Six Continents Hotels to Establish Holiday Inn Wellington

Wellington is to become home to a Holiday Inn following an agreement between Six Continents Hotels and Melview Developments to establish a Holiday Inn hotel as part of a NZ$150 million retail, office and residential unit-titled development in the centre of the city.

Due to open in early 2004, the 170-room Holiday Inn Wellington will become the first Holiday Inn hotel in New Zealand's capital and the first purpose-built international standard hotel Wellington has seen in more than 12 years.

"Wellington is crucial to the continuing expansion of Six Continents Hotels' global brands both within New Zealand and throughout Asia Pacific," said Six Continents Hotels Chief Operating Officer for Australia, New Zealand and South Pacific, Phil Lee.

"Over the last three years, Wellington hotels have out-performed most hotels in the rest of the country in terms of occupancy and room rates. Wellington city hotels had a 70% occupancy rate for the period ended May 2002, up from 67% on the previous twelve months and well above the national average of 47%.

"Having recently established InterContinental Wellington, this development strengthens our position in the city whilst supporting the ongoing rollout of the brand with Holiday Inn hotels already open in Christchurch and Te Anau," Mr Lee said.

To be located on Featherston Street with views over Wellington Harbour and towards the Western Hills and Parliament, Holiday Inn Wellington will feature a health club including lap pool, sauna, spa pool and gymnasium, conference facilities, restaurant and bar and the latest in-room technology.

"This new development will be an important factor in building awareness of the power of the Holiday Inn brand among other hotel owners in New Zealand. It will become the third Holiday Inn for New Zealand and the first for North Island," said Six Continents Hotels' Regional Vice President of Operations for New Zealand and South Pacific, Andrew de Csilléry.

"When you consider that half a million international travellers visited Wellington in 2001, it is easy to see the potential for Holiday Inn Wellington as a result of taking on the world's most globally recognised hotel brand. The brand is rapidly becoming very successful in this region with seventeen Holiday Inn hotels now established in Australia.

"Holiday Inn is the world's most global hotel brand and brings with it extensive infrastructure such as global reservations, sales and brand support. This development will allow owners of other hotel properties to see first-hand the opportunities that a brand of Holiday Inn's strength can provide," Mr de Csilléry said.