Cairns hotel market records decade-high investment activity as Acacia Court changes hands
With RevPAR up 60 percent since 2019, Cairns is emerging as one of Australia's most closely watched hotel investment markets.
Cairns has recorded its highest level of hotel investment activity in more than a decade, with four hotel transactions worth approximately $80 million completed across the market so far this year.
The latest deal is the sale of Acacia Court Hotel to Vision Hotels, with the 154-key Esplanade-fronting property set to undergo renovation and repositioning under its new owner.
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The transaction was brokered by JLL Hotels & Hospitality Group Senior Vice President Gareth Closter, who said Cairns is attracting growing interest from sophisticated hotel investors.
“Cairns is firmly on the radar of sophisticated hotel investors,” Closter said.
“The fundamentals are strong, trading performance has improved materially, per-key pricing remains attractive by national standards, and the tourism outlook is compelling. We’re seeing that translate into real conviction from buyers.”
According to JLL, Cairns has recorded Revenue Per Available Room (RevPAR) growth of 60 percent since 2019, reaching $191 by December 2025. This outperformed both the Gold Coast, which recorded 38 percent growth to $199, and the national average over the same period.
With occupancy levels remaining stable, much of the increase has flowed directly to hotel profitability, drawing greater investor attention to the market.
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The Acacia Court sale marks JLL’s third Cairns hotel transaction in three weeks, following the sales of Bay Village Resort for $13 million and the adjoining Cairns Harbourside Hotel for $31 million.
Together, the three transactions total $66.8 million in sales brokered by JLL in Cairns alone.
“The transactions JLL Hotels & Hospitality Group has completed this month alone are more than double the 10-year average of $30.6 million, reflecting the strength of the Cairns hotel investment market,” Closter said.
The activity forms part of a broader surge in Queensland hotel transactions. JLL said it has completed more than $162 million in hotel sales across six Queensland transactions this year, representing almost half of the state’s 10-year annual average transaction volume.
Alongside the increase in deal activity, JLL is also tracking a shift in buyer behaviour, with investors increasingly acquiring multiple hotels and consolidating them under centralised management platforms.
The strategy enables operators to streamline reservations, back-of-house functions and asset management activities while building larger hospitality businesses that can command stronger valuations.
“We are seeing a new generation of hotel owner-operators building out portfolios deliberately,” Closter said.
“They’re acquiring complementary assets, centralising operations, and creating businesses that are worth considerably more than the sum of their parts. It’s a trend that is reshaping how hotels are being valued and transacted right across Queensland and regional Australia.”
The latest transactions highlight Cairns’ growing appeal as an investment destination, supported by improving hotel profitability, attractive per-key pricing and a compelling tourism outlook.
