With Australia in the middle of a major tourism boom, hotel deals are on the rise and construction is growing steadily.
With that in mind, here are two Australian hotel companies that are ripe for investment.
Queensland-based Mantra Group is a hotel chain with a market capitalization of $885 million.In November, Mantra signed deals for five new hotels with a combined total of more than 900 additional rooms across Australia and New Zealand. During fiscal year 2016, Mantra Group increased its portfolio by 11 new properties, adding more than 3,000 rooms to its inventory, and announced seven acquisitions for the first five months of fiscal year 2017.
Mantra also has a growing presence overseas. By the end of FY19 it will have operations in New Zealand, Hawaii, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand.
Notably, during the company’s last fiscal year, the occupancy rates at its hotels grew by 2.2 percent to 78.1 percent, boosting its appeal for future investment.
Crown Resorts, meanwhile, is the Melbourne-based owner and operator of several large casinos & hotels with a market capitalization of $8.5 billion.
In June, Crown received approvals from the NSW Planning Assessment Commission for its Crown Sydney Hotel Resort at Barangaroo South. When the approvals were announced, Crown's share prices reported an increase on the Australian Stock Exchange.
By October, the company was looking to spin off a 49-percent stake in the company's hotels and retail properties amid allegations of gambling malfeasance in China that could damage profits. Eighteen Crown employees were arrested on suspicion of committing "gambling crimes" in the country, and shares of Crown Resorts plunged, losing losing more than 10 percent of their value.
Still, both businesses are poised for growth, and investors would do well to research them further.