HOTEL HOLD-UP

Luxury waterfront project 12 months behind schedule

A LUXURY waterfront hotel in Hobart is a year behind schedule, as the city continues to grapple with a critical accommodation shortage.

The $35 million, 114-room MAC 01 hotel on Hunter St was due to open by the end of this year.

But Vos Constructions director Darren Vos said work, which began in late 2014, would not be completed until late 2016 or early 2017.

“We’ve had significant hold-ups sourcing steel and even on site, working with the hotel operator trying to get a design that fits budget, we’re working through them and getting progress,” Mr Vos said. Tourism Industry Council CEO Luke Martin said the delay was disappointing when Hobart was facing a critical accommodation shortage.

“It’s the biggest issue we’ve got as an industry,” Mr Martin said. “It’s hard to argue for more flights to Tasmania when five months of the year our hotel occupancy rates are 95 per cent.”

But the Macquarie wharf project was far more advanced than many other mooted hotel projects that were yet to move beyond planning stages.

“It is an iconic site and (Federal Group) are good operators that know what they are doing. It is going to happen,” he said.

Federal Group spokesman Daniel Hanna confirmed the delay, but said the company was excited about the new hotel, which has been designed by the celebrated architect behind Saffire, Robert Morris-Nunn.

“As with the Henry Jones Art Hotel and Saffire-Freycinet, MAC 01 is all about expressing the core values of the destination and allowing our guests to connect on an emotional level,” he said.

“MAC 01 will do this by cel- ebrating some of the great character traits of the Tasmanian personality.”

Mr Martin said until the accommodation shortage was addressed though extra hotels being built it would also be dif- ficult for Hobart to expand its share of conferences and business events. “We need to be able to demonstrate we have the hotel rooms to accommodate people,” he said.

Industry figures show hotel occupancy numbers continue to rise around the state.

During the traditionally quiet month of May there was another improvement in occupancy on the previous year to about 64 per cent.

Tasmanian Hospitality Association general manager Steve Old said the South’s May figure of more than 70 per cent was almost 2½ per cent more than the previous May.

“It is another positive result with the overall occupancy rates for Tasmania,” he said.

“It is also extremely positive to see that the overall statewide statistics in all categories are up on previous periods.”

Average annual occupancy from June last year to May this year was up statewide by 1.62 per cent to 71 per cent, with the South softening by less than 0.5 per cent to 78 per cent.

Mr Old said it was good to see sustained growth in the regional areas of Tasmania.

“It was pleasing to see both the Room Rate and Yield for May both increase by over $5 for the previous year,” he said.