IHG signs 100-room Holiday Inn & Suites for Rockhampton

IHG Hotels & Resorts announced on 4 November that it has signed a new-build Holiday Inn & Suites in Rockhampton, Central Queensland, to be operated by La Vie Hotels & Resorts. The same release covers a second signing in Tamworth, New South Wales, taking the pair to 190 rooms.

Why it matters

Rockhampton gets a new international-brand hotel with conference space, in a city IHG describes as a regional hub for resources, agriculture, commerce and tourism. The hotel will form part of a mixed-use precinct, though the release did not name the precinct, its developer or the site owner. It adds to IHG’s Australian pipeline, which includes a Perth signing with SKS Group announced last week.

The numbers

Holiday Inn & Suites Rockhampton will have 100 contemporary guestrooms, 40 of them one and two-bedroom suites. It will include 350sqm of conference and events space, a 100-seat function room and an outdoor swimming pool. IHG says it will cater to business, leisure and extended-stay guests.

No investment figure, construction start, opening date or site address was disclosed in the release.

IHG’s Matt Tripolone, managing director for Australasia and the Pacific, said quality accommodation helps regional destinations realise their economic potential. He said both new hotels will benefit from IHG’s global distribution channels, sales network and IHG One Rewards loyalty programme.

La Vie founder and chief executive Jerry Xu said Rockhampton and Tamworth are two very different markets, but both reward a hotel that gets the basics right and knows its town. He said the signings reflect La Vie’s continued growth across Australia, from Townsville to Tamworth, and its partnership with IHG.

Mr Tripolone described Holiday Inn as one of the world’s most recognised and trusted hotel brands, one that suits families on holiday, business travellers and guests attending regional events. IHG, listed in London and New York, says it has more than one million rooms across 7,100 hotels in over 100 countries, a development pipeline of a further 2,400 properties, and an IHG One Rewards loyalty programme with over 160 million members. IHG says Holiday Inn was established in 1952 and has more than 1,260 hotels globally, with a reputation for welcoming hospitality, comfort and value.

What’s next

IHG gave no construction or opening timeline for Rockhampton. The next things to watch are who owns the precinct site and when approvals and construction are announced. The Tamworth half of the announcement is covered in our NSW report.