IHG and Pro-Invest Group will open the first Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants property in Australia in October 2021, following the conversion and repositioning of Primus Sydney.
Set to occupy a heritage building in the heart of New South Wales’ largest city, Kimpton Sydney is sure to turn plenty of heads.
The transformation of a landmark
Widely considered an industry pioneer for first introducing the boutique concept to the US in 1981, Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants has long been known for its signature service and experiences that aim to foster connections. Its latest outpost, which involves the conversion and repositioning of the existing Primus Sydney hotel, will take over a heritage-listed 1930s art-deco revival of inter-war period architecture that was once home to the Sydney Water Board. The guestrooms, lobby and F&B offering will all be revamped as part of the scheme.
New 494-room $200m Auckland hotel - Holiday Inn Express/voco brands at Pro-invest tower
11 May, 2021 05:32 AM
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The new hotel (centre) looking down Albert St. Photo / Alex Burton
Construction of Auckland s tallest new hotel is nearing completion in a 37-level $200 million job planned to bring the new-to-New Zealand voco brand here. Icon Construction is finishing the new 494-room building on the Albert St/Wyndham St corner in the CBD on the ex-Wilson & Horton/APN/NZME site two blocks up from the waterfront.
Abhijay Sandilya, IHG Hotels & Resorts development vice-president for Japan, Australasia and the Pacific said today that, despite Covid, the hotel was a large asset that had been built for the longer term.
Building up the events capital
CMW pings some questions Down Under for Melbourne Convention Bureau chief executive Julia Swanson.
Tell us about your early career in hospitality, and how you moved into destination marketing.
I spent 13 years in the hotel sector, initially in operations and then into an area director of sales and marketing role. I loved that sector but was drawn to having a broader scope of promoting the city I love to an international audience.
Business events is an amazing sector to work in; we work with such a variety of venues, professional conference organisers, hotels, event producers and exhibition companies. We are also fortunate to work with global leaders in science, medicine, business and academia, for whom we can help build international collaboration platforms. It is very rewarding seeing business events come to life and deliver real economic and social outcomes for the city.
Link Daintree Ecolodge Resort recently advertised in New Zealand for hospitality and housekeeping staff to try and address its shortage.
Photo: Brian Cassey No city hotels would be operating at true full capacity at the moment, said Dean Long, chief executive of the Accommodation Association of Australia. He says that when a hotel says it s fully occupied, it s stating the truth. But hotels may have been forced to artificially lower capacity in order to ensure rooms are serviced adequately. Hotels need a certain number of housekeeping staff to adhere to health and safety regulations - so keeping rooms open with greatly reduced cleaning staff is not an option.