New Ramada hotel planned for Auckland

A drawing of the Ramada Hotel & Suites Newmarket where work is planned to start later this year.

Wyndham Hotel Group has announced plans for a 63-room hotel in Auckland.

The Ramada Hotel and Suites Newmarket will be the group's ninth property in this country. The $22 million project is part of a $100m mixed-use development built in partnership with developer Safari Group.

Ramada Newmarket will feature hotel units, studio units and one and two-bedroom apartments, along with a purpose-built meeting space.
Barry Robinson, president and managing director of Wyndham Hotel Group South East Asia and Pacific Rim, said the company was responding to greater-than-expected tourism growth.

"The surge in demand for hotel rooms throughout New Zealand makes the country a key focus area for growth, and we're intent on strengthening our already-extensive presence in Auckland," he said.

Price data from Hotels.com shows Auckland prices averaged $213 a night in 2017, up 8 per cent on the previous year. During the past three years prices in Auckland have increased by 27 per cent as demand from tourists outstrips new hotel building.

The average price paid at 20 top New Zealand destinations was $185 a night.

Hotel occupancies in Auckland averaged 87 per cent for the year ending June, 2017.

Construction of the hotel at 39-43 Gillies Avenue, which will be operated under a franchise agreement with Gillies Trading Trust and managed by Accommodation Works Ltd, is expected to begin late this year. It is due to open in 2020.

Wyndham and Safari Group have worked together on six other hotel projects in the country, including five Ramada locations.

Other Ramada hotels in Auckland are the 42-room Ramada Suites Auckland, Federal Street; the 66-room Ramada Suites Albany, Auckland North Shore; the 47-room Ramada Suites Victoria Street West, Auckland, which is currently under construction and scheduled to open early in 2019; and the 85-room Ramada Suites Manukau Pacific Centre, also under construction and slated for completion in mid-2019.

Globally, Ramada has nearly 850 hotels in 64 countries, including 63 hotels across the South East Asia and Pacific Rim region.