InterContinental, China’s Linzhu team up for Holiday Inn offering
InterContinental Hotels has teamed up with China’s Linzhu group to open a 305-room Holiday Inn in Sydney.
InterContinental Hotels has teamed up with China’s Linzhu group to open a 305-room Holiday Inn in Sydney’s Haymarket.
IHG chief operating officer Karin Sheppard said the hotel would be the largest midscale property in Sydney’s accommodation pipeline and was scheduled to open by 2020.
New to Australia, the Linzhu group is developing a 17-level tower, including the Holiday Inn Sydney Central hotel, at 430 Pitt Street, as well as a 1000sq m private art gallery and retail space near the Chinese-run luxury Primus Hotel Sydney, which opened recently.
Ms Sheppard said the Holiday Inn Sydney Central was the first new build Holiday Inn hotel in Australia in several years and was aimed at leisure and corporate travellers. She has signed a 20-year management agreement with Linzhu. “The Holiday Inn is a great growth engine for us, we are absolutely looking for more opportunities in Australia.”
Ms Sheppard said the CBD location was certain to attract Chinese tourists. “No doubt that will be a key part of the market,’’ she said. “IHG has a very prominent position in the China market, Holiday Inn has more than 80 hotels in China, that really helped the owner specifically choose IHG.”
She said Linzhu might develop more properties in Australia but would see how its first development in Pitt Street fared.
Linzhu director Jing Wen Lin said the Holiday Inn Sydney Central would feature a wedge-shaped design and green flowing rooftops. “Sydney continues to experience significant demand so it’s a great time to be opening a new hotel,” he said.
IHG is expanding throughout the Asia-Pacific region, with new properties in New Zealand and Fiji. “We are seeing interest from unbranded hotels because that allows them to benefit from our global distribution systems, in particular online around the world and the global rewards club, where we have over 100 million members. That ability is very attractive, ” Ms Sheppard said.
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