The Holiday Inn Hotel in Rotorua is for sale. Photo/Supplied
The Holiday Inn Hotel in Rotorua is for sale. Photo/Supplied
Rotorua's 203-room Holiday Inn hotel is for sale for the first time in two decades.
Colliers International is marketing the 4.5-star hotel for sale by international expressions of interest closing on March 15.
Colliers International hotels national director Dean Humphries said the hotel was managed on behalf of its current owners by Intercontinental Hotel Group under its popular Holiday Inn brand.
"This substantial 13,000sq m hotel is situated on more than 1ha of prime freehold land adjoining the Whakarewarewa Living Maori Village and geothermal park, which remains one of the region's most popular tourist destinations.
"The hotel offers six generous function and meeting facilities that can host up to 1000 delegates, as well as the popular Chapmans Restaurant and Bar, heated outdoor pool and spa facilities, extensive gym and parking for more than 120 vehicles," he said.
"The hotel has recently undergone an extensive renovation, including a range of new plant and seismic upgrades, and refurbishment of many of the guest rooms and front of house amenities."
Humphries said it was the first major hotel in Rotorua to be offered for sale since 2011 and the first in New Zealand to be publicly offered to the market in more than 18 months.
"New Zealand hotel assets are tightly retained due to the exceptional trading conditions in the marketplace.
"Holiday Inn has flourished since IHG took over management in 2011 and it now boasts an established clientele of international, domestic and corporate guests," Humphries said.
Colliers International Hotels national director Dean Humphries.
"The hotel is also available with vacant possession which allows for a much broader range of buyers, including owner-operators and investors who could potentially rebrand or reposition the asset."
Rotorua remains one of New Zealand's leading tourism destinations, with hotel occupancy now close to 80 per cent and room rates having increased by nearly 30 per cent in the past four years.
Humphries said with virtually no new hotel inventory likely to be built in the region over the short to medium term, with the exception of the new 130-room Pullman Hotel, the Rotorua hotel sector had one of the highest growth prospects in New Zealand.
"As the lucrative Chinese and American markets quickly move away from the lower-yielding tours and group travel options to more free independent travellers, we expect a significant uplift in room rates to regions like Rotorua.
"This will bring the region more closely in alignment with our other major tourist destination, Queenstown, which currently has average room rates more than $100 higher than those in Rotorua."
Humphries said international tourists were now realising the many attributes and value for money that Rotorua offered, with more than 3.1 million tourists visiting in the past 12 months.
