200-bed extension proposed for Holiday Inn Sydney Airport
A new 12-storey building could be added to the Holiday Inn Sydney Airport, boosting the wave of hotel supply set to hit the harbour city.
The plans, lodged with Bayside Council, will bring 204 additional rooms to the Mascot hotel, which has 252 existing rooms, in a project estimated to cost $44.8 million.
The new building will be partially cantilevered above the existing one-storey podium at the southern end of the site, on the corner of Bourke Road and O’Riordan Street.
The two buildings will be connected through the basement and ground level.
The extension plans would bring the total number of rooms to 456. Photo: Supplied
The project has been proposed as part of wider changes in the area, according to planning documents.
“The Holiday Inn Airport Sydney is set to capitalise on the Mascot precinct’s continuing growth, both as a service and commercial centre, as well as the increasing demand for accommodation in the wider Sydney market,” the documents say.
A rooftop terrace including a breakfast breakout space and a fire pit is also part of the proposal, as is a glass atrium in the middle of the building, which would provide stair access to the rooftop.
Gaming space in one of the hotel’s food-and-beverage facilities Biggles Bar, which includes 12 poker machines, could be removed to accommodate for informal dining to “further activate the arrival experience”.
The existing 4.5-star hotel will continue operating during construction.
The 6533-square-metre site is owned by private Hong Kong investors under the name Silversea Trust, which also owns Mercure Parramatta, and the hotel is operated by InterContinental Hotels Group under a management agreement.
Silversea Trust bought the property for $53 million in late 2014 from hotelier Jerry Schwartz, who sold it to fund the development of the now-completed five-star hotel Sofitel in Darling Harbour.
IHG declined to comment on the hotel extension plans.
The Holiday Inn Sydney Airport proposal comes as new research from hospitality consultancy Horwath HTL shows Sydney’s occupancy level is at 86 per cent, with an average daily rate of $230 for the 12 months to the end of March 2018.
More than 2400 hotel rooms across 17 properties were added to the Sydney market in the 12 months to June 2018.
The hotel building boom does not appear to be ending soon, with about 4600 rooms estimated to be delivered by the end of 2022 – a pipeline expected to push occupancy down in the peak completion years of 2019 and 2020.
