Australian Hotel Brand Set for European Expansion

Sydney-based TFE Hotels has unveiled plans to navigate the notoriously difficult barriers to international expansion, announcing two new hotels in Europe.

The hotels, set to launch in in Austria in 2020 and in Switzerland in 2022, are two of the 26 new properties TFE Hotels is set to open in the next four years across six brands and five countries.

Its plans for eight new European hotel openings will see TFE double its rooms on the continent.

Australia's small economy, challenged growth outlook and influx of foreign competition is encouraging more companies to look offshore.

TFE Hotels’ chief executive Antony Ritch said the company was entering a period of strong growth investing extensively in increasing the experience, liveability and design of its Adina Hotels.

“Not only is Vienna recognised as having one of the highest ratings for quality of life worldwide, but the high-end segment of the hotel apartment market in Austria is still relatively untapped,” Ritch said.

The Adina in Vienna will be one of only seven hotels with a swimming pool in the historic centre.

Vienna’s main train station close by, offering direction connections to the international airport, but there’s a tram stop directly in front of the hotel.

In Geneva, Adina's new hotel will be part of the 11-hectare Quartier de L’Etang lifestyle precinct. The hotel will feature 140 one-bedroom, two-bedroom and studio apartment-style hotel rooms with views of the alps.

In addition to the Adina Hotel, the Quartier de L’Etang precinct will feature more than 1,000 dwelling units, office areas, administrative buildings and a medical centre, as well as two alternate hotels.

The hotelier is now sounding out sites for hotels in Cologne, Dusseldorf, Freiburg, Munich, Stuttgart and Wiesbaden.

TFE, know for its high-quality apartment-style hotels, launched in 1963 by the Sydney-based Vidor family, and amassed 57 hotels before recently signing a 50-50 joint venture with Singapore's cashed-up Far East Hospitality Group in 2014.

While it continues to expand Adina overseas, the group is also looking to solidify its upscale Vibe Hotels as one of Australia's leading lifestyle hotel brands.

TFE opened its fourth Vibe Hotel in the Sydney CBD, the Vibe Hotel Sydney Darling Harbour.

This hotel is located on historic Sussex Street features 145-rooms and Sydney's latest rooftop restaurant and bar.

In Melbourne, TFE is pressing forward with the 24-storey, glass-fronted Vibe Hotel offering views of the Yarra River and Southbank, slated to open next year.

In Tasmania, the 142-key Vibe Hotel Hobart will open in 2020 and a 116-key Vibe Hotel will open in Adelaide’s eastern fringe in 2022.