New player enters Australian hotel scene

A new hotel company will make its debut in Australia next year.

Alpha Hotels & Resorts will start rolling out a range of upper-midscale hotels across the country from 2014, including initial locations in Brisbane, Sydney and Canberra. The brand will be an owner-operator, focusing on resort and apartment properties in key cities and leisure destinations. Hotel sites will also include multi-use projects and retail developments.

Jonathan Wooller, Alpha’s founder and managing partner, explained the company’s concept.

“Our upper midscale hotels… will wear the bold new Alpha branding but will have their own local focus and personality shaped by the requirements of their customers,” Wooller said. “The style, facilities and food will be unique to each hotel and will complement its local environs, however the customer journey and service experience will be 100% aligned with Alpha standards which will be backed by our money-back guarantee.”

Alpha will make its entrance into the Australian market on 1 February 2014, with the opening of the Alpha Canberra. This will be followed by the Alpha Eastern Creek in Sydney on 1 March and Alpha Mosaic Brisbane in April.

Alpha Canberra, in the Tuggerangong area of Australia’s capital, is currently being renovated and will reopen with 100 rooms, a restaurant, bar and gym.

The 60-room Alpha Eastern Creek is also being redeveloped, with the addition of a new restaurant and a club lounge overlooking the Sydney Motor Sport Park. Finally, the 18-storey Alpha Mosaic Brisbane will be the company’s first new-build property, forming part of a new mixed-use complex in Fortitude Valley. The hotel will feature 51 rooms and 213 apartments, plus a restaurant and bar.

Alpha was founded by Jonathan Wooller and Bruce Holliday, who collectively have more than 50 years of hotel experience with companies including SilverNeedle, Constellation, Accor, Four Seasons, Hilton and Hyatt.

Source: Travel Daily Media, 10 December 2013