South Australia might be the only state in Australia that Wyndham is not currently operating in, but that’s about to change very soon with six new hotels in the bag.
“South Australia is the fastest growing state for us in Australia,” Wyndham Hotels and Resorts Vice President, Operations – SEAPR, Ben Schumacher, told HM at AHICE 2022.
“We’ve got nothing here now, but in the next two to three years we’ll have six hotels operating under four brands, approximately 1000 rooms in market – it’s really exciting.”
With 28 properties in Australia currently, Schumacher described the state as the “missing link” for the business and important strategically in terms of global and national sales.
“Adelaide is a key CBD hub, with a great drive-to market outside [the city],” he said.
“It’s a perfect place to grow and introduce our brands. And it’s popular. We want to be here – the other big hotel groups are here, so it’s been a long time coming.”
South Australia development
Wyndham’s Vice President and Head of Development – SEAPR, Matt Holmes, told HM about four recent signings across the state.
“We just recently signed a new deal in the green belt in the last two or three weeks – we’ll bring the Ramada brand to McLaren Vale with a circa 90-key property right in the middle of McLaren Vale, which I think will do fantastically well,” Holmes said.
“We’ve signed 204-key Ramada by Wyndham Playford City Centre as well – that is due to start construction in the next couple of months. And then we’ve got a Wyndham Garden in Victor Harbor as well which is a beautiful location down on Victor Harbor. That will complete its council approvals in the back end of this year and start construction next year.”
There’s also a new flagship on the horizon in the form of Wyndham Grand Adelaide.
“It’s a big box 353-key on 75 King William Street – that will be our flagship hotel not just in South Australia but in the South Pacific region,” Holmes said.
“That’s a really exciting property that’s just going through its final processes at the moment, and hopefully will start construction next year. It’s a long build so we’re looking at a 2026 opening, but it will be a nice one.”
Adelaide openings in 2022
Wyndham will open its very first hotels in South Australia, Wyndham Wallaroo Shores Resorts and TRYP by Wyndham Pulteney Street Adelaide, towards the end of this year.
TRYP by Wyndham on Pulteney Street in the Adelaide CBD will be a 124-room hotel with an all-day dining restaurant on the ground floor.
“The TRYP brand is a lifestyle brand, and its tagline is ‘powered by the city’, so it’s about bringing the city into the hotel,” Schumacher explained.
“Each TRYP is unique in terms of its location and where it’s based. And for this property, we’re looking at a number of different [design] concepts, like bringing in the Adelaide Hills, the nearby oceans of Glenelg and the surrounding areas and even the local indigenous side as well.”
Wyndham Wallaroo Shores Resorts is a two-hour drive down the York Peninsula, located on the Spencer Gulf
“It’s a stunning location with white sand beaches,” Schumacher said.
“The drive-to market is going to flock to that area.
“I think it’s going to be ideally suited to families, couples, groups, special events like weddings – they’ll have the ability to cater to those.”
The property features 100 villas – individual two-bedroom accommodation units that can accommodate up to four.
Wyndham expects the domestic travel to be important even as international travellers return.
“We see an ongoing opportunity for local South Australians to use that property because it’s two hours away, there’s no flying, but it’s far enough away to have a break from the city or the surrounding areas, wherever they’re located,” he said.
“As international travel resumes, I think the property is going to be very well suited to accommodate small international groups, corporate events and corporate retreats, so I think the scope and opportunity for a property like that, in that location is quite broad.”
Wyndham has 47 hotels open and operating in Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific and expects to open its 50th this year – likely to be one of these two Adelaide hotels, according to Schumacher.
New Zealand openings
New Zealand is another growing market for Wyndham and will soon welcome the very first Microtel in the country, as well as a TRYP property, in the capital city.
“It’s actually the first Microtel in the Australasian region – that will open next week in Wellington,” Holmes said.
“We see a real opportunity for the Microtel brand.”
As the name suggests, this brand taps into the micro hotel concept – meaning more compact rooms with efficient design and creative flair.
Schumacher said the brand is suited to corporate and leisure travellers and is one that the business hopes to grow in the ANZ region.
“Microtel’s tagline is ‘brilliantly efficient’ – it’s very functional, very value driven and we think it will be really popular. Our partners in New Zealand have got a plan to further roll that out. We would love to see it come into Australia as well at some stage,” he said.
Wyndham is also expanding the La Quinta brand across New Zealand with two more coming to fruition next year.
“It’s quite an exciting time for us,” Holmes said. “We’ve had a pretty nice growth curve here that we look forward to further expanding on in some key markets across Australasia.”