, with 63% of respondents reporting they're unhappy with their pay packet. In fact, almost 20% strongly disagreed that their salary is fair, compared with just 6% who were very satisfied with their annual income.

A BIT OF CONTEXT

According to website MyCareer.com, retail workers bring in an annual salary of around $58,000; about half an engineer's income and a fraction of that of miners, who rake in an average of $146,000 per year. Meanwhile, employees in the wider travel industry are likely to bring home a humble $48,071 per annum, or $924 per week before tax and other deductions.
That being said, $48,000 should not be sneezed at.

This year's Travel Weekly survey revealed that travel consultants averaged $37,984 per year and owners took home approximately $61,000. Meanwhile, senior consultants are likely to scribble approximately $45,000 on their annual tax estimate, and agency managers about $60,000. But whatever their caper, only 37% of survey respondents felt their income was fair.
But it's not all doom and gloom, and no, the industry is not run by disgruntled employees plotting how to get back at their bosses in the tea room. The figures are actually an improvement on last year when 68% of respondents were dissatisfied with their pay packet and one-fifth strongly disagreed that their pay adequately reflected their skills.

Thank you Mr Rieu!

I mentioned back in October that Andre Rieu's planned tour for November had been postponed and the upside was that it would give us more time to prepare. Well his concerts in Brisbane were this week and as always Mr Rieu did not disappoint. No, I'm not talking about his actual on-stage performance, but for the 3rd consecutive trip to Brisbane he created havoc by filling every hotel on Tuesday and Wednesday night and almost tonight (Thursday).

We were prepared with a large allotment and although pick-up as usual for Brisbane was late, we judged things pretty well running out of rooms on Tuesday afternoon. Yes, our business is very much a juggling act between expected demand and how large an allotment we carry in to such an event. Thankfully tho, Andre Rieu continues to be automatic in Brisbane and can be relied upon to fill the city.

He started his tour in Adelaide which we did ok out of (not great tho, Adelaide has been a struggle this year) but it would have been great if his Sydney dates were midweek rather than on the weekend. I can't complain tho and hopefully Andre will grace us with his presence again in the near future.

Lunch at the Sofitel

With the Easter looooong weekend about to begin, business has been very slow for the last week or so. It happens every year, Easter, school holidays, long weekends ... it all adds up to very little corporate travel and events are scheduled at other times to avoid these dates.

We've done our best to take advantage of the down-time. Last Friday it was Sushi Station for lunch, yesterday it was the buffet/interactive dining experience at Sofitel Brisbane Central. They have an Italian theme this month so there is a Maserati and a Vesper in the lobby of the hotel.

The sales team from the Sofitel obviously had similar ideas to us as we saw Jago (recently switched over from the Brisbane Marriott) entertaining a client as well as Georgina who came over and chatted to us.

As always, the food was sensational and there was no need for dinner last night!

Adam drooling over the Maserati

Easter Chocolate Buffet

I stumbled across this today ... having missed it over the last 2 years, this time I cannot wait!

Easter Chocolate Buffet The Sebel & Citigate King George Square Brisbane

Easter Chocolate Buffet is back by popular demand this Easter....

Chocoholics unite at Bistro Allure to celebrate Easter, from Monday 18th April to Monday 2nd May 2011.

Get your tastebuds in training as you indulge in a chocolate sensation of cakes, gateaux’s, slices, tarts, cheesecakes, puddings, complementing, mouth-watering sauces and more!

Treat your family or get a group of friends or work colleagues together to join the Chocolate Parade, while lapping up the ambience of Brisbane's centrally-located hotel overlooking King George Square.

Bistro Allure Easter Chocolate Buffet from Monday 18th April to Monday 2nd May 2011.

Available for Lunch and Dinner - $20.00 per person

Lunch 11.30am to 3.00pm

Dinner 5.30pm to 9.30pm

Bookings essential.

Call Bistro Allure on (07) 3222 1128

So much chocolate, so little time...

Easter has never looked so good!

Royal on the Park breakfast

Last week Adam and I were lucky enough to be invited in to Royal on the Park for breakfast with their new GM, sales manager and the team in reservations.

We've had a close working relationship with the hotel for many years now but they've had some personnel changes over the last year and we hadn't seen their recently refurbished rooms. It was great to meet the new team as well as catch up with a few familiar faces. And well, food is the way to my heart, so the breakfast invite was always going to be well received.

I was impressed with the look of the new rooms (pictured below), they were always one of the larger rooms in the city, but the new colour scheme seems to brighten the room and the new desks and TV's certainly make them feel more modern.

February Travels - Part 2

My other trip in February was at the end of the month and I headed up to Townsville for the weekend.

I'm a member of Accor's Advantage Plus program so I stayed at the new(ish) Grand Mercure Townsville using a free night I had up my sleeve and a member's discounted rate on the other. I also decided to upgrade to a one bedroom apartment rather than a studio.

The hotel is in a great location in Townsville, right in the middle of Palmer Street which is a strip of restaurants and cafe's. The apartment itself was a good size, separate bedroom from the lounge room (pictured below) and perfect for a couple of nights stay.

For the foodies, the culinary highlight of the weekend was dinner on Saturday night at The Saltcellar. I can't remember the cut of beef (eye fillet or angus fillet) but it was quality!

February travels - part 1

Despite it being one of the busier months of the year for us, I managed to get away a couple of times during February. First off was a long weekend in the Hunter Valley with some friends. We flew down early Saturday morning and came back on Monday evening, thankfully Adam was able to look after things while I was away.

