Art Series Hotel Group’s Will Deague has been named as the winner of the Emerging Category in the Southern Region finals of the 2012 Australian Ernst and Young Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards.
Deague, the CEO of the Asian Pacific Group, the parent company of the award winning Art Series Hotels, will now go on to compete in the national finals to be awarded on November 29 in Sydney.
The overall national winner will then travel on to Monte Carlo to represent Australia at the World Entrepreneur Of The Year awards.
The only truly global program of its kind, Ernst and Young Entrepreneur Of The Year is considered the world’s most prestigious business award, with entrepreneurs participating from more than 50 countries. The Emerging Category is for entrepreneurs under the age of 35.
According to Deague, the Group, which includes The Cullen, The Olsen and The Blackman, has enjoyed stellar success turning over $75 million with an average occupancy rate of 85 – 95 per cent across all properties, a figure that continues to grow year on year.
The Group continues to expand around Australia with its next development, The Watson in Adelaide, currently under construction due to open September 2013, and The Larwill in Melbourne due to open in December 2014.