Council commissioned a study by Jones Lang LaSalle to examine the current barriers to accommodation development and to identify potential opportunities for new development.
The study included the current (2013) and future assessment of the city’s accommodation market which could be used to facilitate discussions with potential partners including developers, investors and hotel operators.
“We do not regard the existing competitor environment as overly threatening given the lack of modern hotel accommodation within Liverpool and its surrounds,” the report’s authors said.
“We note that there is no serviced apartment accommodation currently in the Liverpool area,” the report noted.
The report said the development of Quest Liverpool, with 48 rooms, as well as the proposed extension to the Mercure
Liverpool, which includes the construction of a 10-storey building with 121 guest rooms, would increase competitiveness in the area
The latter, being a corporate serviced apartment property was likely to appeal to long-stay guests, transient corporates and families at the weekend, the report noted.
“Whilst we do not regard the area as very highly regarded by developers and hotel operators currently, Liverpool has experienced recent strong economic growth and is arguably undergoing a period of transformation,” the report said.
“Major projects such as the expansion of the hospital, new commercial offices and the [Moorebank] intermodal transport hub are likely to see demand in the area continue to increase over the coming years.
The report said that the Badgerys Creek airport could also see investor appetite intensify in the area.
The report advised that the appointment of an established operator would be highly beneficial as this would give access to robust distribution networks and loyalty programmes, and a well-known brand could further help to penetrate the localaccommodation market to command a superior occupancy.
The number of beds in the south west, as defined by the report – Bankstown (378 beds), Campbelltown (468), Casula (255), Chullora,(33), Lansvale (80) and Liverpool (301) – totalled 1515 beds
“Campbelltown has the most diverse accommodation offering with a selection of rooms graded between 2-star and 4.5-star, whereas accommodation in Bankstown is predominantly 4-star. Liverpool’s accommodation market is also quite distinct with 3.5-star motels dominating supply in Casula and 4-star hotels in Liverpool,” the report said..
