Tune contemplates Adelaide

Tune contemplates Adelaide
By admin


Adelaide has been highlighted as a potential site for Tune Hotels' third location as rumours abound that sister airline AirAsia X is planning a four times weekly service to the South Australian capital.

Chief executive Mark Lankester told Travel Today that the firm had been considering a Perth investment but has not yet done a deal there.

"Perth clearly makes an awful lot of sense," he said, highlighting its proximity to SE Asia and AirAsia X routes to Kuala Lumpur. But he highlighted the cost challenges of investing in the city, and confirmed the firm is still looking for a suitable opportunity.

However, if AirAsia X does deliver a new Adelaide route, Lankester suggested it would "make an awful lot of sense to dovetail on those services" and invest in the city.

Despite the airline's long-term presence on the Gold Coast, he ruled out the introduction of the "urban" Tune brand to the resort area.

"Our whole remit is that we are a great choice for people not spending a lot of time in their rooms," he said.

Meanwhile, Lankester confirmed Tune's first Australian property, a 235-room property on Melbourne's Swanston Street, will open in November with bookings set to open in July. Its Sydney Airport property will follow, with an opening date of early 2015.

Around 60% of the hotels' clientele will be leisure customers, he forecast, with a "very high percentage" of those from overseas and most likely carried to Australia by AirAsia X.

But Lankester was confident the domestic market would soon become familiar with the brand and its value proposition.

"If that becomes something that resonates with the Australian market, then we'll find good amounts of domestic tourism coming in from interstate," he predicted.

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