The lack of accommodation in QLD country towns is generally caused from the requirements of the booming resource sector (mining and coal seam gas) and I feel real sorry for the average town folk as they are struggling to survive in their own town.
I recently worked on an existing 17 unit motel in a town of 300 odd people and built 18 new additional units which were completed mid June 2012 and fully booked out from opening day until Oct 2012. The first week only 3 people stayed in the rooms yet the Motel still got paid $150.00 (no meals or $210.00 with meals) per per night x 18 rooms, no wonder they have a smile on their face. This is also how some of these places get well over 120% occupancy rates because if they are not notified by a certain time (about 3.00pm) they still get paid by the resource company who has the booking however they can then let the room to someone else and charge them the normal rate as well. When we were building the units the cheapest 6 month lease we could get was on an old 3 bed weather board house for $800.00 a week.
Am currently working in another town close by and when speaking to the owner of only caravan park in town (the park also has about 20 cabins) he said he is not interested in dealing with the public as too hard a work and only wants to do corporate. I commented what then happens when the town has an event like its renowned 'Water Melon' festival which would bring a lot of tourists into the town and the response was only negative.
What I see for the normal local is all bad as rents are skyrocketing and are at a level locals can no longer afford (we were paying $1500 a week for a basic 3 bed flat), rents for shops are also going up (heard $5k a week for a little coffee shop) causing the smaller shops to close. Local hardware stores are doing it tough as most of the hardware is brought in from out of town by larger companies who can absorb the transport costs and have better buying power.
We are now staying in a 820 man camp in the town and one of many in the area and all the food is trucked in from out of town and nothing bought local. The workers generally work a 12 hour day so only work, eat and sleep then when their stay is over they get out of town and head home as quick as possible so they don't ever spend much money in the town unless it is a pub or servo.
I also note costs of hiring equipment or cost of tow trucks is almost double to what you would pay say in Brisbane and if you query it they simply reply - 'well try and get it somewhere else', as they already know there is nowhere else readily available.
Appologies for raving on but feel strongly about this as people who have worked hard all their lives and finally ready to go on their dream trip around this great country now need to rethink where they go and stay, its not as simple anymore.
Cheers
Wartim
