Brisbane State of Origin accommodation

If you need accommodation in Brisbane during the week of the first State of Origin (May 28), you've come to the right place!

Looking online or direct with hotels, prices start around the $400 mark. We grabbed an allotment of rooms more than a month ago so we now have by far the best available rates.

Here is what we have up our sleeve:

• 4 star hotel rooms from $250/night
• 4.5 star apartments from $250/night
• 5 star hotel rooms for under $500/night

Priority will be given to requests for multiple night stays (prices are much cheaper either side of the 28th) but we do have rooms available just for the night of the 28th at around $300.

Go the Maroons!

Brisbane to have free wifi

A good initiative announced today by Brisbane Marketing. Although its not the entire CBD, having the Mall and South Bank with free wifi certainly helps bring the city up to speed with the rest of the world. Now ... if only all the Brisbane hotels followed the lead and offered free wifi!

Free wifi for Australia’s new world city

A new integrated wi-fi system will provide free internet in South Bank and the Queen Street Mall in time for the G20.  

From April, visitors to the Queen Street Mall, Victoria Bridge and South Bank will be able to jump online to check email or surf the web using Brisbane City Council’s wi-fi.

In 2013 nearly one million users took advantage of council’s free wi-fi hotspots to stay connected around the city. Connecting the Queen Street Mall and South Bank is the next step in creating a digital Brisbane.

About 17,000 people a day travel over Victoria Bridge to get between South Bank and the Queen Street Mall, and the free wi-fi will allow them to stay connected on the go.

Brisbane Marketing and the council are putting Brisbane on the “digital map” ahead of G20 in November to demonstrate to G20 visitors that we are indeed Australia’s new world city.
Any one of the 4000 officials and 3000 media representatives visiting Brisbane will be able to access our state-of-the-art public wi-fi.

Wi-fi access is already available in 22 outdoor locations across the city including Brisbane Botanic Gardens, King George Square and New Farm Park. Additionally, each of council’s 33 libraries and the entire CityCat fleet also offer free wi-fi.

Local cafes, restaurants and hotels are also encouraged to be part of a broader “Digital Brisbane” by providing free wi-fi to patrons.

Ashes 2013

I didn't realise, but looking back to previous posts, have we not had the Ashes played in Australia since 2010, could that be right?

Looking back at my post from that time, things have have worked out much like it did three years ago. The first test started today and its been a very busy week here in Brisbane. The corporate demand hasn't been as strong this year for the hotels but this has definitely been one of the busiest weeks. Again, it wasn't so much the actual nights of the cricket (over the weekend) but the hardest night to get accommodation was Wednesday, the night before it begins, and Thursday the night of the opening day.

The second test is again in Adelaide and they love their prepaid rates and minimum night stay terms & conditions so its a tough challenge to help people book accommodation there. Thankfully we've got a few good contacts in hotels there so they've hooked us up with some good deals which have got us through.

It'll be interesting to see how Perth fares for the third test. It doesn't start until December 13 which is the end of corporate travel season so whether the city fills or not we'll just have to wait and see.

As for the cricket itself, Australia had a top order collapse but the tail is wagging and hopefully they can put up a respectable first innings score and we'll have a competitive match.

Lady Gaga fails to deliver

No, I'm not talking about her on-stage performance ... I'm talking about filling the Brisbane hotel market. She's not my taste or style in music so this was not a concert I was ever going to attend.

Usually, big name musician + midweek concert in Brisbane = good things for the Brisbane hotel market (and of course us). So it was a rather disappointing surprise when the city failed to fill on Wednesday or Thursday last week when her concerts were on. I'm not sure if this was due to the Monday public holiday, the fact that its June and that corporate travel is slow or just that her concerts were out at Boondall and not at Suncorp Stadium (just outside the CBD).

What did surprise us tho was that the city filled on Tuesday night thanks to the Socceroos World Cup qualifying match against Japan at Suncorp.

We've loaded up on rooms for Coldplay in November which is midweek, during peak season and at Suncorp ... so it should be similar to U2 & Jay-Z, Bon Jovi, etc and be a very big event for the Brisbane hotel market.

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.

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.

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.

Ashes 2010

One of the best month's of business we've ever had was back in 2006 when the Ashes was last in Australia. So not surprisingly all the talk in the Brisbane hotel market for the last few months has been how the GFC and the strong Australian dollar would effect the first test this year.

For us, the challenge was balancing expected demand verses the high prices hotels were charging over this likely to be peak time for the city. We had an allotment but it was nowhere near the size of what we had back in 2006 ... yes I was being cautious.

The week leading up to it played out pretty much how I expected. Rather than the city filling for the nights of the cricket, it was the night before and the first night of the cricket that were the biggest and most popular. It was the Wednesday and Thursday where the cricket overlapped with the normal corporate demand that were the ones that sold out. So while I didn't have enough rooms ready to go for those two nights, what we did well with was getting longer stays (at least a week) by having apartments at good rates through this period.

So while sales for November weren't what they were back in 2006, it was still the biggest month we've had in 3 years. And as mentioned, there were plenty of longer-stay bookings that will count as sales for December and January.

Brisbane is the hotel market that benefits the most from the Ashes due to the timing and the overlap with corporate demand. The other city that does well due to the cricket is Adelaide who has the second test and also virtually filled for numerous nights this week (and at very high rates). Perth, Sydney and Melbourne do benefit from the cricket, but not to the same levels as Brisbane and Adelaide because corporate travel has already died down.

