[+] Big Plans, No Rush: Inside Crystalbrook Hotels’ Expansion

At his 21st birthday, Crystalbrook chief executive Geoff York was doing something unusual—he was serving other people food and drinks. But that wasn’t the unusual part of his landmark birthday—York was living and working in South Africa, earning a whopping 30 rand (about A$3) a month to gain invaluable work experience for his catering and hotel management degree back in Victoria. “I was keen to see the world. I had read a lot of Wilbur Smith books and thought Africa looked interesting.” York said. “So, I wrote to the Southern Suns Hotel group in South Africa seeking an opportunity. They wrote back and away I went. “It was probably the best experience of my life. They were a big hotel group and I moved all around, working in Johannesburg, Eastern Transvaal (Mpumalanga) and Durban among other cities. “They were a progressive hotel group and I learnt a lot. More importantly, it confirmed to me that I wanted to be in the hospitality sector.” It was the late 1970s when York made his decision to travel to South Africa, a time before the internet, and the 24-7 TV and radio news cycle, so York made his decision based on what we would consider today to be limited information. “I think life is all about gaining new experiences and that certainly gave me the impetus to work in an industry where that option was always going to be available,” York said. ▲ A hotel guy: Crystalbrook chief executive Geoff York. When York returned to Australia, he finished his degree at the then Victoria University and then set about working his way up through the hotel management chain with groups such as Sofitel and Accor. He is now the chief executive officer of Crystalbrook Collection Hotels and Resorts, a boutique hotel ownership group, backed by Syrian billionaire Ghassan Aboud , that has been rapidly expanding its portfolio. “I am a hotel guy,” York said. “I have worked around the world and have now moved on from day-to-day management to growing hotel brands. “I spent four years building the Atura and Eventhouse hotel brands and now have created the Crystalbrook Collection Hotels and Resorts group name from scratch, with seven hotels and more to be purchased in the near future.” ▲ The Riley in Cairns—Crystalbrook began in Cairns and has since spread along Australia’s east coast. The UAE-based Aboud has ambitions to spread the group’s influence into the mainstream hotel market in the lucrative Sydney and Melbourne CBD markets. Aboud has unlimited funds to invest and is keen on a new model of ownership in the hotel game. He doesn’t want to just be a tenant, he wants to own the land, the building, the name and everything associated with every hotel that the Crystalbrook Collection group buys. “Aboud initially wanted to buy existing hotels and give them to other people to run,” York said. “But upon reflection he didn’t want people telling him how to run his hotels. So, he decided to own everything and to initially focus on upmarket boutique hotels on the Australian east coast before expanding into more mainstream CBD locations.” The Crystalbrook Collection group currently owns hotels in Cairns, Newcastle , Port Douglas, Byron Bay , Brisbane and Sydney. “I joined around the time when decisions were made to build three hotels in Cairns,” York said. “We have always said we were starting in Cairns but not finishing there. “I was in a position to influence this change. My motivation was to build something. I have had a 40-year stint in hotels and I would like to think that I haven’t had 40 one-year stints repeated.” ▲ Crystalbrook Albion is the company’s first Sydney property. York says that Aboud hadn’t been to Australia for almost three years but is planning a visit in 2022 and that the pair talk regularly. “We keep him proactively informed on what is happening. Back in 2017 we had nothing and now we have an $800-million investment of 1300 rooms a night to fill. We are small but substantial,” he said. “We have a heavy proportion of our portfolio in Cairns but now we are balancing out with capital city locations. We are keen to purchase assets in the key markets of Sydney and Melbourne—they are where the big-demand hotels are. “We bought the 35-room Albion Hotel a few years ago with to give us a foothold in the Sydney market.” Sustainability a focus The Crystalbrook point of difference extends to design, technology and focus on sustainability. All of its hotels embrace a mantra of “responsible luxury” with an emphasis on environmental change to enhance guest experiences, York said. “Sustainability is important to me,” he said. “We are leading conversations—ours is an industry that has to consider its environmental footprint. “For example, we have removed single-use plastics from our properties. Our room keys are discs made of recycled timber with a microchip embedded in them. “We don’t have plastic bottled water, we use recycled cardboard. We don’t have those small bottles of shampoo and conditioner, we use pump packs—we led the charge in doing that. “Our coat hangers are recycled cardboard and there is no paper in the guest rooms. We have iPads and other electronics everywhere. We have solar in the hotels. We are truly environmentally friendly. “I would love to see other hotels doing what we do because it would have a more meaningful impact.” ▲ The Vincent, Crystalbrooks’ hotel in Brisbane, was opened last year. Of the future, York said he was keen to buy more hotels in Sydney and Melbourne to give the group a more prominent presence in Australia, as well as establishing itself as the premier boutique hotel group in the country. “Our expansion plan is to acquire hotels in Sydney, Melbourne Auckland and Queenstown,” York said. “This will either be via direct acquisition or hotel management acquisition. “We don’t mind either but we will only buy when the price is right and it makes commercial sense to do so. “We are in this for the long run so we are prepared to wait and negotiate until we have agreed on a price that is palatable.” You are currently experiencing The Urban Developer Plus (TUD+), our premium membership for property professionals. Click here to learn more.

[+] Big Plans, No Rush: Inside Crystalbrook Hotels’ Expansion

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