Queenstown has the strongest commercial and hospitality development pipeline of any New Zealand market outside Auckland, and on a per capita basis it is not close. Between now and 2028 the district will add several hundred hotel rooms across four named projects, begin a multi billion dollar town centre precinct, and deliver new office and retail development at Frankton.

This is a working guide to what is coming, who is building it, and what it means for operators and owners planning fitout or refurbishment work in the district.

The demand fundamentals

Queenstown’s development pipeline exists because the underlying tourism numbers support it.

Visitors spent approximately NZ$2.83 billion in the year ending March 2025, split between NZ$1.79 billion international and NZ$1.04 billion domestic. That sits 9.3 percent below the NZ$3.12 billion recorded in the year ending March 2020, so there is still recovery headroom.

Queenstown Airport recorded around 192,000 international visitor arrivals between January and August 2025, up 14 percent year on year and within 5 percent of pre pandemic 2019 levels. Australia accounts for roughly 40 percent of arrivals.

The district’s population grew around 70 percent over the past decade, from 28,224 in 2013 to 47,808 five years later, which is a significant driver of demand for retail, food and beverage and commercial services independent of tourism.

Hotel performance: the reason for the hotel pipeline

Queenstown is the strongest performing hotel market in New Zealand, and constrained supply has been the driver.

July 2025 saw occupancy reach a five year July peak of 76 percent, with around 9 percent average daily rate growth and a 4.5 to 5 star average daily rate of $420.41, the highest winter figure on record. November 2025 saw RevPAR up 9.8 percent year on year, with 4.5 to 5 star up 12 percent and 3 to 4 star up 7 percent. Queenstown Marathon race day lifted ADR to $434 and occupancy to 88 percent. The 2024 to 2025 summer saw RevPAR up 17.2 percent on a 14.4 percent ADR increase.

Limited new supply has underpinned both high occupancy and sustained rate growth. That is exactly the condition that attracts hotel development, and the pipeline reflects it.

The named projects

Lakeview Te Taumata

The largest development in Queenstown’s history. A mixed use precinct of more than $2 billion on the former Queenstown campground, a 10 hectare masterplan site near the Skyline gondola.

Developer 94 Feet, in partnership with Augusta Capital, Ngāi Tahu Tourism and Well Smart. Stage 1 land settlement completed 23 December 2025. Seven stages spanning more than ten years. The programme includes hotels, co living, co working, retail, food and beverage, hot pools and 224 residences in the first collection, known as Roto, comprising three towers plus the precinct’s first hotel. Builder is CMP.

The project is targeting carbon neutral construction using cross laminated timber. Queenstown Lakes District Council has invested $66 million to date. The mayor has described it as one of the most significant projects Queenstown has ever seen.

St Regis Queenstown

Marriott’s first St Regis in New Zealand. 145 rooms, new build, on a prominent central corner site. Opening late 2027. Developer PHC Queenstown Limited.

Radisson RED Queenstown

221 rooms, new build lifestyle hotel with a rooftop bar. Signed February 2026, opening early 2028. Sits within an emerging precinct that will also add retail, a supermarket and dining.

voco Queenstown

IHG conversion of the 227 room Holiday Inn Express and Suites, reopening later in 2026 following refurbishment. The scope includes a new private dining room, upgraded meeting spaces, outdoor dining and the Mozzarella and Co restaurant and bar. Owner Pro invest Group, operator EVT Connect Hospitality.

QT Queenstown

Expansion of the existing 69 room lakefront hotel, with new rooms staged through 2026 and completion targeted mid 2027. The hotel remains open throughout, which makes it a useful reference point for any operator weighing a refurbishment against a closure.

The Queenstown Hotel, 12 to 26 Man Street

Woods Bagot designed luxury hotel comprising five interconnected pavilions built over an existing basement carpark. Approved under the COVID-19 Recovery (Fast Track Consenting) Act 2020, with around 180 construction jobs across a two year build.

Five Mile, Frankton

New office and retail development by Queenstown Gateway Five Mile. Construction planned from the second quarter of 2026 with both buildings complete at the end of 2027. Colliers reports office and retail demand in the area is strong.

Homestead Bay

RCL Homestead Bay Limited, fast track approved. 2,800 homes plus a commercial retail precinct, with an estimated $720.3 million GDP contribution and around 4,420 construction jobs.

