Uber has done it to the taxi industry, Airbnb has done to it hotels — now there are concerns that dating apps are destroying the legal brothel industry.

Rebecca*, manager of the Sunshine Coast's only remaining legal brothel, said business was down by 40 per cent in the last year.

She has blamed the downturn on a rise in the use of internet dating apps like Tinder where people can access sex for free.

The coast's other legal brothel closed in June last year and attempts to sell the once-busy brothel via auction and then private treaty were unsuccessful.

Rebecca, who has managed legal brothels in Queensland for eight years, three of those her current location, said while it was "still a good business", they had "definitely seen a decline in the last year".

"[With] clients going to dating sites, like Tinder, business is down by at least 40 per cent," she said.

She said people still wanted to come to regulated facilities like legal brothels, but changes in the last year were "definitely having an impact".

Lure of sausage sizzle

One Gold Coast brothel has been trying enticements, like free sausage sizzles, to bring in customers.

Rebecca said similar initiatives were being tried on the Sunshine Coast.

"We have promotions like Tradie Tuesday night," she said, adding that the offer of a room discount and free sausage sizzle and soft drink was not having a substantial impact.

Dating apps like Tinder are being blamed for a downturn in the legal brothel industry. ( ABC News )

"It's the girls dressing up in tradie gear that brings them in more than anything else."

Rebecca would not reveal the amount the brothel paid on licensing fees, but said it was "way over the top" because they could only advertise in the local newspaper or on their website.

She said an increase in sex workers operating legally out of hotel rooms, without the overhead cost of licensing fees, was also having an impact.

She estimated the business was paying the government up to $50,000 annually in taxes and expenses which forced legal brothels to charge more than sex workers operating from hotel rooms.

"In comparison, private girls don't have to register, they don't have to have a working girl number, as they do in Sydney and Melbourne," she said.

"They are taking cash and not paying tax ... it's not fair."

She said private sex workers did not need a sexual health certificate and warned that health and safety needed to be the highest priority.

What does future hold?

While the business currently remains open, Rebecca said she was unsure what the future held for Queensland brothels.

A Sunshine Coast legal brothel owner says the future is uncertain. ( Supplied )

"[At] this point, I know that brothels in Queensland are forming their own little ring to get together and try to work hard on regulations that need to be changed," she said.

"It's a constant battle [so] if we can make people aware of it, we have a chance."

She said she believed there were only 12 licensed brothels left in Queensland because they are closing "willy nilly all over the place".

"I know Mackay closed in the last few years and Scarlet Harem closed here," Rebecca said.

*Rebecca asked for her real name not to be published.