By Amelia Ball
An historic Brisbane hotel sold last month, adding a second venue and three more potential bottle shops to the new owner’s portfolio.
Acquired by the Conias Hotel Group, the Transcontinental Hotel has already changed hands and is now in the early stages of a renovation.
The Conias group includes four Brisbane liquor retail outlets under the Spiros Bottleshops banner, as well as the Embassy Hotel, which is within a five minute walk of the Transcontinental.
General manager Adam Hill said the group was excited about the venue, having been seeking to acquire another hotel since settling into the nearby Embassy.
“We do like nice things,” Hill said of the Transcontinental’s makeover. “We spent well over a $1 million on the Embassy and that place is now firing. We’ll do the same thing here.”
With the Transcontinental close to Suncorp Stadium, Hill and his team will be capitalising on the venue’s location by partnering with the NRL, rugby union and Queensland Roar, among others.
The group sees plenty of opportunity through their service and ranging, which, according to Hill, rivals the chains in the tough Queensland market.
“It’s not so much about independents pushing into the market, but holding on to what we have,” he said.
He said Conias intends to implement their three new bottle shop licences but Brisbane sites are difficult to secure.