Marriott’s eco-friendly Element hotel adds dash of green

Marriott International will introduce the eco-friendly Element brand to Australia with a hotel in Melbourne.

Marriott has promised to open a new hotel every 14 hours.

American hotel giant Marriott International has made good on its promise to open one hotel every 14 hours within the next three years, announcing it will introduce the eco-friendly Ele­ment brand to Australia.

Malaysian entrepreneur Dato’ Leong of TRC (Aust) is developing the 168-room hotel in the fast-growing Melbourne suburb of Richmond. The hotel will be the anchor tenant of the diversified Botanicca Corporate Park development, which has attracted several Southeast Asian investors and is being developed by Macquarie Bank and R. Corporation.

Marriott International’s area vice-president Australia, Sean Hunt, said the group had signed a long-term management agreement over the hotel, which is expected to open in 2019.

Mr Hunt said the hotel, which is designed for business travellers, would feature a cafe serving organic food, a 24-hour gourmet food pantry, and an outdoor yoga deck. Some rooms will have energy-efficient kitchenettes.

Mr Hunt said there were 28 Marriott Hotels operating in Australia with a further 22 properties under construction including W Hotels in Melbourne and Brisbane, the Aloft Melbourne South Yarra, and The Westin Brisbane.

Meanwhile, the Sheraton Melbourne in Little Collins Street remains on the market with several investors circling. Qatar Airways is one of the interested parties in the hotel being sold by Golden Age Group. It is expected to sell for $130m through JLL Hotels.