Backpackers an attractive income-earner or development

Tenders close on March 14 for a cityfringe backpacker lodge straddling several of Auckland’s premier hospitality hubs.

Freemans Backpackers Lodge, at 65 Wellington St in Freemans Bay, has operated from a converted villa for 15 years and in 2017/18 sustained an 80 percent occupancy rate.

It offers a range of sleeping options from bunk-style dormitories to share twin/ double and family rooms.

Stuart Bode of Bayleys Auckland says the lodge caters to the budget end of the market and in the last financial year it was generating a net income of $180,000.

‘‘The business is run by a full-time manager who lives on site.’’

The 546-square metre site is zoned residential terrace house and apartment building under the Auckland Unitary Plan, so could be used to develop multi-storey dwellings or apartments.

Blu Realty salesperson Leah La Hood says the residential environment also attracts guests wanting a more suburban atmosphere for their stay, rather than the vibrancy and associated noise of the bigger CBD backpacker lodges in downtown Auckland.

‘‘Yet Freemans Backpackers Lodge is strategically located just a short walk from the CityWorks Depot, Karangahape Road, and Ponsonby Road – all with their proliferation of food and beverage.’’

According to Statistics NZ, 892,835 backpacker stay nights were recorded in Auckland for the year ending November 2018, an average industry occupancy rate of 54.9 percent.

‘‘Freemans Backpackers Lodge with its occupancy rate of 80 percent clearly outperforms its competitors from that perspective,’’ La Hood says.

For more information, contact Stuart Bode on 027 493 6223 or Leah La Hood on 021 897 788.