Global hotel chains target Australia

Two of the world’s biggest hotel operators, Intercontinental Hotel Group and Marriott International, are planning to expand in Australia, identifying it as the industry’s next big growth centre.

Marriott is opening new luxury brands in Sydney: the Ritz-Carlton at The Star, and W Hotel at Darling Harbour and the upmarket brand St Regis in the future.

And in Melbourne, it has the W Hotel on Collins Street scheduled to open in 2020. The W is being developed in partnership with Daisho Development Melbourne and Cbus Property at 447 Collins Street.

For its part, the Intercontinental group plans to open a 170-room Hotel Indigo in its new building in Docklands after signing a management agreement with family-run developer Salta Properties.

It will be the first bespoke Indigo brand hotel to open in Melbourne. It is due to open in 2019.

The new hotel will be part of a 26-level apartment building at 699 La Trobe Street,

It will be Intercontinental's second offering of the Indigo brand in Australia.

Intercontinental opened an Indigo hotel in Brisbane's Fortitude Valley last year.

The group also plans to open a Holiday Inn Express in Melbourne's Southbank in 2019.

That will bring its total Melbourne room count across its Holiday Inn, Indigo, Crowne Plaza and Intercontinental brands to 1558.’

Anthony Ingham, the global brand leader of W Hotels Worldwide, said he expected more global hotel brands to open in Australia over the next few years.

"The expansion into Melbourne marks the second W Hotel coming to Australia, following W Brisbane, which will open its doors in early 2018," Mr Ingham told the Sydney Morning Herald.

"Luxury travel is in high demand so operators need to create an experience, not just in room quality, but in services such as key-less rooms and apps that allow the guest to check in on their phones and go straight to the room," Mr Ingham said.

by Leon Gettler, May 3^rd 2017