The Hyde Paradiso in Surfers Paradise. There will be a Hyde hotel in Queenstown. Photo / Supplied
The Hyde Paradiso in Surfers Paradise. There will be a Hyde hotel in Queenstown. Photo / Supplied
Fast-growing lifestyle hospitality company Ennismore is expanding in New Zealand with four new hotels in CP Group's existing properties.
The partnership will add another 270 rooms to the country's growing hotel supply and will include a Jo&Joe in Auckland, two Tribe hotels in Auckland, and a Hyde hotel inQueenstown. The hotels will open across 2023-24 and provide 170 jobs.
Accor-owned Ennismore already has SO/Auckland and is expanding in Australia and throughout the world, its hotels earn substantial revenue from food and beverage.
Gaurav Bhushan, co-chief executive of Ennismore, said the new hotels were a major milestone to bring global recognised lifestyle brands to key cities in New Zealand.
''We want to be the leading lifestyle hotel player in the Pacific region and we see it as an opportunity to bring our fresh and exciting brands, which are rooted in culture & purpose, to visiting guests and neighbourhood locals."
He said around the world, the lifestyle hotel segment is bouncing back from the impacts of the pandemic quicker than traditional hotels, driven mostly by strong food and beverage hotels.
CP Group is one of the largest hotel owners and developers in New Zealand, and the new hotels would be in accommodation it already owns.
The two Tribe hotels will be on Fort St and Anzac Ave in Auckland and the Jo&Joe hotel will also be on Fort St. The Hyde will be in Shotover St in Queenstown.
"We are committed to rebuilding tourism in New Zealand and making a mindful and positive impact on our local communities through investment and job creation,'' a spokesman said.
The New Zealand tourism industry was rebuilding and adding the Ennismore hotel brands to its portfolio added further to the appeal of the region.
Ennismore was formed in 2021 in a joint venture between Sharan Pasricha, founder and co-chief executive, and Accor.
Accor holds a majority shareholding.
Ennismore comprises 14 brands with 92 operating properties, including the luxury Gleneagles estate in Scotland, and a further 150-plus in the pipeline.
A rendering of 25hours hotel in Sydney. Image / Supplied
Last month the Financial Times reported Accor is to sell part of its stake in Ennismore to a Qatari consortium, valuing the company at more than €2b ($3.25b).
As part of the deal, Accor will sell a 10.8 per cent stake in Ennismore to a group of Qatari investors for €185m, with backing from Qatar First Bank, but will retain a majority shareholding.
Pasricha, co-chief executive of Ennismore, will retain just under 30 per cent of the company, the FT reported.
Sébastien Bazin, Accor's chief executive, said the deal was a testament to the "formidable success" of Ennismore, which specialises in luxury hotels that serve as a destination in their own right and can attract a local clientele to their bars and restaurants.
"The future of hospitality has to lie with servicing as much a local customer base as it is to service someone who is travelling. We have to co-mingle, it's a must," he said. Around half of company revenue comes from food and drink sales, the FT reported.
Ennismore, which operates hotels in 40 countries, plans to open around 100 extra sites as part of a rapid rollout. Last year it confirmed plans for 60 new projects.
Accor has 5300 properties throughout 110 countries.
Last month Hong Kong hotel company Ovolo, also a lifestyle hotel brand, said it had New Zealand on the radar.
Founded and owned by the Jhunjhnuwala family, Ovolo has 13 properties in Hong Kong, Bali and Australia and, with unique, boutique hotels, is skewed towards millennials or "those who think like millennials".
Its chief executive, Dave Baswal, said the company was looking at Auckland and Queenstown for expansion, as well as Christchurch and Wellington.
