Australia’s largest hotel operator, Accor, will add to its expanding economy portfolio following the signing of a management agreement with Middle East hotel owner and developer, Action Hotels plc (Action), who today confirmed that they will develop what will be the largest ibis hotel in Australasia in a prime commercial location in central Brisbane.
The announcement of the 368-room ibis Brisbane Elizabeth Street hotel took place at the Sofitel Brisbane Central today (Tuesday 2 September) with Accor Pacific Chief Operating Officer Simon McGrath, Managing Director of AHC Australia, Andrew Nehme and Brisbane Lord Mayor Graham Quirk.
Accor and Action Hotels plc have been working together in economy hotels in Australia and the Middle East since 2006, and currently have five operating ibis hotels and a further three due to open by the end of 2016. In Australia, Action Hotels plc own the ibis Glen Waverley hotel in Melbourne which opened in 2007.
Simon McGrath, Accor Pacific Chief Operating Officer said, “Accor remains the leader in the economy hotel segment with 60 hotels in the Australian ibis ‘megabrand’ brand portfolio. The ibis brand has kept up with the changing expectations of consumers through design-led affordable quality hotels. As such, investors are strongly drawn to the ibis brand as exemplified by three new build hotels currently in development and the recent opening of ibis Adelaide.
“Once operational, Ibis Brisbane Elizabeth Street will add another dimension to the brand growth as the largest ibis hotel in Australasia. We are excited to be part of this key development for Brisbane and look forward to working with Action on another successful partnership,” Mr. McGrath added.
Andrew Nehme of Action said, “We are excited about developing another ibis hotel in Australia given the success of our partnership that we enjoy with ibis Melbourne Glen Waverley. The new ibis hotel due to open by 2016 has a prime location in central Brisbane and will be the largest ibis in the region.”
Cr Quirk said the $90 million development, which would create more than 400 jobs during construction and 80 positions during operation, would be Action Hotels’ first investment in Queensland, building on a predominately Melbourne-based portfolio. He said the entry of Action Hotels into the Brisbane market was further evidence of the confidence being shown by domestic and overseas companies to invest in Brisbane.
“For the past two years our economic development board, Brisbane Marketing, has been spreading the strong message about Brisbane’s hotel investment opportunities,” Cr Quirk said. “Brisbane has a very positive hotel investment pitch and continues to grow its reputation as a destination of choice for business, investment and major events.
“As Australia’s New World City, Brisbane is attracting new hotel developments and this increased supply of hotel rooms improves our ability to attract visitors, as well as providing many new jobs and opportunities for local businesses. Developments such as this represent confidence, appetite and opportunity at home and abroad.”
Construction of the multi-million dollar hotel development will commence in later this year with a scheduled opening in early 2016. The ibis located at 40 Elizabeth Street will be one of the most centrally located hotels in the CBD, adjoining the Myer Centre and Queen Street Mall and walking distance to government departments and the Brisbane Casino.
The launch of ibis Brisbane Elizabeth Street will build on Accor’s already substantial hotel presence in Brisbane becoming the 14th hotel to open in the destination and complements three existing ibis hotels including ibis Brisbane, ibis Budget Windsor, ibis Budget Brisbane Airport and the recently announced ibis Brisbane Airport hotel also planned to open in 2016.
Accor’s latest ibis hotel development announcement in Brisbane comes after the successful launch of the new ibis Adelaide hotel last month (14 August). Representing the new era of ibis in Australasia, the $70 million ibis Adelaide (developed and owned by Hines Property group) offers 311 state-of-the-art accommodation rooms and excellent facilities for both business and leisure travellers. Considered the most innovative economy hotel built in Australia, let alone Adelaide, the latest ibis is also first new-build ibis to be developed in Australia since 2008 and the 60th economy hotel in Accor’s Australian network and the largest.
The new ibis Adelaide and upcoming ibis Elizabeth Street in Brisbane add to Accor’s economy ibis megabrand hotel network of ibis hotels (ibis, ibis Styles, ibis Budget) across every other mainland state capital in Australia and over 2,000 hotels encompassing more than 210,000 rooms worldwide.
