Novotel Sydney gets $20m facelift as hotel sector surges ahead

Novotel Sydney City centre has undergone a $20 million revamp to cater for the uptick in demand for room as tourism sector growth occurs rapidly.

Included in the transformation of the 283-room hotel located on York Street is a focus on sustainability and to create a hotel with less waste, not just in terms of the environment, but also decreasing wasted space in rooms to allow for extra communal area.

Salter Brothers owns the large-scale corner property, as global giant Accor manages the hotel.

Novotel Sydney City Centre, operated by Accor, has completed its $20 million refurbishment

Paul Salter, managing director of Salter Brothers said he was “delighted to elevate this hotel under the Novotel brand”. He said the Novotel resonates across the globe as a recognisable name in the midscale hotel space.

The group has been expanding its portfolio and has unveiled its latest plans for the new Sebel Sydney Martin Place.

The 86-room premium hotel is undergoing a multimillion-dollar refurbishment. As the first The Sebel property within Sydney’s financial district, it will replace the Mercure Sydney Martin Place after its acquisition by Salter Brothers.

“The newly branded property will elevate the hotel, providing guests with an intimate, bespoke upscale The Sebel experience,” Salter said.

The hotel sector is the second-largest employer of full-time and part-time staff after retail, and was one of the hardest hit by the pandemic.

The resurgence of travel, sporting events and concerts has helped bring the sector back to life as operators report near-capacity occupancy for parts of the week and weekends.

This has led to high demand from investors for properties which experts predict will flow into the coming year.

The latest CBRE research said institutional investors are attracted to prime hotel assets in tier 1 markets including Australia, Japan and Singapore and resorts across Asia Pacific.

Despite current economic headwinds and constraints on airline seat availability, hotel performance in Asia Pacific has continued to improve in 2023.

The recovery continues to be largely driven by domestic demand, although the return of mainland Chinese tourists at the beginning of 2023 has started to trickle into neighbouring markets with greater velocity in the past quarter.

“With limited supply of high-quality assets, we anticipate intense competition among investors for the best hotel properties across Asia Pacific,” Dr Henry Chin, head of research (Asia Pacific) said.

“Despite the region’s uneven tourism recovery, core assets in Japan, Singapore, Australia and Korea, as well as resort markets continue to generate strong interest.”

The new Sebel Martin Place, Sydney

Steve Carroll, a head of hotels and hospitality for CBRE, is anticipating a repricing of Asia Pacific hotel assets to be more moderate than in many other parts of the world “as the rebound in international arrivals and higher hotel revenue helps to offset headwinds from the capital markets’ environment”.

“Asia Pacific hotel assets have performed well over the past year, making them highly coveted investments,” Carroll said.

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