Story by News Ltd.
Read News Ltd’s full story here
HIGH END Asian hotel chain operator Six Senses wants to enter the Australian market in Byron Bay, but chief executive Neil Jacobs says the economics of operating in Australia are not simple.
“The labour climate is not easy … but I would like to be in Australia, and ideally do something in Byron Bay in northern NSW, says Neil.
“Byron Bay could do with something smarter in terms of service,” Mr Jacobs told The Australian at the International Luxury Travel Market conference in Cannes last week.
Other hoteliers interested in opening up a new market in Australia also include Mandarin Oriental and Belmond.
As the world’s major hotel chains continue to consolidate, smaller operators like the London-based luxury accommodation operator Belmond, previously known as Orient Express Hotels, have advanced plans to double their global footprint and re-enter the Australian tourism market with the purchase of a high-end cruise or rail line.
Hong Kong-based Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group chief marketing officer, Michael Hobson, who has operated an office in Australia for the past 30 years and enjoys a reasonable volume of Australian international business, said: “We would like to have a hotel in Australia so we could provide something consumers could touch and see.”