In response to its growing hotel pipeline and emerging business opportunities, Pro-invest Hotels Group has appointed Michael Bourne as Group Head of Operations.
Bourne was previously Area General Manager with IHG, overseeing the SB&G Group hotel portfolio comprising the Intercontinental Melbourne Rialto, Crowne Plaza Coogee Beach, Crowne Plaza Canberra, Crowne Plaza Melbourne and Holiday Inn Potts Point.
Michael has over 25 years of hotel experience in the luxury, boutique and lifestyle hotel sector holding senior multi-unit area general manager and general manager roles with major hotel groups including IHG, Hilton and QT Hotels.
“I am excited to be joining Pro-invest Hotels Group during this important stage of consolidation for the existing hotels and as we prepare for the ongoing expansion of the portfolio,” he said.
Pro-invest Group has a portfolio of nine hotels of which three Holiday Inn Express hotels have opened in Sydney’s Macquarie Park, Brisbane and Adelaide. The fund’s pipeline includes an additional six properties in various stages of development across key markets including Sydney Airport, Melbourne CBD, Melbourne Southbank, Newcastle, Queenstown and Auckland.
Pro-invest Hotels Group Managing Director, Phil Kasselis, said: “Michael’s appointment is a significant milestone for our company as we grow our hotel management platform beyond our initial expectations.”
In mid-2017, the group launched its second fund, the Australian Hospitality Opportunity Fund II to further expand its Holiday Inn Express footprint throughout the region, to also include Even Hotels, IHG’s upscale lifestyle hotel brand focussed on wellness.