Hotel operator targets Geelong’s booming visitor and corporate economy
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Hotel operator targets Geelong’s booming visitor and corporate economy
Geelong’s emergence as a major business and leisure destination has been confirmed with the management rights of Vue Apartments and Day Spa and Ritz Geelong sold for nearly $10 million by ResortBrokers.
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ResortBrokersVue Serviced Apartments in Geelong
Geelong's potential as a visitor destination has been recognised by Collective Hotel Management, which has purchased the management rights to two major apartment complexes in the city's CBD.
The 60-unit Vue Apartments & Day Spa settled this week while the 127 key Ritz Geelong, which is due for completion in late 2020, has been agreed and is awaiting settlement.
Both were sold by ResortBrokers to Collective Hotel Management for nearly $10 million, adding to the company's portfolio of two luxury resorts in Noosa as well as a corporate hotel in Woolloongabba, Brisbane.
ResortBrokers Management Rights Specialist Glenn Millar, who handled the Vue sale with Managing Director Trudy Crooks, said there was a lot of interest in Vue Apartments and the Ritz from experienced operators and syndicates, all of whom wanted to be part of the city's future.
“This is such an undersupplied Victorian location with a high occupancy rate of around 77 percent while the total number of rooms grew by just 5.6 percent in five years between 2011 and 2016,” he said.
The exterior of Ritz Geelong. Source: ResortBrokers
“Combine that with a major investment in business and infrastructure development and you have all the ingredients for strong demand for many years to come.”
Collective Hotel Management Director Michael Tozer said the two Geelong purchases were a “good fit” with his company’s accommodation assets.
“A lot of people enjoy our leisure products in Noosa, where there is a high expectation for quality service to accompany the quality location,” he said.
“We think Geelong fits in very well with that.”
Situated on the edge of the Geelong CBD, Vue Apartments consists of 60 modern serviced apartments providing luxurious studio, one and two-bedroom options aimed at both corporate short-stay and leisure visitors.
All 60 apartments are in the letting pool and Vue Apartments is regarded as one of Geelong’s best boutique accommodation choices and also operates the popular Vue Day Spa for both guests and the public.
The management rights to Vue Apartments & Day Spa were sold after being in the hands of Saltwater Properties since the building was completed in 2012.
ResortBrokers also sold the management rights to The Ritz Geelong for the off-the-plan upscale apartment hotel redevelopment on behalf of Melbourne-based developer Integrated Development Solutions (IDS).
The Ritz Geelong has 127 keys and the purpose-built, short-term accommodation operation comes with long term caretaking and letting agreements and associated freehold real estate.
At the heart of Geelong’s economic development is a 10 year plan for the city and the Great Ocean Road which has been called the Geelong City Deal Implementation Plan.
Under the plan just under half a billion dollars will be invested into Geelong and the Great Ocean Road region.
The intereior of one of the Ritz apartments. Source: ResortBrokers
The latest figures from Tourism Greater Geelong and the Bellarine’s 2018/19 annual report show the region has seen double-digit growth in each of the key metrics.
Visitation rose to 5.9 million, up 15.7 percent on the previous year while nights spent in the region grew to 5.5 million, an increase of 19.6 per cent.
Visitor expenditure is now worth $1.1 billion to the local economy, jumping 17.4 per cent.
“We are now suffering from an undersupply of accommodation to service this demand, resulting in a far greater gap between day trip visitation (4.2 million) and overnight travellers (1.7 million),” the report notes.
“According to the 10-year outlook in the recent Tourism Development Plan, the region requires a further 1564 guest rooms to meet demand and help us reach upwards of 7.5 million visitors by 2027.”
Ms Crooks said Geelong’s visitor economy was now on a scale comparable to Darwin and Hobart in market size, making it attractive to major accommodation operators.
“We see Geelong as one of Australia’s great regional cities with the potential to become a real business powerhouse and all the indicators are that the leisure market is also set for major growth,” he said.
Click here for more information on Vue Serviced Apartments.
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