Holiday Inn Express to launch in Australia

Holiday Inn Express to launch in Australia
By admin


InterContinental Hotels (IHG) is to bring its budget Holiday Inn Express brand to Australia with the opening of a 224-room property in Perth.

The hotel group has signed a deal with WA-based developer Sunfire Asset to manage the new-build, 20-storey hotel in Adelaide Terrace.

Construction of the $35 million development, that will also include a circa 1888 heritage house, is scheduled to begin in mid-2013 with an opening date of early 2015.

The project will go some way to easing the capacity squeeze in Perth which has seen occupancy and room rates soar.

IHG said the lower cost of developing a Holiday Inn Express hotel "makes for a sound investment" when returns from new hotels are hard to achieve.

"Holiday Inn Express' efficient design and a modular, no fills approach represents a more rapid build proposition than an upscale or luxury hotel, and meets the need for an affordable alternative to full service hotels," IHG head of development Australasia Phil Kasselis said. "It's also a lower cost and higher yield model which presents a faster road to profitability for owners."

Head of Sunfire, Ralph Nunis, said there is "real investment potential" in Perth, which has not seen a new-build in the CBD for more than a decade.

"Once open, the Holiday Inn Express business model means we will be able to keep operational costs down and room rates at affordable levels while meeting the highly competitive demands of the market for comfort, convenience and value," Nunis said.

"The CBD hasn't seen a new hotel build for more than a decade so we're delighted to be working torwards a solution for both business and leisure travellers to the city."

Room rates in Perth are forecast to increase from $199 to $259 by the end of 2015.

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