LEADING OWNERS
Shantha de Silva
Chief Operating Officer, Pro-invest Hotels High hopes for New Zealand in 2023.
WITHOUT A DOUBT, 2022 was the biggest year on record for Pro-invest Hotels. We opened eight hotels in the space of eight months, we announced a joint venture with Next Story Group and launched Vista Hospitality Group, and we continued to excel in ESG, winning awards for our green builds. The beginning of 2022 was the start of our push into the lifestyle space which has always been part of our long-term strategy, and in February we opened Kimpton Margot Sydney – the first Kimpton hotel in Australia, which continues to be one of the city’s most celebrated hotels. Working with renowned chef Luke Mangan has been a highlight and Luke’s Kitchen at the Kimpton continues to innovate and excite guests and Sydneysiders. Shortly after we opened Kimpton Margot Sydney, our run of lifestyle hotel openings continued, with the opening of voco Brisbane City Centre, Hotel Indigo Brisbane City Centre and voco Auckland City Centre. We see a lot of potential for growth in the lifestyle sector as people continue to search for something different, unique and a fresh approach to hospitality, and into 2023 we will be accelerating our growth in this space and we have some exciting announcements which we’ll be making in the first quarter of 2023, so watch this space. In keeping with Pro-invest’s track record of pioneering new brands in new locations, in 2022 we were proud to introduce the Holiday Inn Express and Suites brand to Australia, with the opening of Holiday Inn Express and Suites Sunshine Coast, a fantastic 181-room new build property in the heart of burgeoning Maroochydore. It has been pleasing to see the local community and business wholeheartedly embrace this hotel and we are grateful for the positive feedback we continue to get. Pro-invest’s established central services model was one of the keys to the success we achieved in 2022. Having a team of experts with in-depth industry experience and knowledge in market not only enabled us to optimise performance of the operating hotels, but also to successfully open eight hotels across six cities within a span of eight months. With the ramp up of the business, the centralised services model has proven to be an important advantage to the business, delivering industry leading returns. Two years ago, we established Fund III, where investing in distressed assets in the upscale and upperupscale full-service hotel market is a focus. In May 2022, we made our first Fund III purchase, acquiring Campbell5 Hotel in Canberra and rebranded it to The Sebel Canberra Campbell. This new-build hotel is in a great location and has benefited greatly from a steady stream of government and corporate business. The Sebel 74
HM The Business of Accommodation
“We see a lot of potential for growth in the lifestyle sector as people continue to search for something different.” Shantha de Silva, Pro-invest Hotels
Canberra Campbell is our second hotel in Canberra, and we look forward to growing Fund III further in 2023. Looking ahead, we’re hoping to see a stronger rebound in New Zealand as more travellers return from overseas and we’re looking forward to the Australian market remaining strong with domestic travel at an all-time high. We’ve seen very encouraging signs, particularly in Brisbane with corporate travel and events returning and our voco and Hotel Indigo hotels being well positioned to capitalise on this trend. With all that we have managed to achieve, we could not have done it without the incredible team behind the scenes at Pro-invest Hotels and with our partners and we are very grateful for the energy, determination and skill they bring to our business. Having just been announced as being a Great Place To Work, we are proud of what we have created and we will continue to invest in our people and our culture as we move into 2023. n Pro-invest acquired Campbell5 Hotel in Canberra and rebranded it to The Sebel Canberra Campbell
SNAPSHOT: PRO-INVEST HOTELS Year the company was founded: 2015 Year first hotel opened: 2016 – Holiday Inn Express Sydney Macquarie Park Number of brands in the organisation: 5 (excluding VHG) Current number of hotels and rooms: 13 hotels (excluding VHG); 2,875 rooms Head office locations: Sydney, London, Vienna