Daily News & Opinion

Australia’s largest independent hotel group, the Crystalbrook Collection continues to put its actions where its mouth is to support its philosophy of responsible luxury.

Launching Crystalbrook Sustainability Month, the brand is putting $10,000 worth of hotel credits on the line to encourage guests to share ideas to make the hospitality industry more sustainable. The winner will receive $5,000 in credits and two runners-up will receive $2,500 in credits each. Read more

The Nesuto hotel group will open a new property on campus at Curtin University in Perth in December, located in the university’s innovation precinct, with space for events of up to 100 people. Read more

The NSW Government has released its roadmap for what will be allowed when 80 percent of the state’s population is fully vaccinated and when the unvaccinated will come out of lockdown, while the ACT has released its roadmap for permitted activities in Phases A, B and C of Australia’s national plan to reopen. Read more

ICC Sydney’s 2020/2021 financial year results highlight the impact of the pandemic on the events sector while also demonstrating the appetite for face-to-face events.

Despite being subject to lockdown restrictions for just six days of the year, the venue’s financial year results were significantly down on pre-pandemic times, with 200 in-person events held, compared to 671 in the 2018/2019 financial year. In 2020/2021 over 200,000 people attended the venue compared to 1.4 million visitors in 2018/2019. Read more

Among a brace of new lifestyle hotels scheduled to open soon in Melbourne, Hyatt Centric has nominated December 1 to debut its new brand in Australia, with a contemporary boutique hotel on the corner of Flinders Lane and Downie Street in the heart of Melbourne. Read more

The first of New Zealand’s new generation of convention centres, Te Pae Christchurch has achieved an important environmental certification in a program specifically tailored for New Zealand businesses, as it prepares to open its doors in December. Read more

Freedom to gather will only be reinstated if vaccination targets are achieved, the rates of transmissions come down and importantly, if COVIDSafe policies are implemented by the operators of live events and venues.

Our industry exists to bring people together. So, do we have a fundamental responsibility to lead policy rather than wait for vaccination to be mandated for our sector by Governments? Read more

While Melbourne awaits news on its current COVID-19 lockdown, Oakwood is pushing ahead with the Melbourne debut of its Oakwood Premier apartment hotel close to Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre (MCEC), that is now scheduled to open in October this year instead of in 2022.

It will be the first Oakwood Premier for Australia and the 10th of this brand which can be found in other major world cities including Tokyo, Seoul and Singapore. Read more