Franchising pays dividends for global hotel giant Accor

Hotel giant Accor has surpassed 150 franchise hotels across Australia and New Zealand, underlining its position as the largest and fastest-growing hotel franchise network in the Pacific region.

The milestone coincided with the annual Accor Pacific Franchise Conference taking place in Sydney, bringing together more than 270 franchise partners, hotel owners, industry leaders and Accor executives.

Over the past decade, Accor's Pacific franchise network has experienced significant expansion, particularly across regional and suburban markets, supported by growing owner appetite for globally recognised brands, strong distribution capability, loyalty-driven demand and operational efficiencies delivered through scale, the hotel group said in a media release.

Chief Franchise Officer for Premium, Midscale, and Economy, Leire Leoz, said the Pacific region has emerged as a strong growth market for franchising.

“Franchising is playing an increasingly important role in Accor's global growth strategy, and the Pacific region is a strong example of that momentum in action," she said.

"We continue to see strong interest from hotel owners seeking flexible operating models that allow them to retain the individuality of their assets while benefiting from the strength, scale and support of a global hospitality leader.”

Accor's franchise-forward strategy is a key driver of the group's long-term asset-light growth model, supporting expansion and strengthening owner partnerships across the Pacific.

Accor Chief Operating Officer in the Pacific region, Adrian Williams, said strong owner partnerships continue to underpin the growth of the franchise network.

“Our franchise network today represents a highly collaborative, performance-driven ecosystem built around owner success," he said.

"We continue to see strong demand from hotel owners who want access to Accor's powerful loyalty, sales and distribution platforms, while retaining the flexibility to run their hotels in a way that reflects their local character and identity. Importantly, many of our existing franchise partners continue to grow with us, with around half now owning multiple hotels within the network.

“At the same time, managed hotels remain strategically important to our long-term growth strategy across the Pacific. Our focus is on providing owners with the solutions that best suit their asset, market and long-term objectives.”

The Group will soon introduce its greet brand to the Pacific for the first time - another hotel brand in an already busy portfolio.

Accor currently operates more than 420 hotels across the Pacific region under brands including Sofitel, MGallery, Pullman, Mövenpick, Grand Mercure, Peppers, The Sebel, Mantra, Novotel, Mercure, TRIBE, and ibis.

Image: The Sebel Yarrawonga Silverwoods. Supplied.

New beginnings for Lindeman Island in the Whitsundays

After setting neglected for 15 years, Lindeman Island in the Whitsundays is to reopen under a new resort brand operated by Marriott International,

Marriott has signed an agreement with Singaporean-based real estate company Well Smart Group to bring Le Méridien to Lindeman Island - marking Marriott International’s entry into the Whitsundays market.

The resort closed in 2012 after Cyclone Yasi and in 2023 was acquired by Well Smart, which is currently undertaking a $60 million renovation.

Expected to open in late 2027, Le Méridien Lindeman Island Resort & Spa will occupy a 70-hectare parcel of land with wide private beach frontage on Lindeman Island - one of 74 islands in Queensland’s Whitsunday Passage on the Great Barrier Reef.

Lindeman Island - once home to Australia's first Club Med resort - is located only a 20-minute boat journey from Hamilton Island Airport.

The renovated resort is expected to feature 200 premium guest rooms and nine suites, two restaurants, lobby lounge and bar, function space, resort pool, fitness centre, Explore Spa by Le Méridien, tennis courts, kids club, and a recreational activities centre offering water sports, along with an archery range and indoor golf facilities.

Le Méridien Lindeman Island Resort & Spa will join Le Méridien Melbourne as the second Le Méridien-branded property in Australia and will be part of the brand’s global portfolio of more than 120 hotels and resorts.

The resort will be operated by La Vie Hotels & Resorts, marking Marriott’s first project with the independent hotel management company.



“Le Méridien Lindeman Island Resort & Spa is expected to be Marriott International’s first in Queensland’s iconic Whitsunday Islands," said Richard Crawford, Marriott International’s vice president for hotel development, Australia, New Zealand and Pacific.

"The resort will join our existing high-performing Queensland assets, located in Brisbane, the Gold Coast and Port Douglas.

"Whilst the Whitsunday Islands has been a much-loved destination for Australian travellers since the 1980s, visitation from international markets has been inhibited by a limited offering of international branded resorts.

"We are excited about the potential for Marriott’s leading distribution platforms and Marriott Bonvoy loyalty program, which now has nearly 283 million members, to elevate the global profile and appeal of this remarkable destination."

See www.lemeridien.com.

Endeavour to slash and burn in dash for cash

What happens when you put people who know nothing about wine in charge of wine businesses?

Nothing good for wine lovers.

Star Australian wine producers Oakridge, Chapel Hill and Josef Chromy are all set to be sold after new Endeavour Group CEO Jayne Hrdlicka - who knows a lot about aviation - announced plans to sell most of the company's vineyard and winery assets.

