$400m deal for hotel facelift

By KARYN SCHERER

New Zealand's hotel industry is undergoing a shake-up as a new overseas investor flexes some international muscle.

Over the past few months, some of the country's most high-profile hotels have been given a change of image following a $400 million deal last year in which UK-based hotel group Six Continents took over the country's second-largest hotel operator.

Thirteen New Zealand hotels previously leased or managed by the SPHC Group were affected by the deal.

Six Continents has made it clear it would like to see more of its international brands, including Inter-Continental, Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn and Staybridge Suites, in this country.

Last month the Parkroyal in Wellington was transformed into a Hotel Inter-Continental, amid promises to refurbish it to the highest possible standards.

Christchurch's Avon River Centra and the Centra Te Anau have both become Holiday Inns, and this week it was the turn of the Centra Auckland to become the Crowne Plaza.

Although Parkroyal and Centra are well-known brands in this part of the world, they are not well-known in the United States, Britain or Asia.

In March, Six Continents said it also planned to turn the Parkroyal Christchurch into an Inter-Continental, spending $10 million on it and its Wellington cousin, but the changeover has yet to occur.

Spokeswoman Jane Morey said the plans had been delayed for an unspecified time to cause the least disruption to bookings.

Other hotels yet to be changed include the Centra Auckland Airport, Centra Rotorua, Centra Christchurch, Parkroyal Queenstown, Gardens Parkroyal Queenstown, and the Hermitage Mount Cook.

The James Cook in Wellington was originally part of the deal but its Singaporean owner, Hotel Grand Central, has since taken over the management itself.

The hotel was rebranded the James Cook Hotel Grand Chancellor in April and is having a $3.2 million facelift.

Because Six Continents does not own its New Zealand hotels, it has had to negotiate each rebranding with each owner.

Meanwhile, the company has itself had a change of image. Until last month, it was known as Bass Hotels & Resorts. It was once part of the giant Bass brewing and hotel group, until Bass decided there was more money in hotels and sold its brewing division to Belgian brewer Interbrew.

The company, one of the world's largest hotel groups, has set its sights on the meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions market as a main source of its growth in the Australian, New Zealand and South Pacific region.