Marriott’s W Hotel to light up Darling Harbour
Marriott International will open a luxury W Hotel in Sydney within two years as the jewel in Grocon’s $700 million The Ribbon development at Darling Harbour, pitting it against competitors such as the newly opened Sofitel near the International Convention Centre.
Marriott International on Wednesday announced its plans for the return of the W Hotel brand to Sydney after a 10-year absence with a 593-room purpose-built property on a prime Darling Harbour site.
The announcement comes on the heels of the recent June 1 opening of the W Hotel, Brisbane, the first five-star hotel opening in the Queensland capital in decades. A W Hotel in Melbourne is also under construction.
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Marriott’s chief operations officer for the Asia-Pacific, Rajeev Menon, says the company has struck deals to manage two-thirds of the luxury hotels in Australia’s development pipeline under various Marriott brands including the Ritz Carlton.
“Globally we are seeing tremendous growth in the W Hotel brand,” Menon says.
“It will be a perfect match to have three W Hotels open across Australia.”
Funded by Chinese developer Greaton, Marriott has struck a long-term management agreement to run Sydney’s W Hotel. Menon says he is not aware if Greaton is planning to sell the asset on its completion in 2020. Grocon is building and developing the hotel.
Marriott operates 18 hotels in Australia and will have 20 by years end following the opening of the Westin in Brisbane and Four Points by Sheraton in Sydney. There are another 17 hotels in the pipeline.
The luxury market is Marriott’s key growth target with Menon revealing that its luxury hotels in Australia enjoy occupancies of more than 90%.
“We are always open to growth but we genuinely believe connecting the three main east coast cities with a W was critical,” he says.
The last time a W Hotel operated in Sydney, the hotel was at the Woolloomooloo Finger Wharf in inner-Sydney.
Meanwhile, CBRE Hotels research reveals more than 80% of Brisbane’s new hotel supply in the next 12 months is in the luxury sector. Apart from the opening of the 312-room W Brisbane and the 238-room Novotel South Brisbane there are a further five properties due to open in the next six months. CBRE Hotels national director Wayne Bunz says more luxury properties are about to open in Brisbane including the Emporium Southpoint, a five-star hotel opening next month, as well as the Art Series Howard Smith Wharves with 164 rooms opening in 2019. The 286-room Westin Brisbane is due to open in August.
Bunz says Sydney and Melbourne are still the most sought-after investment locations for hotel owners but limited availability is leading investors to widen their scope and consider other locations.
This article originally appeared on www.theaustralian.com.au/property.