My friends had actually already organised the accommodation but with my experience I was able to find a slightly better deal, saving us $100 per apartment over the two nights. We stayed at Grand Mercure The Vintage which is part of the Greg Norman designed golf course. It was perfect for our group and we shared 2 two bedroom apartments.

Last time I went to the Hunter was about 6 years ago for a friend's wedding and the challenge then was finding something suitable for more than 2 people. The Grand Mercure certainly solves that problem. The townhouses (pictured below) are essentially a 2 bedroom apartment on the ground floor and another 2 bedroom apartment above, perfect for the 7 of us. The bedrooms were a good size, the bathrooms were great (separate shower and large bath tub) and the living area was spacious.

From a wine tour perspective, the highlight of the weekend was tasting the Brokenwood Graveyard Shiraz and from a food perspective lunch at Margan Restaurant. The triple-cooked pork cheek with scallops was one of the best meals I've had in a long time!

Capital Reservations' theme song!

If you've ever listened to the music playing in the background of our office, you'll know we listen to Triple J (Renee would be proud). In between the hundreds of phone calls this week, Adam brought to my attention the song below and after hearing it for myself, I'm now naming it our theme song!

Why "Jump in to the fog" by The Wombats? The opening line is:
"What a great achievement it was to get a hotel room this late"
Which is pretty much what we do all day every day!

How to watch the big game

With the Super Bowl just a couple of days away now, I came across this article about the ultimate hotel package if you can't make it to the game itself.

$42,650 Super Bowl Hotel Suite - AOL Travel News

Super Bowl fever can take many forms, but for those with a taste for luxury, watching the big game in a suite priced at $42,650 at the Mandarin Oriental New York might just be the ticket.

The over-the-top package includes a night in the Presidential suite, a three-course catered meal for 15 during the game and a very rare bottle of 50-year-old Scotch.

The hotel's Director of Communications Tammy Peters confirmed to AOL Travel News that as of Wednesday the Presidential suite was still available.

'We've done it [a special Super Bowl package] a few years in a row,' says Peters. 'Sometimes it sells and sometimes it doesn't.'

Whether you are rooting for the Pittsburg Steelers or the Green Bay Packers, you'll be watching on a 65-inch plasma screen television with eight surround speakers and noshing on mini Kobe beef burgers and Ahi tuna tacos.

The bulk of the cost of the room comes from the Glenfiddich 50 Year Old. The hotel has one of only five bottles available in North America.

Just how much is it worth? One recently sold at auction for $38,000.


For more details on the hotel, click here.

Welcome back Adam!

When the GFC hit, Adam (our office manager) went to work for a friend of mine's company that wasn't affected by the economic slowdown. Is it was a secondment type arrangement in that the idea was always for him to return to Capital Reservations as things got back to normal for us. I'm pleased to say that after a good 2010, especially the end of it, Adam is back in the office (after a little over 18 months away) and ready for a big 2011.

A number of the agents who have been using us for a while will remember working with him, for those that haven't, please be patient as he might just take a little time to find his feet again.

2010 by the numbers

At the start of each year, I sit down and work out our sales productions for hotels for the calendar year just gone. I didn't do it in 2009 because, well the numbers took such a dive from 2008 and 2007 due to the GFC/economic slowdown that it just didn't seem worthwhile. So back in 2008 I compared production to 2007 for each city but since I've skipped a year, I won't worry about doing that this time. This year (2011) it will certainly be interesting to compare against the 2010 numbers.

Anyway, here is a list of the capital cities and which were the most productive for us (from best to worst):

1. Darwin
2. Brisbane
3. Perth
4. Sydney
5. Adelaide
6. Canberra
7. Melbourne

Apologies to our friends in Tasmania, but we did hardly any room nights in Hobart so I don't have them on the list. 2010 was the first year that our home town of Brisbane wasn't our biggest city. Thanks to a very large client that we look after, Darwin was the big mover on the list and sales were substantially ahead of Brisbane in second. Melbourne has really dropped off for us over the last few years and has now fallen to the bottom.

Thanks to the aformentioned large client, our top 2 hotels in the country are in Darwin. Here is the list of the 10 hotels around Australia that we make the most bookings with:

1. Mantra Pandanas (Darwin)
2. Mantra on the Esplanade (Darwin)
3. Mantra on Hay (Perth)
4. Oaks Charlotte Towers (Brisbane)
5. Mantra on Northbourne (Canberra)
6. Chifley at Lennons (Brisbane)
7. M on Mary (Brisbane)
8. Aarons All-Suites (Perth)
9. Citigate & Sebel King George Square (Brisbane)
10. The Portal Hotel (Brisbane)

Mantra Pandanas exterior

Brisbane hotel flood update

More on the Queensland flood situation next time, but quickly here are the main Brisbane hotels that have been affected:

Stamford Plaza - closed until further notice, they're hoping February some time (I heard yesterday they were out for at least 6 weeks)

Rydges South Bank - no power, running off a generator. Hoping to have power back on in the next few days

Quay West Suites - no power, operating on limited services. No new arrivals until January 20.

The Sebel Suites - closed until February 7

Oaks 212 Margaret - no power, not accommodating guests until January 22

Oaks Festival Towers - limited lifts in service

Central West End Apartments - no power, unlikely to be operating for at least 4 weeks.