Rotorua’s 203-room Holiday Inn hotel is up for sale for the first time in two decades. This is the first hotel to be listed for sale in Rotorua since 2011, as well as the first in New Zealand to be publicly offering in more than 18 months.
Intercontinental Hotels Group, the owner and manager of the Holiday Inn Rotorua, appointed Colliers International to market the property. International expressions of interest will be collected until Mar. 15, 2018. The property is being sold with vacant possession to open the sale to a wide range of buyers, including owner-operators and investors who may rebrand or renovate the hotel.
The hotel is part of the Whakarewarewa Living Māori Village and geothermal park. It recently underwent an extensive renovation to a portion of the guestrooms and guest facilities. IHG took over management of the Holiday Inn in 2011. It is part of IHG’s New Zealand portfolio of seven hotels across its brands Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn and Intercontinental in Wellington, Auckland, Christchurch, Queenstown and Rotorua.
Dean Humphries, hotels national director at Colliers International, said in a statement that Rotorua is one of the top performing markets in New Zealand. Hotel occupancy has reached nearly 80 percent while room rates have been rising close to 30 percent in the past four years.
“Being only three hours’ drive from Auckland, New Zealand’s main gateway port of entry, and located on the international tourism route, Rotorua remains one of the most highly sought-after destinations in the country,” Humphries said in a statement.
The lack of new hotel projects in the city, except for the new 130-room Pullman Hotel, is expected to attract investment to New Zealand in the coming years and expand the Rotorua market.
“As the lucrative Chinese and American markets quickly move away from the lower-yielding tours and group travel options to freer independent travelers, we expect a significant uplift in room rates to regions like Rotorua. “This will bring the region more closely in alignment with our other major tourist destination, Queenstown, which currently has average room rates more than $100 higher than those in Rotorua.”
This recent offering follows Colliers’ recent negotiation of the sale of two hotels in Wellington to Singapore-based owner and operator Naumi Hotels. Naumi Hotels acquired the hotels from CQ Hotels Wellington for an undisclosed sum. The hotels will expand Nami’s portfolio by 178 guestrooms.
