IHG is set to open a regional flagship Holiday Inn in Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, Australia, in early 2021, following the signing of a management agreement with Interlink Group.
With 148 rooms, the property will be the largest hotel in the city, as well as a unique iteration of the brand. The six-story hotel will be an adaptive re-use of the heritage-listed Murrumbidgee Flour Mill and Grainstore, one of Wagga’s most iconic locations. This next phase of development for the facility represents a $37-million investment in Wagga Wagga and is anticipated to create approximately 60-80 ongoing positions once the hotel opens..
The hotel will have an indoor restaurant and bar with a Mediterranean-themed piazza and a conference center that can host more than 300 guests.
The signing, said Abhijay Sandilya, IHG’s senior director of development/Australasia, continues the momentum of Holiday Inn in Australia’s regional and satellite hubs such as Sydney St. Marys, Geelong, and Melbourne’s Coburg, Ringwood and Werribee.
“Wagga is the largest inland city in New South Wales and the hub of the Riverina region, so it’s crying out for a large-scale, internationally branded hotel,” said Yu Xiao, owner of The Mill Development. “We are confident that a globally branded hotel of this calibre will help build Wagga’s credentials as a business destination.”
Located midway between Sydney and Melbourne, Wagga is an important agricultural, military and transport hub of Australia, and provides education, health and other services to the broader region. The hotel will be in the middle of the city's central business district and close to the train station. CBD at 50 Edward Street, a short walk from the train station and opposite Robertson Oval,
Mayor of the City of Wagga Wagga Councillor Greg Conkey said the hotel development was a good fit with city's reputation as a progressive regional capital in New South Wales. "Our city continues to attract large-scale events which bring 1.3 million visitors to Wagga Wagga each year. A development of this caliber is sure to support the city as a preferred destination for business and leisure events. In recent weeks Wagga Wagga has hosted events such as the NSW Touch Junior State Cup Southern Conference titles, which saw accommodation[s] booked out across the city. Wagga Wagga will again host the time-honored Wagga Gold Cup carnival in May which coincides this year with the NRL match between Canberra Raiders and Penrith Panthers. These blue-ribbon events continue to bring visitors to the city and in the long-term as we grow and host more events of this size, we will need to accommodate the influx of visitors.”
IHG currently has 47 hotels operating under five brands in Australasia, with another 27 in the pipeline as of December, including Voco, EVEN Hotels and Hotel Indigo.