IHG Hotels and Resorts has added further to an already robust pipeline of Holiday Inn properties on the way to Victoria, signing a new management agreement for a hotel conversion in the emerging second-tier city of Dandenong.
Holiday Inn Dandenong will be the fifth hotel partnership with the Pelligra Group and the fourth under the Holiday Inn banner, joining others at Melbourne Airport, Werribee and an in-development property in Richmond. IHG also operates Crowne Plaza Melbourne Carlton with Pelligra Group.
Following an AUD$10 million renovation and refurbishment, the hotel will be converted from its existing guise as Ramada Encore by Wyndham Dandenong, with a further 18 rooms added to take the hotel’s inventory from 108 to 126 keys. The property will also be fitted with Holiday Inn’s energetic communal Open Lobby concept which recently made its debut at Werribee.
The signing comes as Dandenong continues to make headway and launch itself as a bustling new capital city of Melbourne’s south-west. The past 15 years has seen significant development of new community infrastructure from the Victorian Government, which in turn has attracted attention from corporate, investment and education circles leading to new business headquarters, a major university campus and surrounding residential communities.
IHG Director of Development for Australasia and Pacific, Jael Fischer, said she was delighted to be working closely once again with the team from Pelligra Group.
“The Holiday Inn brand has undergone a huge, global transformation over the last 18 months, unveiling a level of next-generation design which is making leisure and business travellers take note, fast tracking the brand’s growth across the region,” she said.
Pelligra Group Chairman, Ross Pelligra, said he loved working with the IHG team and was thrilled to be branding his newest acquisition under the Holiday Inn marque.
“The location of this hotel is what really drew us to the property, just across the road from the town’s main shopping centre and metres from Dandenong’s major revitalisation project,” Pelligra said.
“Having the internationally recognised Holiday Inn brand attached to our hotel will be of great benefit as domestic and international travel returns and we are proud to be continuing our partnership with IHG.”