In HM’s 2023-2024 Hotel Development Outlook, Hilton Director of Development, Australasia, Tushar Raniga, discusses the rising midscale segment and the company’s plans to grow its Hilton Garden Inn brand.
Economic growth is creating a more agile global travel landscape, and there are over one billion Asians set to join the global middle class by 2030.
This growing segment is looking for brands and experiences that deliver value at an affordable price point. They are travelling more often, at a younger age compared to previous generations, and they want to explore the world, including Australasia. Our Hilton Garden Inn brand offers an attractive accommodation option that checks all these boxes.
We are also seeing increased interest from owners in the mid to upper-midscale sector as cost control and flexibility are now more paramount than ever before.
For owners looking to capture demand from both business and leisure travellers in this fast-growing segment, Hilton Garden Inn’s efficient prototype and kit-of-parts approach make upfront investment costs more attractive and its lean operating model drives profitability.
Given our region’s vast destination landscape, the brand is highly adaptable for mature and emerging hospitality destinations, as well as across capital cities, regional cities, CBDs, airport and resort locations.
That said, we have an ambition to double our Hilton Garden Inn footprint across Australasia over the next five years, with six projects already in planning or under construction in Australia and Fiji. Hilton Garden Inn Busselton is due to open later this year (Q4 2023) and next year we are scheduled to open Hilton Garden Inns in Brisbane (City Centre North – Q2 2024) and Sydney (Kingswood – Q4 2024).
We plan on accelerating this growth via franchising and are confident that this will unlock valuable opportunities for more owners to access one of Hilton’s iconic brands and leverage our powerful commercial engine, robust supply chain, and extensive support network.
By Hilton Director of Development, Australasia, Tushar Raniga.
For the full 2023-2024 Hotel Development Outlook, click here.