News release, 14 February 2008
IHG and Albany City Property Investments announce new hotel in Albany, Auckland
Holiday Inn Albany to be first international hotel for Albany
David Shackleton (IHG regional general manager New Zealand and South Pacific ) and Gary Nol
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Albany City Property Investments Limited (ACPIL) is delighted to announce the construction of a new international hotel
in Albany, Auckland following an agreement between IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) and ACPIL.
The first stage of a proposed 230-room Holiday Inn hotel is planned for the 43 hectare commercial, residential, retail
and leisure development in Albany, which is situated on the North Shore, and approximately 15 minutes drive from
Auckland’s CBD. The first stage of the development comprises 150 rooms.
The Holiday Inn hotel will service both business and leisure guests, offering the smart design, friendly service and
welcoming atmosphere Holiday Inn is renowned for.
The hotel will be developed and owned by ACPIL and will feature business and conferencing, dining and recreation
facilities. Resource consent has been lodged and is expected to be granted in the first quarter of 2008. Construction is
planned to commence shortly after the receipt of the Resource Consent.
In addition to a business centre and residential developments, Holiday Inn Albany will also service the nearby Massey
University, MORE FM Tennis Park and 20,000-seat North Harbour Domain sport and entertainment stadium and the extensive
North Harbour and Apollo Drive business areas. Albany is expecting to attract more than 15,000 office workers and more
than 6,000 people to the precinct in the next 10 years.
Albany City Development Limited General Manager Gary Noland says the establishment of an internationally-branded hotel
is a valuable addition to the overall Albany development.
“Our aim is to establish a world-class business precinct. For international companies to base their country operations
here we need to offer recognisable facilities to match their expectations. Of the different hotel operators and brands
we considered, IHG was the best potential partner to help capture that attention.
“Holiday Inn is a hotel brand with proven appeal to business travellers and, with IHG’s demonstrated ability to drive
premium returns on its managed assets, is well suited with what we’re looking to achieve with the commercial development
in Albany,” Mr Noland says.
The planned hotel will join Holiday Inn Wellington – the first new hotel to be built in the capital in over 15 years,
which opened in 2007 – and Holiday Inn on Avon and Holiday Inn City Centre, both in Christchurch.
IHG chief operating officer Australia, New Zealand and South Pacific, Keith Barr says: “The Albany development is
another example of a perfect location for the Holiday Inn brand. It’ll be the second purpose-built Holiday Inn hotel in
New Zealand following the opening of Holiday Inn Wellington, which offers a fantastic opportunity to demonstrate the
brand’s positioning and potential in New Zealand.”
“The Holiday Inn brand presents a strong proposition for hotel owners in New Zealand. Its offering of dependability,
friendly service, modern facilities and excellent value attracts both business and leisure travelers and, with a growing
network of hotels in popular locations across Australia and New Zealand, the brand performs at a premium to market in
this region. It’s also the world’s largest mid-scale hotel network with 1,370 hotels and 254,912 rooms, with more than
341 hotels currently in the pipeline .
“This agreement is another step toward increasing the presence of the Holiday Inn brand in New Zealand, which we intend
to do by working with the right partners in the right locations,” Mr Barr added.
More information on the Albany developments can be found at www.albanycity.co.nz or www.acproperty.co.nz
ENDS