A buyer has emerged for Geelong’s four-star Rydges hotel in Gheringhap St.
Geelong’s Rydges hotel has sold in a $24.5m deal that highlights continued confidence in the city’s growing accommodation sector.
The new owner operator will continue to run the hospitality landmark under the Rydges brand in a franchise agreement.
Listed-company EVT put the four-star Gheringhap St hotel on the market last year as part of a strategic portfolio consolidation.
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Rydges Geelong’s ground floor, bar and restaurant were relaunched in 2020 after a makeover.
The Nautica Pool Bar & Kitchen focuses on locally sourced produce.
JLL Hotels and Hospitality Group brokered the deal for the eight-storey building featuring 138 guest rooms ranging from 30sqm to 60sqm, a restaurant, events centre, swimming pool and fitness centre.
Hotel investment sales managing director Peter Harper said the 5991sq m freehold site’s prominent position and strong historical trading performance made it a sought-after asset.
This was further underpinned by the maturity of Geelong’s hotel market and its growth prospects, particularly with the impending opening of the Nyaal Banyul convention in July.
“Rydges Geelong has been a permanent fixture on the Geelong skyline for an extended period of time now so it has a very strong reputation within the market,” Mr Harper said.
“There have been a number of new players and new hotels come into the Geelong market over the past 24 months and there is a little bit of further activity underway with the extension of the Novotel. That speaks volumes to the fundamentals of Geelong as a city and its economy and the way it’s been able to pivot from an industrial reliant to a more diverse economy and a much larger population base.
The hotel has 138 rooms, some with bay views.
“What I think is so exciting to a lot of existing stakeholders and investors looking at the market now is the impending opening of the convention centre and what that will do to the market more broadly from Monday to Friday, with corporate events an conferences.
“For the operators, it’s a market they want exposure to.”
The hotel, at 80-105 Gheringhap St, Geelong, sold for close to $20m in 2017 and had a substantial update completed in 2020.
The hotel was originally built in 1971 in a tri-arc design as a TraveLodge. It was part of the Accor group under the Mercure brand prior to 2017.
“The sale is purely a result of my client EVT undergoing a strategic consolidation of its portfolio, this is about the fourth or fifth asset they have sold,” Mr Harper said.
The company operates more than 80 hotels across Australia, New Zealand and Singapore, including under the QT, Rydges and Altura brands.