The Franz Josef Oasis Hotel in the South Island has an asking price of $3.2 million.
The Franz Josef Oasis Hotel in the South Island has an asking price of $3.2 million.
A strong performing South Island hotel property with potential to expand and facilitate further growth is for sale in Franz Josef, Westland.
"This business is showing substantial growth," says Barry Robertson, tourism broker in Colliers International's Queenstown office who is marketing the Franz Josef Oasis Hotel, at 2596 State Highway 6, Franz Josef, for sale as a freehold property and going concern business with an asking price of $3.2 million.
"The hotel rooms have been refurbished to a very high standard, providing contemporary accommodation," Robertson says. "This has helped the hotel become a very popular choice among visitors to Franz Josef, with the hotel rated as the third best hotel in Franz Josef on Trip Advisor."
Robertson says the property encompasses a newly renovated 16-suite hotel building, a restaurant, art gallery, manager and staff accommodation and gardens on 1.59 hectares of land.
"It also comes with additional land and infrastructure to accommodate further rooms, so expansion could be an option for the new owner," he says.
All the suites have decks and offer either rural or mountain views. Suite amenities include mini bars, well-appointed bathrooms, lounge seating, electric fire places and king beds. The restaurant is situated in the middle of the complex and features a covered outdoor dining area.
A separate house on the property provides the manager and staff accommodation, office store room and the Andris Apse Gallery, which features work by the well-known New Zealand landscape photographer.
An aerial view of the Franz Josef Oasis Hotel complex in Westland.
The site, which is landscaped also provides plenty of sealed car parking, is on the western side of the State Highway 6 Glacier Highway, five kilometres north of Franz Josef.
Robertson says its West Coast Glacier Country is one of only two places in the world where visitors can view glaciers descending into temperate rainforest.
"As such it's of significant importance to the local and national economy and, with New Zealand's tourism industry continuing to grow, well-located visitor accommodation assets are considered strategic holdings by many buyers," he says.
"Visitor arrivals in to New Zealand in August 2015 were the highest August total ever recorded, with the 3.02 million visitor arrivals for the year ended August 2015 also a record. New Zealand's international visitor arrivals have doubled since 1993, and they are expected to keep growing at a rate of about 4 per cent a year."
Robertson says Franz Josef is a key stop on the South Island tourism circuit so Colliers is expecting strong interest in the property from established operators based on visitor growth trends.
"Its location right on State Highway 6, modern presentation and expansion capability make it a compelling proposition for buyers. The glacier area is one of the main tourist attractions of the West Coast with around 250,000 visitors a year, and as many as 2700 a day.
"It's a major contributor to the local economy with almost one in nine (11.2 per cent) jobs held by Westland District residents supported by tourism, according to Tourism Industry Association New Zealand (TIA) figures.
Robertson says guest nights on the West Coast rose 10.5 per cent to 1,267,906 over the year to August 2015.
"Visitors spend $288 million a year on the West Coast, equivalent to 20.4 per cent of the region's GDP," he says.
