InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) is set to enter the Hobart market after signing a management agreement with Tasmania-based hospitality company, The Kalis Group. The new 187 room hotel will be fall under the Crowne Plaza brand, and will be part of the Icon Complex, a mixed-use development that will also include retail outlets.
Crowne Plaza Hobart will feature a range of business and meetings facilities including a ballroom, meeting rooms, boardroom and 24-hour business centre.
Development of the 187-room Crowne Plaza Hobart, worth an estimated $45 million, is expected to be completed by late 2017. It is to be built on the site where Myer was destroyed by fire in 2007.
Anyone that travels to Hobart will be aware that the major chain hotels are not particularly well represented in the Tasmanian capital. When this new development opens, members of the IHG Rewards program will have have a hotel associated with the program.
IHG Chief Operating Officer Australasia, Japan, Korea and Asia, Middle East and Africa (AMEA) Franchising Karin Sheppard said,“In expanding into new markets we always look to work with owners who understand our brands and are familiar with the city we’re entering. We are delighted to be establishing our presence in yet another key Australian city with The Kalis Group. Hobart is thriving and tourism is a key part of that. The location and facilities of the new Crowne Plaza Hobart will make it a great choice for both business and leisure guests when it opens in 2017.”
Kalis Group CEO Alexia Kalis said,“Hobart is growing in popularity as a meetings and tourism destination, and improvements in air access are leading to increasing visitor arrivals every year. This has been reflected in room rates and occupancy steadily rising in the city over the last few years. Now is a great time to be developing an internationally-branded upscale hotel, as this is where the biggest opportunity is in the market right now.
“Crowne Plaza is globally recognised as a leading business hotel brand and we are confident this is what the locale needs to meet the expected tourism boom in the coming years. We are pleased to be working with IHG and look forward to welcoming guests to Crowne Plaza Hobart when it opens in a couple of years,” said Kalis.
