Accor announces Sydney Sydney’s only new 5* hotel

Australia’s largest hotel group, Accor, announced today that it would launch its new 5-star Pullman brand in Australia, with the Pullman Sydney Olympic Park scheduled to open in August 2007.

It will be the only 5-star hotel to open in Sydney this decade and also western Sydney’s first 5-star hotel.

Accor also announced the only new-build hotel to open in the Sydney central business district this decade – Ibis King Street Wharf, which is currently under construction on the corners of Erskine and Shelley Streets – planned for opening by the end of 2008.

Pullman Sydney Olympic Park is being developed by Tourism Asset Holdings Limited (TAHL), Australia’s largest hotel ownership company, of which Accor is a minor shareholder.

The total development cost of the hotel is in excess of AUD$50 million.

Pullman is one of the great names in hospitality, best known for its association with the luxurious railway carriages that changed the face of overnight accommodation on trains in America, the UK and Europe in the 19th and 20th centuries.

Pullman carriages still operate on the Orient Express in Europe. Accor acquired the brand name in the early 1990s as part of its purchase of the Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits.

Accor is using the Pullman name for a new 5-star hotel brand that will be positioned between the newly upgraded Sofitel luxury brand and the well-established 4-star Novotel brand.

The announcement of the Pullman Sydney Olympic Park is part of a global launch of the brand that will initially include 45 Pullman hotels in Europe, Asia, the Middle East and South America.

The first Pullman hotel opened recently in Bangkok.

It is envisaged that the brand will comprise 250 hotels by 2015.

The Pullman brand is principally aimed at corporate and meetings business, which makes the brand ideal for the Sydney Olympic Park destination, which is Sydney’s fastest growing commercial and events precinct.

The contemporary 18 storey, 212 room Pullman will include 14 suites, 340 square metres of conference space plus pre-function areas (for up to 220 delegates), a boardroom, Pullman executive floor and lounge, lobby ‘chill out’ area, 24 hour gym, business centre, 24 hour IT solutions manager, restaurant and bar, and underground car parking with 130 spaces. The hotel’s interior design is by Joseph Pang.

Like the adjacent Novotel and Ibis hotels, the new Pullman will be a pacesetter for environmental standards. The hotel will use 40% less energy than most equivalent 5-star hotels, with solar panels on the rooftop supplementing power consumption.

A specific focus in the hotel construction has been on the selection of natural materials, with priority on building products with recyclable and recycled materials.  80% of water used in the construction of the hotel is targeted to be re-cycled.

The existing hotels, which were opened in 2000, and the new Pullman, will service the rapidly growing business and meetings community in the Olympic Park precinct and the greater western Sydney area.

Sydney Olympic Park is currently home to over 60 businesses including Orlando Wyndham, Dairy Farmers, QBE, BP Solar and Eveready. These will be joined by a number of other major businesses over the next two years, including the Commonwealth Bank, which has already relocated 1400 staff to Sydney Olympic Park earlier this year and will grow their presence to 5000 employees by the end of the decade. Elsewhere in the surrounding region, companies such as ANZ, National Australia Bank, Macquarie Bank and AAP have moved to this burgeoning commercial district.

Sydney Olympic Park is also a major venue for conferences, exhibitions, entertainment and sporting events.

Accor Asia Pacific Managing Director, Michael Issenberg, said the new hotel highlighted the success of Sydney Olympic Park and the vision behind the development of the precinct.

“Sydney Olympic Park has been an outstanding success, despite some initial scepticism about the precinct’s viability after the Olympics,” said Mr Issenberg.

“By the year 2025 it is anticipated that Sydney Olympic Park will support a daily population of over 20,000 workers, so the launch of the Pullman will play an important role in supporting this rapid growth.” “The region has had no new hotel for over seven years and demand for top-end accommodation is particularly strong.”

“Pullman brings to Sydney’s West a great name in hospitality, with an enviable reputation for quality and innovation. When Pullman Sydney Olympic Park opens in August, it will join Pullmans in countries such as France, Germany, Brazil, China and Thailand and will be part of one of the world’s fastest growing hotel networks.”

Accor is also opening a Formule 1 hotel at Sydney Olympic Park in 2008, which will bring the number of rooms operated by Accor at Sydney Olympic Park to over 600.

The site will be an ideal base for domestic and international leisure travellers, with easy access to the city, Cockle Bay and Darling Harbour. Ferry and charter cruise services are available from King St Wharf, and the Wynyard train and bus interchange is 300 metres from the hotel site.

The launch of the Kings St Wharf hotel is part of a region-wide expansion of Accor’s premier economy hotel brand, Ibis, says Accor Asia Pacific Managing Director, Michael Issenberg.

Report by The Mole