New Zealand’s largest hotel owner has bought three properties in Auckland, Wellington and Rotorua and struck a deal with the world’s largest hotel operator to open them as hotels.
Richard Crawford, Marriott International vice-president of hotel development for Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific, announced the expansion.
CP Group will operate the hotels under franchise agreements with Marriott, Crawford said.
The 335 hotel rooms would open as a result of Marriott signing three agreements with CP Group, headed by Prakash Pandey.
CP – standing for his father Charles Pandey’s initials – is the private family business, which Prakesh Pandey has said owns 30 hotels in this country.
It contracted the American-headquartered business to brand the three properties under various Marriott labels.
Crawford said it would take up to three years for all buildings to be refurbished and ready for guests.
Only one of the three new properties would be branded Marriott.
The three properties are:
The Queen St-headquartered Rich List Pandey family is estimated to be worth $220m.
They own more than 1400 New Zealand hotel rooms.
Their biggest New Zealand hotel is the JW Marriott, Albert St, the largest hotel sale in this country when it was sold for $170m in 2022.
That 376-room hotel was previously the Stamford Plaza and before that, the Regent.
The Pandeys own titles in Auckland’s waterfront Sofitel Auckland Viaduct Harbour.
They bought the ex-Reserve Bank building and converted it into what is now So/Auckland, at 67 Customs St East, Auckland.
Other CP Group hotels are managed by French-headquartered Accor, which has Pullman and Mercure brands.
In 2020, the Pandeys launched Fabel Hotels and Resorts, a 13-property portfolio. Its properties were previously known under many different names, stretching from Auckland to Dunedin.
Marriott has about 9800 properties in 145 countries.
Crawford said Marriott is expanding fast here. New Marriott-managed hotels are to be:
Marriott only manages Auckland’s JW Marriott at 22-26 Albert St and Four Points by Sheraton at 396 Queen St.
Its main entrance is at 110 Mayoral Dr.
But Marriott has struck a deal to manage Christchurch’s ex-Noah’s Hotel, now being upgraded by Mainland Capital and Russell Property Group.
That hotel is to be 14 floors and have 240 rooms.
It is to open next year as the Sheraton Christchurch after a $150m upgrade.
Marriott has also signed a deal to manage the new 145-room St. Regis Queenstown as well as new-build Moxy hotels in Auckland and Queenstown.
CMP is building the 17-level $75m Moxy Hotel by Marriott International on Wakefield St in Auckland.
Hotel rooms are being built offsite as modular units.
Sixteen hotel room modules are planned to make up each floor, stacked one on top of the other.
The top 13 levels will be modular and tied back to the concrete core, CMP said, while the lower three levels will be more traditional-style construction.
A significant transfer structure at level three has been designed to carry the weight of 201 modules which will each weigh more than 15 tonnes.
The site is between Mayoral Drive and Symonds St in the block bounded by St Paul St and Lyndock St.
St. Regis is due to open in Queenstown in 2028.
That five-star St. Regis management deal is also between CP Group and Marriott.
The Pandeys are developing the property via PHC Queenstown, with PCI Projects the project manager.
The hotel is on a prominent corner site in central Queenstown overlooking Lake Wakatipu and The Remarkables.
In March, Prakash Pandey said St. Regis was a strategic addition to CP Group’s portfolio of 30 hotels in this country.
Crawford said: “CP Group are pivoting towards Marriott as their preferred hotel partner, which is a very strong vote of confidence. Prakash has decided to engage with us on more deals. That is the greatest measure of success.”
Prakash Pandey did not respond to inquiries about the three-property expansion.
Anne Gibson has been the Herald’s property editor for 26 years, written books and covered property extensively here and overseas.