Event adds three boutique hotels in Perth and Sydney to 9000-room portfolio
ASX-listed hotel owner and operator Event has added three boutique hotels in Perth and Sydney to its portfolio of 55 properties and almost 9000 rooms.
The three hotels, the 95-room Ultimo Sydney in Chinatown, the 98-room Pensione Hotel Perth and the 43-apartment All-Suites Perth, will be managed by Event from October 29 as independent brands alongside its portfolio of Rydges, QT, Atura and Art Series hotels..
The Aarons Hospitality Group, led by Warwick Evans, owns the Ultimo Sydney and Pensione Hotel Perth and previously managed the All-Suites Perth, which has individual apartment owners.
Event’s director of hotels and resorts, Norman Arundel, said the company was delighted to welcome the new hotels to its “growing portfolio of hotels and resorts”.
“We look forward to working with the incredible local teams to amplify these hotels’ offerings through Event’s sales and marketing channels, and providing our guests the unrivalled hotel experience they’ve come to expect from our brands,” Mr Arundel said.
Currently the three hotels are operated by boutique operator 8Hotels, led by Paul Fischmann. He said that while the three hotels were strong businesses they did not fit into its new strategy of “developing and managing new and cutting edge hotels in strong markets”.
“We agreed to terminate the contracts and pass them on to Event Hospitality. We’ve enjoyed and will continue to enjoy a very good relationship with the hotels’ owners,” Mr Fischmann said.
8Hotels operates the Felix Hotel near Sydney airport and the Little Albion guesthouse in Surry Hills, which is a collaboration with Airbnb.
Event’s hotel business delivered profits before tax of $69.3 million in the previous financial year, a fall of 13 per cent. The company, which is chaired by billionaire investor Alan Rydge (also Event’s biggest shareholder) also operates a major cinema business as well as owning and operating the Thredbo ski resort.
