A Chinese investor has spent $30.7 million on a brand new, 128-room hotel 14 kilometers from Melbourne’s city centre, betting on the area’s growth potential.
More interestingly, the four-star Trio Hotel Box Hill at 851 Whitehorse Road, Box Hill has been sold vacant, providing the new owner complete flexibility in terms of branding, equity and strategy.
This Box Hill hotel is for sale for over $30m. Photo: realcommercial.com.au
The hotel has a 90-seat restaurant, bar, and function and event spaces for up to 300 guests, as well as access to an indoor pool, gym, sauna, steam room and landscaped gardens.
Agent Benson Zhou at Savills Melbourne said offers came from local and overseas buyers.
“The end buyer paid in cash, which is very surprising. They have a large hotel chain back in China aimed at business travelers and they were looking to expand into Australia,” he said.
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The hotel has 128 rooms, a restaurant with 90 seats, a cocktail bar and more. Photo: realcommercial.com.au
“They see great potential beyond the rooms; there is a large work space and commercial space for banquets, weddings and conferences.”
Mr Zhou said he was seeing strong interest from Asian buyers looking for large, modern property in Australia’s major cities and growth corridors.
He said Box Hill, labeled ‘Melbourne’s second CBD’, was attracting more buyers, as there was no purpose-built hotel in the suburb.
“There are serviced apartments and Airbnbs, so this hotel will be the first.”
Box Hill is a thriving Chinese hub connected by rail, tram and highways and is seeing major development in tourism, residential and retail. Yet the median weekly household income remains at $1,267, 33% lower than Greater Melbourne’s $1,901, according to ABS data.
Box Hill is considered ‘Melbourne’s second CBD’. Photo: realcommercial.com.au
REA chief economist Ms Flaherty said the area was popular with Chinese buyers.
“There’s a big Asian community there, it’s one of Melbourne’s key suburbs, there’s TAFE and there’s people visiting family who need accommodation – all of which could be reasons why Box Hill is attracting interest in that sector.”
Australia’s hotel market has been booming after the pandemic, with deal rates and occupancy rates rising slightly.
Colliers latest Capital Markets Investment review charts an 80% year-on-year increase in Australian hotel deals to $2.7b by 2025 – and the average deal size has risen to $40m, more than Trio Box Hill.
Repetitive signs have revived confidence, with several major play deals likely to boost volumes by 2026 further, the report said.
Australian hotel spending rose 80% year-on-year to $2.7 billion last year. Photo: realcommercial.com.au
It added that overseas capital represented 49% of total deals, led by Thai, US and Singaporean investors attracted by Australia’s strong hotel sector, global efficiency, booming tourism, stable politics and transparent market.
Tourism Research Australia predicts the amount spent by tourists in Australia will increase from $191.6 billion in 2025 to $233 billion in 2030.
In Melbourne, Mr Zhou said hotel demand was “stable”, fueled by the city’s major events such as the Australian Open, Formula 1 and the Spring racing Carnival.
Colliers hotels head of transactional services Karen Wales said Melbourne hotels were experiencing a “significant, event-driven and investment-driven recovery”, becoming Australia’s largest hotel market for shares.
“The increase in major events, increased international arrivals, and the development of luxury hotels has seen occupancy rates of around 77% in Melbourne by 2025, rising by 4.1 percentage points by 2024,” he said.
Demand for hotels in Melbourne has been fueled by major events such as the Australian Open, Formula 1 and the Spring Racing Carnival. Photo: realcommercial.com.au
Empty hotels like Trio Box Hill would be more attractive, he added.
“A vacant lot offering has the potential to expand the buyer pool and bring in owner operators or groups that wish to use their preferred brand or operating structure.”
Still, experts say Victoria’s tax continues to bite.
“It’s a very expensive place to own property because of the land tax, so investors should be very careful,” Ms Flaherty said.
But there was reason for optimism, he added.
“Melbourne is going to be the fastest growing capital city in the country over the next decade and that’s creating demand for all types of property, whether that’s residential, hotel or other commercial properties.”
