Williams said that while Melbourne’s hotel occupancy rates may have been down compared to other cities, this is due largely to the 5,000 extra hotel rooms added in the past five years.
“Right across the board in Australia, we’ve seen really good demand growth and that’s off the back of events, really good events, in most of the major capital cities. And that really has kicked off a great year [for] hotels in Melbourne. It is actually an all-time record number of rooms sold in Melbourne.
Williams says Melbourne’s hotel activity over the past year has delivered a stronger year than even Taylor Swift’s series of mega concerts could do for Melbourne the previous year.
“That says that there is a really strong and robust demand domestically, primarily built around events and built around people looking to experience good things.”
Williams said industry research revealed Melbourne hotels had sold 36,000 rooms during March, driven by the Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix and business events.
Meanwhile, the Amway China mega incentive group anchored in Melbourne in April also provided a healthy boost, with the event expected to generate $100 million for the visitor economy.
Accor hotels, including the likes of Sofitel Melbourne on Collins and Pullman Melbourne on the Park, helped host the 16,000 delegates from Amway.
Overall Williams believes there is a good chance that major sporting events including the British and Irish Lions and the Ashes Test could deliver Accor’s best annual post-COVID performance in Melbourne this year. He also noted the impact of bands such as Oasis and Metallica, “but always happy to have Taylor come back”.
While Hyde Melbourne Place might be Accor’s first lifestyle property in Australia, it’s certainly not the last.
“Very soon, in just a few short weeks, we’ve got the Mondrian on the Gold Coast, a very special hotel, [opening],” said Williams.
“We’ve got Hyde in Perth that will be [opening] later in the year; and 25hours in Sydney, that is going to be a really special hotel.”
When micenet raised a site inspection of Vienna’s 25hours hotel, which included a seesaw in the reception area and a claw-foot bath on an outdoor balcony, Williams responded: “You know what we say about 25hours hotels? You know one, you know none. And what that means is, of course, that 25hours are unique, they’re eclectic, they’re very special and very much reflective of the place.”
Recalling the days when the best fine dining was often found in the restaurant or dining room of a major hotel, Williams believes the restaurant Marmelo by Ross Lusted at Hyde Melbourne Place will become a destination dining experience for Melbourne.
Lusted is the creative chef behind Woodcut, the harbour-side restaurant at Crown Sydney, which cooks using open flame and charcoal.
