Marriott teams up with Schwartz family for new luxury Hobart hotel
Marriott International has teamed up with Melbourne’s Schwartz family to develop Hobart’s first luxury hotel in more than a decade.
The new 128-room hotel at Parliament Square will be operated under Marriott’s five-star The Luxury Collection brand, marking its first entry into the Australian market.
Due to open in 2018, The Luxury Collection Hobart will be operated by Marriott under an agreement with Trawalla Group, the investment firm led by power business couple Carol and Alan Schwartz.
The new hotel is part of the redevelopment of Parliament Square in Hobart being undertaken by Trawalla and Sydney-based private developer Citta Property Group, led by former Lendlease property chief executive Stephen McMillan.
The $150 million development, which includes about 15,000 square metres of office space plus retail and a public space, will take shape around an assortment of heritage buildings, including the Georgian-style St Mary’s Hospital originally constructed in 1847.
“It has always been our intention to partner with a brand that appreciates and embraces Tasmania’s natural beauty, history and heritage, which is why we chose to work with Marriott International to bring The Luxury Collection to Tasmania as part of this exciting new development,” Mr Schwartz said.
“We also share the brand’s passion for design, indigenous experiences and refined luxury, and are committed to working with the best talent and experts in the industry to bring this project to its full potential.”
The Luxury Collection Hobart, which will open in 2018, is the city’s first luxury hotel since the Henry James Art hotel opened in 2004.
Since then the Tasmanian tourism market has surged following the opening of the world-famous Museum of Old and New Art in 2011 and a general rebound in international and domestic tourism.
Hobart is now the country’s third-best-performing CBD hotel market behind Sydney and Melbourne, replacing Perth, according to hotel analysts STR and Deloitte. The new hotel adds to a national pipeline of more than 12,800 new hotel rooms to be completed over the next two years.
Sean Hunt, area vice president Australia New Zealand Pacific at Marriott International, said occupancy across Marriott Hotels on the eastern seaboard was more than 90 per cent.
The group, which merged last year with Starwood to create the world’s biggest hotel company, operates 24 hotels in Australia with a further 21 in development, including the new Hobart Hotel.
Mr Hunt said the new hotel was riding on the coat tails of the MONA museum, which brings in about 300,000 visitors a year but would also create demand of its own.”We have a 100 million loyalty members, which will be the jet engine behind this hotel and will have a flow-on effect for local businesses,” he said.
The new hotel’s amenities will include an upscale restaurant, lobby lounge and a whiskey bar.
