We’ve already covered how Australian hotel operator Mantra Group is growing domestically—but the company is also planning to expand in Asia and in several key U.S. locations.
The company’s new development manager, Andrew McTaggart, said that he would seek out and secure new properties under the Peppers, Mantra or BreakFree brands.
“We have some aggressive plans for growth in new complementary offshore destinations including key Asia Pacific nations such as Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia, and we’re looking at further hotel opportunities in Hawaii and mainland U.S.,” he told the Gold Coast Bulletin. “That said, Australia is still our core market and where we see most of our growth in the next 12-18 months.”
With Australia’s hotel scene booming, that may be challenging, McTaggart acknowledged, but he expects that the company will be able to take advantage of opportunities when they appear.
“The flexible business models we offer—from hotel management agreements, to leases, to management letting rights of serviced apartments and also franchising—give us a wide range of solutions to take to the market,” he said.
The company has already made inroads into the U.S.: Last year, Mantra Group bought Outrigger Enterprises Group’s interest in Honolulu’s Ala Moana Hotel for $52.5 million.
In the past two years, Mantra has added 22 properties to its portfolio and currently has 127 properties in four countries.
Mantra executive director of acquisitions Michael Moret-Lalli said the group is on track for another solid year of business growth. In its last fiscal year, the company added 11 new hotels and 3,000 guestrooms to its portfolio. For the first half of the current fiscal year, the company has acquired another seven properties.