IHG Hotels and Resorts is set to grow its voco brand this quarter with the opening of three new hotels across ANZ in just over a month.
Later this month, on April 28, voco Melbourne Central is due to open, followed by voco Auckland City Centre on May 12 and voco Brisbane City Centre on May 27.
The latest destinations come four years after the opening of the world’s first voco hotel, voco Gold Coast, in 2018 and follow the opening of voco Kirkton Park Hunter Valley in 2019, bringing its total hotels in the Pacific region to five.
“voco Hotels has really carved its niche in the market as a reliably different brand; one that’s unstuffy and informal, but backed by the assurance of the IHG Hotels & Resorts’ enterprise,” IHG Australasia and Pacific Managing Director, Matthew Tripolone, told HM exclusively.
“The growth is a testament to the strong partnership with our owners. Not only are we continuing to debut the brand in new markets, but we are also pushing the boundaries of the voco experience with Australia’s first new-build, voco Melbourne Central, which will no doubt become a a flagship for the region. The opportunity and momentum behind voco has been hugely promising and will be one to watch.”
Globally, the sustainably-minded brand now has 31 locations around the UK, France, Austria, Montenegro, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Greater China.
Voco Melbourne Central will be Australia’s first new-build voco hotel and a flagship property for the brand.
Located on Lonsdale Street and part of the city’s new ‘380 Melbourne’ skyscraper, the hotel will embody the brand’s ‘tread lightly’ philosophy with large green spaces – cultivated through a partnership with ecological garden specialists, Fytogreen. Each of the 252 guestrooms feature at least one window that guests can open to reduce the reliance on air-conditioning, which is expected to lower energy use at the property.
Across the Tasman, voco will make its New Zealand debut with the opening of voco Auckland City Centre. The new hotel features the highest rooftop bar in the city, Bar Albert, as well as an all-day trattoria, Mozzarella & Co., where pizzas, pastas and Italian cocktails, will be served up as well as take-away and a la carte breakfast.
For voco’s second Queensland hotel, voco Brisbane City Centre will offer 194 guestrooms with smart technology, a rooftop pool and over 1,200sqm of function space, while the lobby dining space, Kraft & Co., serves up craft brews, local wines and cocktails seven days a week.
Sustainability is a key focus for the voco brand, even when it comes down to the finer details such as bedding which is made from recycled materials, while voco linen is produced in line with the Better Cotton Initiative, supporting sustainable cotton harvesting. To date, over half a million bottles that have been recycled to make voco bedding across the hotels.