Accor signals confidence in recovery as Porter House Hotel in Sydney CBD opens
Porter House Hotel in Sydney.
Accor has consolidated its position as Australia’s largest hotelier with the opening of its 400th property – the heritage listed Porter House Hotel in the Sydney CBD.
The move is a sign of its confidence in the sector’s recovery and that of developer United Development Sydney. Over the next two years Accor will open a further 11 new hotels.
Announcing the 400th hotel milestone, Accor Pacific CEO Sarah Derry said it was fitting to celebrate such a major landmark as the hotel industry accelerated towards a full post-pandemic recovery.
“Sydney is experiencing its fastest growth since March 2020, with recovery in corporate, conference and events business, and continued strength in the domestic leisure market,” Ms Derry said.
“We are seeing similar revivals in other key cities around the Pacific, complementing the success of regional holiday destinations in Australia and New Zealand.”
However, Ms Derry conceded while there is still some way to go before international travel returns to pre-pandemic levels, the ramping up of international flight schedules and growing confidence in long-haul travel bodes well for the renaissance of the region’s hotel industry for the rest of this year and next.
But while Sydney is performing well, new STR research out this week shows Melbourne hotel occupancy dropped in August, down to 59 per cent. Average daily room rates were more than 27 per cent below pre-pandemic comparables at $207 a night.
Located on Castlereagh St, the luxury hotel has 122 rooms and suites, which occupy the first 10 floors of a 36-storey mixed-use tower
The striking Porter House Hotel was created out of a building commissioned in 1876 by Hugh Dixson, Australia’s leading tobacco manufacturer and a notable philanthropist and horticulturist.
After starting its life as Dixson & Sons tobacco factory and warehouse, it became a retail shopfront for furnishings and a leather merchant.
Located on Castlereagh St, the luxury hotel has 122 rooms and suites, which occupy the first 10 floors of a 36-storey mixed-use tower. A residential component comprising 131 apartments sits above the new MGallery hotel, while a multi-level food and bar destination has been created inside the restored 1870s heritage-listed building itself.
The hotel was designed by award-winning architect Angelo Candelapas of Candelapas Associates, who has connected the historic building with the ultra-modern tower built around the original building.
The hotel pays homage to The Porter House’s heritage and Sydney’s bustling Victorian commercial era with a modern take on old designs such as contemporary curved windows that reference the original building’s brick archways.
The opening of the Porter House Hotel is part of a large-scale expansion of the Accor group which includes the debut of the 25hours brand in Australia, new airport hotels at Melbourne Airport and Auckland Airport, and another heritage restoration in Sydney, Hotel Morris.