Infrastructure

The Queenstown gondola project has selected Doppelmayr and Leitner, with construction targeted for 2027 and the first line operational in 2029. Arterial road works and wastewater upgrades continue, including the Frankton Track pipeline through 2026 and 2027 and Robins Road works.

Several projects, including the gondola and various proposed civic facilities, remain conditional on consenting and funding. Treat them as proposed rather than confirmed and check current status before relying on any date.

The commercial property position

Retail vacancy in the core Queenstown CBD is effectively nil. Colliers has described the town centre as having virtually no retail vacancy, and large format retail at Frankton and on the fringe also shows consistently low vacancy. The second half of 2025 brought a burst of investment activity with steady yields and capital values.

For a retail or hospitality operator this creates a specific dynamic. Tenancies come available rarely, competition for them is intense, and the window between securing a lease and needing to trade is usually short. Programme certainty matters more in a zero vacancy market than in a soft one, because every week of delay is a week of paying rent on a space that is not earning.

What this means for operators and owners

Fitout capacity will tighten. A pipeline of this scale draws subcontractor capacity toward the large projects. Operators planning smaller fitout and refurbishment work should secure contractors earlier than they would in a normal market.

Trading disruption is the main risk to manage. With occupancy and rate at record levels, closing a venue or taking rooms out of service is expensive in a way it was not five years ago. The QT expansion, staged while the hotel stays open, is the model most operators will want to follow.

Seasonality shapes the programme. Refurbishment work is concentrated in shoulder and low season, which means everyone competes for the same window and contractor availability in that window is limited.

Cost is higher than Auckland. Freight, labour scarcity and worker accommodation all add cost in Queenstown. We cover the comparison in detail in our guide to what it costs to build and fit out in Queenstown compared with Auckland.

Consenting is faster than Auckland. Queenstown Lakes District Council recorded a median statutory processing time of 7 working days against Auckland’s 15.1, and median total elapsed time of 18 days against Auckland’s 28. QLDC processed 97.01 percent of building consents within the 20 day statutory timeframe in October 2025.

Frequently asked questions

What major hotels are being built in Queenstown? Four named projects are in the pipeline: St Regis Queenstown, 145 rooms opening late 2027; Radisson RED Queenstown, 221 rooms opening early 2028; voco Queenstown, a 227 room conversion of the Holiday Inn Express reopening later in 2026; and an expansion of QT Queenstown completing mid 2027. The Queenstown Hotel on Man Street is also approved.

What is Lakeview Te Taumata? A mixed use precinct of more than $2 billion on a 10 hectare site near the Skyline gondola, developed by 94 Feet with Augusta Capital, Ngāi Tahu Tourism and Well Smart. It spans seven stages over more than ten years and includes hotels, co living, co working, retail, food and beverage, hot pools and 224 residences in the first collection. Stage 1 land settled in December 2025.

How is the Queenstown hotel market performing? Strongly. July 2025 occupancy reached a five year July peak of 76 percent with 4.5 to 5 star average daily rate at $420.41, the highest winter figure recorded. November 2025 RevPAR was up 9.8 percent year on year. Constrained new supply has supported both occupancy and rate growth.

Is there retail space available in Queenstown? Very little. Colliers describes the core Queenstown CBD as having virtually no retail vacancy, with large format retail at Frankton also showing consistently low vacancy. Tenancies come available rarely and competition for them is intense.

How much do visitors spend in Queenstown? Approximately NZ$2.83 billion in the year ending March 2025, comprising NZ$1.79 billion international and NZ$1.04 billion domestic. That is 9.3 percent below the NZ$3.12 billion recorded in the year ending March 2020.

Sources

  • Queenstown Lakes District Council development and consent information
  • Stats NZ and Infometrics visitor spend and arrivals data, via NZ Herald and Otago Daily Times reporting
  • Horwath HTL, New Zealand hotel performance reporting
  • Colliers Otago, commercial property market commentary
  • Marriott International, IHG and EVT Connect Hospitality development announcements
  • Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, building consent processing statistics, Q1 2026

Refresh schedule: this is a pipeline page and dates move. Review quarterly and on any major project announcement.

This article is general information. Project details, dates and status change. Verify current status before making commercial decisions.