Rydges Sydney Airport hotel put on sales runway as travel hopes begin to rise

The Rydges Sydney Airport Hotel has been put on the market in what could shape as the year’s single biggest transaction.

The Rydges Sydney Airport Hotel is 100m from the airport.

A coterie of cashed-up Sydney property investors including Phil Wolanski and David Baffsky are cashing in on the looming start of the travel upsurge, listing The Rydges Sydney Airport Hotel for sale in what could shape as the year’s single biggest transaction.

About $270m is expected for the 318-room hotel, which is being sold as a vacant possession by CBRE Hotels’ Wayne Bunz and JLL’s Mark Durran.

Eight years old and upgraded, the hotel is just 100m from the international terminal and has ­received a number of off-market offers leading to the investor owners, which also include John Landerer, positioning it for sale.

The investors are buoyed by the strong recent sales achieved for the Sydney CBD’s Primus hotel, which sold for $132m, and the $620m achieved for the 11-hotel Travelodge portfolio, which was sold by Mirvac and the NRMA in October last year at 20 per cent above its book value.

“On-airport hotels are expected to be an immediate beneficiary of the rebound in international travel and this particular property will continue to command a significant rate premium over competing hotels located further afield,” Mr Bunz said.

“The asset has had an enviable historical track record for superior trading performance, with occupancies significantly higher than the Sydney average and most CBD hotels. This is the only hotel at an airport terminal in Sydney and we expect it to command a premium price.”

Mr Durran said the hotel had been well managed by Event Hospitality under its Rydges brand.

“(But) vacant possession can be obtained, providing owner-operators and alternate management companies with substantial brand exposure,” he said. “Prime investment-grade hotel assets in strategic locations such as the Sydney Airport precinct, particularly those offering vacant possession, are highly sought after and prices remain solid.”

Apart from its 318 rooms, the hotel features three food and beverage venues, including a top-floor bar, 11 conference facilities, and a business and fitness centre.

The start of the global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines and indications that international travel will be restarting this year have prompted the owners to launch the sale campaign following the receipt of several unsolicited buyer approaches in recent times.

The campaign is timed to capitalise on the new trans-Tasman travel bubble, which started with New Zealand on Monday.

The Rydges Sydney Airport Hotel is being offered for sale via an expression of interest campaign ending on May 31.