Sydney Airport will become the Asia Pacific launch location for Citadines Connect, a new sub-brand of the Citadines serviced residence brand owned by The Ascott Limited which is active in Melbourne, Perth and Hobart and more widely in Asia, the Middle East and Europe.
Known as Citadines Connect, the select-service brand is aimed at business travellers who are “constantly connected” and highly mobile-centric. The brand will debut in two locations, with the 150-room Citadines Connect Sydney Airport hotel and the 125-room Citadines Connect Fifth Avenue in New York. Future brand expansion in the works includes locations in Dublin, Paris, Seoul, Tokyo, Silicon Valley and a number of other Southeast Asian cities.
Rooms will be around 18-21 square metres in size and will be primarily in studio configuration.
The Sydney location will take over and rebrand the site currently operating as Felix Hotel by 8Hotels Sydney Airport, which was recently on the market and seeking a price tag around $70 million.
Citadines Connect will feature technology at its core, with guests utilising mobile keys, self-check-in kiosks, smart washing machines and self-service laundromats, fitness centre, a business centre offering meeting pods and Google cloud printers and televisions equipped with streaming devices for viewing personal content. A ‘Grab and Go’ food and beverage counter will feature quick meals as well as basic pantry items. In addition, a ‘Recharge and Refresh’ space will offer private napping pods with USB charging points, lockers and showers.
The Ascott Limited Head of Global Operations, Alfred Ong, said Citadines had a global reputation among travellers looking for the flexibility to pick only the services they required and that it was a natural move for the brand to move into short-stay accommodation.
“We see strong potential for the short-stay segment and hotel rates are rising given the rapid growth in global mobility, bleisure travel and a flourishing gig economy. More and more skilled professionals are taking on short-term, freelancing and ad-hoc work assignments which require them to travel frequently.”