AUSTRALIA: New Esplanade Hotel In Perth To Be Managed By Louis T Collection

New Esplanade Hotel
Louis T Collection and H&M Capital Pty Ltd have announced the signing of a management agreement pursuant to which Louis T Collection will oversee the operation of the New Esplanade Hotel.

The hotel is located in Elizabeth Quay, Perth's vibrant, newly developed mixed-use zone along the Swan River.

In addition to providing full management services, Louis T Collection, drawing upon extensive building solutions and architectural design expertise, will oversee the renovation of the 80-room property that will reposition the hotel in the market by returning it to its leading place among Perth's top-tier hotels.

The original Esplanade Hotel, that opened on the site in the early 1900s, was for many years one of the city's most prominent hotels.

Given the changing face of the city with the new waterfront development surrounding the hotel, coupled with extremely favorable tourism numbers, the time couldn't be better to bring the New Esplanade back to its former glory, said Grant Healy, CEO and co-founder of Louis T Collection.

Our goal for the hotel is that it become Perth's most desirable home for visitors, and, at the same time, becomes an important social and entertainment hub for the local community.

According to Healy, details of the hotel's renovation and launch of the repositioned hotel will be forthcoming over the next few months.

With the refurbishment, we want to resurrect and retain the soul of the original Esplanade Hotel while introducing a fresh, innovative living experience, allowing the Esplanade Hotel to serve as one of the catalysts for the revitalization of the city of Perth, said Jun Hao Tan, Director of H&M Capital Pty Ltd.

I have utmost confidence in Louis T Collection's focus on maintaining the integrity and bringing forth the unique nature of each hotel in the collection. That´s exactly what we intend to achieve with the hotel.

The relationship with H&M Capital is Louis T Collection's first move in the Australian market and a special one for co-founder Healy who was born and raised in the Western Australian city.

International visitor count to the region increased by 12% in 2016, with nearly a million tourists touching down in Western Australia, according to Tourism Western Australia.

95% of those inbound travellers visited Perth. The number of travellers from neighboring Southeast Asia, including Malaysia, Indonesia, and Singapore, all increased as well as visitors from further afield such as those from China, India, and the USA.


Tourism Observer

SRI LANKA: Robert C. Hauck Appointed General Manager Of 156-room Galle Face Hotel In Colombo

Robert C. Hauck
Louis T Collection has named Robert C. Hauck general manager of the iconic Galle Face Hotel, Colombo, Sri Lanka and Area Vice President for South Asia.

In this new role, Hauck will oversee the operations of the 156-room historic seafront property in the Sri Lankan capital of Colombo, while supporting growth objectives and driving operational excellence for Louis T as it accelerates its strategic expansion in South Asia.

Robert is an exceptional hotelier with a career that has spanned some of the world’s top luxury hotels and brands, said Mikael Svensson, senior vice president of Louis T Collection.

I am confident that he will take the legendary Galle Face to a new level, and his demonstrated success in hotel openings, turnarounds and developing new hospitality concepts will be critical as we strategically drive our growth.

A hospitality leader with over 25 years of experience in hotels across Asia, Europe, South America and the Caribbean.

Hauck was most recently general manager of Kanuhura in the Maldives, an 80-villa, 10-F&B outlet resort that he took through a successful reopening and re-positioning project after an 18-month renovation.

Galle Face Hotel, Colombo, Sri Lanka
A German native, Hauck was director of Asian operations for International Group Management (IGM), Shanghai, a 5-star hotel and private member club at Zhejiang Circuit, China’s leading motorsport destination.

He was also president of Thanyapura in Phuket, Asia’s first sports resort, directing the launch of the mixed-use project.

Previously general manager of Raffles Grand Hotel d’Angkor in Siem Reap, Cambodia, Hauck’s earlier posts included executive roles at Shangri-La hotels in Taipei, Hong Kong and Pudong.

He had other executive positions at Mandarin Oriental Kuala Lumpur; the Fairmont Hamilton Princess, Bermuda; Hotel Oro Verde, Guayaquil, Ecuador; and Kempinski Hotel Furstenhof, Leipzig, Germany.

In 2016, Louis T Collection signed a joint development agreement with The Galle Face Hotel Group which made Louis T service providers for the historic Galle Face Hotel.


Tourism Observer