Record demand brings new rooms to Sydney

Record demand brings new rooms to Sydney
By Hannah Edensor


More rooms are headed to Sydney thanks to Australia’s hotel mogul Jerry Schwartz.

The Schwartz Family Company has announced that two floors and 38 rooms will be added to its Rydges Sydney Central to cater for record demand in Sydney.

Construction of the two floors is expected to begin in April 2016, with completion scheduled for the end of 2016, in time for the opening of Sydney’s new International Convention Centre (ICC).

The extension of the Rydges hotel follows a complete makeover of Schwartz’s Rydges World Square and will complement the building of the Sofitel Sydney Darling Harbour, which will be owned by Schwartz Family Company on its completion in 2017.

The announcement of the extension of the Rydges Sydney Central follows a record nine months of operation with the hotel predicting an average occupancy rate of 93% for 2015, up from 84% two years ago when the hotel was rebranded to Rydges.

Rydges Sydney Central - Hotel Lobby Aquarium

“The extension to the Rydges Sydney Central is a very clever use of unused space, which will make the construction cost effective and cause relatively low disruption,” SFC director Dr Jerry Schwartz said.

“New constructions in Sydney are relatively difficult because of the cost of land, and Sydney is crying out for new rooms.”

“Our architects were able to identify space on top of the existing low-rise part of the hotel, and by using lightweight construction, guests in the rest of the hotel will barely know that 38 rooms are actually being built.

“The hotel’s location between Central and Surry Hills has made it very popular for business, conference and leisure travellers and while it will be hard to sustain occupancy levels at current levels with so much new supply scheduled to come into the market, with the addition of demand-drivers like the International Convention Centre we see Sydney’s hotel market remaining very strong for many years to come.

“Rates have increased in Sydney over recent years, but then so have the quality of hotel facilities and standards.”

“We have invested significantly in upgrading rooms and public areas across the SFC hotels, and the new rooms to be added at the Rydges Sydney Central will be both spacious and deluxe in style.”

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