Chief operating officer for Minor Hotels in Australasia Craig Hooley (pictured), confirmed the group plans to bring its NH Collection and NH Hotels brands to every capital city in Australia within the next five years.
Speaking with travelBulletin, Hooley said the hotel group is “targeting and hopes to announce within the next 12 months, NHs in Adelaide, Brisbane, as well as Sydney.
He added that growing appeal for events in both the leisure and MICE sectors have played a pivotal role in its current and future business models.
“Traditionally [a city relies on] a lot on corporate mice events and global events coming to town to fuel accommodation demand and drive our economy,” he said.
“And what we’re finding also is that the average spend of that [form of] travel is significantly higher, [with] people investing quite heavily into these events.
“It’s good for both the domestic economy, but also good for the accommodation sector because we’re seeing some high ADRs and some big spends coming into these events.”
Hooley said that Minor’s recent unveilings of NH Collection Sydney and NH Sydney Airport, alongside Avani Wollongong have received attention from European travel media, due to the brands’ presence in the continent.
“NH expanding in Australia is a great opportunity for the brand to attract European travellers [coming to the country],” Hooley explained.
“Guests in Europe will come to Australia and recognise straight away, the NH brand.
“We’re seeing some good interest in it at this stage, but it’s still too early, so we won’t be opening bookings until probably after mid-year.”
In addition to capital cities, Hooley also reaffirmed Minor’s plan to expand its presence in Australia’s “secondary cities” and regional areas through its other brands in Australia.
“[There are] events and activities going on in different parts of Australia – and we’re looking at how we can expand the brand even further.”