Unfortunately for the Australian cricket team, they're not currently enjoying the Ashes anywhere near as much as we are right now.

Brisbane's most luxurious hotel rooms

I came across a good article about some of the best rooms that Brisbane hotels have to offer. While I've visited all of the hotels mentioned, I'm yet to stay in any of the suites listed. Will have to work on that!

Oh what a night: Brisbane's most luxurious hotel rooms
KATHERINE FEENEY

Looking for a night at the height of Australian hotel luxury without the hassle of chartering the private jet?

Don't fret. Brisbane has you covered but don't think you'll save much coin. A night in the city's best room is comparative to the top suites in the country.

With rates starting from $4000 per night, the Stamford Suite at the Stamford Plaza Hotel is Brisbane's most expensive space and shares price parity with the Royal Suites at Sydney's Sheraton On The Park and the Sofitel Melbourne.

Not bad for a city less than half the size of its southern cousins, though even this premium pales in comparison to one night spent in the "invitation only" Georgian Manor Villa at Melbourne's Crown Towers, which comes in at a cool $27,500 a night.

But how far does four grand go when it comes to luxury living?

Well, it gives you a room literally fit for a queen, with Queen Elizabeth II famously shunning traditional lodgings at Government House for a stay at the Stamford suite during her visit to Brisbane in the 1970s.

Featuring a private foyer, butler's quarters and grand piano the top floor suite has sweeping river views and opulent furnishings updated through the Stamford's recent $10 million makeover.

Of course if this suite offers little more luxury than you'd bargained for the Presidential Suite at the Marriott offers high style at just over half the price.

Here around $2500 buys you 131 square metres of turndown service, marble bathroom, separate lounge and dining areas, king-sized bedding and access to complimentary canapes and drinks served in the executive lounge.

Or there are the two levels and spiral staircase of the Opera Suite at the recently refurbished Sofitel available from $885 per night, where guests have ample space in which to entertain the envious.

However, price is not always indicative of quality and a number of relatively new boutique hotels amply answer the burgeoning demand for premium accommodation without the lofty fee.

Brisbane's Emporium Hotel, which opened in June 2007, was announced Best Boutique Hotel at the Queensland Hotels Association (QHA) Awards for Excellence recently, beating fellow finalist Peppers Spicers Peak Lodge.

Touted as the first true luxury boutique hotel in town, the best rooms at the glitzy hotel are the new Corner Suites which, from $495, come with separate sleeping and living areas, kitchenette, king-sized bedroom and furnishings drenched in rock star sex appeal.

And competition among the boutique market is set to heat up as more players come online with the newest contender, the Urban Hotel, housed on the former Terraces on Wickham site and offering $10 million worth of refurbished rooms.

The Urban joins the Portal Hotel, opened in March, and the celebrated Limes Hotel which, since its June 2008 launch, has became the city's first member of the exclusive, international Design Hotels group.

Andre Rieu is back!

After wreaking havoc on the accommodation market when he was here at the end of 2008, I had been counting down to his concert tour this year. No, not because I wanted to go, but I really hoped he would have the same effect on the demand for city hotels.

Adam and I discussed it last year and because he wasn't bringing the same level of show that he put on last year and was performing at Boondall rather than Suncorp Stadium, our expectations were lowered. Thankfully tho, I was pleasantly surprised at what ended up happening.

As well as Rieu in town there was also a large science conference at the convention centre and this was what first drew my attention. I then remembered the concerts were on at the same time so I knew it had to be a busy few nights for the Brisbane hotels and prepared accordingly. I was disappointed at how late the actual demand came but when it happened it delivered!

I was at the Sofitel Brisbane Central for a breakfast meeting on Wednesday and as I was leaving I actually saw Andre Rieu in the lobby. (For me, the highlight of the morning was definitely the breakfast buffet tho!) When I got back to the office there were a LOT of messages on the voicemail and the enquiries didn't stop for the next day and a half. The well of available rooms eventually ran out yesterday at 4pm and unfortunately I was unable to assist the last couple of enquiries.

I haven't seen the Brisbane accommodation market that full for a long, long time. So once again, thank you Andre!

2008 by the numbers

I hope everyone thoroughly enjoyed the festive season. Susan and I started back on Monday while Adam has another week off and returns on Tuesday the 13th.

One of the first things I do around this time of the year is to work out our hotel room production for the calendar year just gone. This shows where we have booked most of our rooms and also how each city has performed compared to previous years.

Here are the results in order of our sales for each capital city (largest to smallest).

1. Brisbane down 40% (last year down 12%)
2. Perth up 77% (last year up 140%)
3. Melbourne down 40% (last year up 30%)
4. Sydney down 20% (last year up 100%)
5. Darwin up 95% (last year up 150%)
6. Adelaide up 1% (last year up 240%)
7. Canberra down 80% (last year up 90%)

As you can see, we and the hotel industry in general have felt the economic slowdown and the market definitely isn't as strong as it was the year before.

We weren't surprised to see Perth surge up the ladder (4th last year). Darwin's move up did shock as was the realisation that Adelaide hadn't risen more. We thought it had definitely outperformed.

Thanks to the strong performance of Perth, we also had a new # 1 hotel this year, Novotel Langley Perth (Advantages king room pictured below). Our top 5 is normally all Brisbane hotels but the Marriott at # 3 was the only Brisbane hotel this year.

Our top 5 hotels in 2008:

1. Novotel Langley Perth
2. Diplomat Canberra
3. Brisbane Marriott Hotel
4. Mantra Pandanas Darwin
5. Meriton Kent Street Sydney