AccorInvest Offloads $300m-plus Hotel Portfolio

European hotel investor AccorInvest has listed one of Australia’s largest hotel portfolios comprising 23 real estate assets and close to 2000 rooms.

The significant portfolio, valued at more than $300 million, has several real estate assets and lease interests across Australia of which four are branded as Ibis hotels and 13 are Ibis-budget hotels.

All hotels within the portfolio are operated by AccorHotels, Australia’s largest hotel management company, and occupy a combined 54,500 square metres.

And it’s a good time to go to market, with Australia’s hotel performance at an all-time high, according to STR’s latest hotel performance data for the second quarter.

STR said that Australian hotel occupancy was the highest for any second quarter on record, with analysts pointing to the overall health of the Australian hotel industry in absorbing new supply.

“The 73.2 per cent absolute occupancy level was the highest for any Q2 on record in the country. That came even with 2.1 per cent more room nights available compared with Q2 2017,” STR analysts said.

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The six lease interests include the Como Mgallery by Sofitel in Melbourne, the Novel, Mercure and Ibis hotels in Brisbane and the Mercure and Ibis hotels in Perth.

Some of the larger real estate assets include the Ibis Sydney airport (200 rooms), the Ibis Budget Sydney Olympic Park (156 rooms) and the Ibis Melbourne Hotel and Apartments (250 rooms).

JLL Hotel & Hospitality Group’s Craig Collins and Peter Harper are handling the sale of the portfolio.

JLL Hotels & Hospitality Group chief executive Craig Collins said that economy hotels are a successful hotel model in the Australian market.

“Their typically low operating costs and high level of profitability make them very attractive investments.”

French hotel giant Accor picked up the ASX-listed Mantra Group earlier this year for $1.2 billion, making it the largest hotel operator in the country.

Both the portfolio as a whole and individual hotels within it are being offered for sale by expressions of interest.