Martyn Barnes has signed his third IHG®-branded hotel, bringing Holiday Inn & Suites to Dandenong, the so-called ‘capital’ of Melbourne’s south-east.
Headlining a mixed-use development that includes two levels of office space, the 160-room, design-led Holiday Inn & Suites Dandenong will rise to 11 levels when it opens in 2021, affording great views of the city. It will offer guests an all-day dining and bar experience, a gym, conference and meeting facilities, and retail shopping via separate access. It will also feature a long stay suite component targeting the corporate traveller who is looking to stay for extended periods.
The hotel will boast the ideal location, a short stroll from Dandenong train station and the business district, which will enjoy a boost from the State Government’s $290-million ‘Revitalising Central Dandenong’ (RCD), creating demand for a world-class hotel to cater to growing business travel.
Dandenong is already considered by many to be Melbourne’s second city and the gateway to Gippsland. It’s a key employment cluster in Victoria, with its industrial precinct in Dandenong South one of Australia’s most significant, employing almost 30,000 people and accounting for around 77% of employment in the area. It is already home to Amazon’s first Australian distribution centre, the Australian Tax Office (ATO), Salvation Army regional headquarters, Dandenong Hospital, Chisholm 5 Institute of TAFE and a number of industrial, manufacturing and government offices.
Abhijay Sandilya, IHG’s Senior Director of Development – Australasia, said: “As the world’s largest hotel brand, Holiday Inn will attract guests from around Australia and the world to Dandenong. We are thrilled to take our great partnership with Martyn Barnes to the next level with our third hotel signing together in Victoria, continuing the momentum we have started over the past year with Holiday Inn Coburg and voco Yarra Valley.”
Martyn Barnes, Managing Director at Barnes Capital, said: “As the heart of Melbourne’s south-east region, some might say Dandenong has it all, but I would say it doesn’t have a great hotel yet. Holiday Inn Melbourne Dandenong will be an important component of the government’s Revitalising Central Dandenong project, and we’re so proud to support it. I expect it to be the new home-away-from-home for the thriving business, industrial and public-sector community.”
Barnes announced in May 2018 that he would bring Holiday Inn to Melbourne’s growing hipster suburb of Coburg, and then in August confirmed that he would bring IHG’s new upscale brand, voco, to the Yarra Valley in 2021.
IHG has put a focus on regional Australian growth, with several Holiday Inn signings across the country, including in Wagga Wagga, Geelong, Ringwood, and Melbourne Werribee, as well as opening Holiday Inn Sydney St Marys in 2018.
IHG currently has 47 hotels operating under four brands in Australasia, including: InterContinental, Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn, voco and Holiday Inn Express, with another 29 in the pipeline, including Hotel Indigo and EVEN Hotels.
*Numbers correct as at end 31 December 2018