Endeavour will target $300 million in savings as Hrdlicka, formerly in charge of Virgin Australia, launches a turnaround plan to lift the struggling giant’s business profitability.

The changes were the first major announcement from Hrdlicka, who started in the role in January.

Endeavour is the largest liquor retailer in Australia, with brands that include Dan Murphy’s and BWS chains.

The plan appears to be to cut back on premium products and concentrate on bulk.

Yarra Valley winery Oakridge, under winemaker David Bicknell, has been one of Australia's best premium producers for two decades. Chapel Hill in McLaren Vale is a historic producer of top-notch wines led by talented Michael Fragos.

The company’s winery operations will be cut from seven sites to three. Endeavour will retain Cape Mentelle in Margaret River, Isabel Estate in Marlborough, New Zealand, and bulk production factory Dorrien Estate in the Barossa.

Hrdlicka said she remained committed to the Pinnacle Drinks business, which offers distribution channels and private-label wine brands, saying it was generating strong returns.

Hopefully the star brands find sympathetic owners focused on quality so Endeavour can concentrate on bulk labels and the bottom line. The decision reflects an apparent 'quantity over quality' mentality.   

Tribute to Springsteen: New edifice is born to run

Fans of Bruce Springsteen will want to note that the new Bruce Springsteen Center for American Music at Monmouth University opens next month.

The Springsteen Center will be officially inaugurated on June 13 on the college campus in New Jersey. 

The 30,000-square-foot structure is largely inspired by Springsteen's music and includes a 240-seat theatre for intimate performances.

The Center promises to "preserve the legacy of Bruce Springsteen and celebrates the history of American music and its diversity of artists and genres". 

As the home of the Bruce Springsteen Archives, the Center serves as the official repository for materials related to Springsteen and the E Street Band, including photographs, historic memorabilia, and oral histories. 

The Center also explores American music more broadly by producing exhibitions, concerts, and educational programming that interprets and honours the cultural impact of American music past, present, and future.

The collection consists of thousands of rare photographs, documents, recordings, artefacts, and more related primarily to Springsteen and The E Street Band.

It stands just a short walk from the New Jersey shore where Springsteen wrote Born to Run.

Robert Santelli, the centre’s founding executive director, said the building places Springsteen within the wider story of American music rather than treating him in isolation. 

Recalling the moment he first put the proposal to the musician, Santelli said Springsteen told him he would prefer to be seen as a chapter in that ongoing story.

See https://springsteencenter.org/

Dumb divers accidentally do damage to coral reefs

Research at the University of Sydney has found that scuba-diving tourism - widely promoted as a sustainable way to experience coral reefs - is causing frequent and often hidden damage to fragile marine ecosystems.

The study, led by Dr Bing Lin from the University of Sydney’s Thriving Oceans Research Hub in the School of Geosciences, analysed the behaviour of more than 700 scuba divers across tourism hotspots in the Philippines and Indonesia, including Bali.

It is published today in Conservation Letters.

Drawing on data from more than 300 hours of underwater observation, the researchers recorded 4981 reef contact events among 411 divers. Around 41% of these contacts caused observable damage to coral, from direct breakage to the stirring of sediment that can smother reef life.

On average, divers made 0.26 reef contacts a minute - roughly one every four minutes - and spent nearly two seconds of every minute in direct contact with the reef.

“This work documents the unsustainable underwater footprint of scuba diving tourism on coral reefs,” said Dr Lin, who started the research during his PhD at Princeton University, completing it as part of his postdoctoral position at the University of Sydney.

A central finding of the study is that most damage is not deliberate. 

More than 80% of damaging contacts were unintentional or unnoticed by the diver, revealing how routine tourism activity can quietly degrade reef systems over time. 

Further, most divers in the study self-reported very high pro-environmental attitudes, suggesting that they, by and large, care about reef conservation.

The study also uncovered several striking psychological patterns. 

First, around three-quarters of divers rated themselves as “above average” in their ability to avoid reef contact compared to their peers - an example of the illusory superiority effect, where people systematically overestimate their abilities relative to others.

Additionally, the study also documented the well-known Dunning-Kruger effect in divers, where people with lower skill levels disproportionately overestimated their competence.

This overconfidence translated into a major gap between perception and reality. In matched observations, divers underestimated how often they contacted the reef by nearly fivefold.

“Many divers believe they are careful and low impact, but our data shows a consistent mismatch between perception and behaviour,” Dr Lin said.

The research identified several factors that were associated with increases in reef damage. Divers using underwater cameras, gloves or pointer sticks had higher contact rates, while peer behaviour also played a significant role - when one diver touched the reef, others were much more likely to follow suit.

Wildlife encounters - often the highlight of dive tourism - were found to significantly amplify damage. The presence of marine animals increased intentional reef contacts by 220%, unintentional contacts by 85%, and damaging contacts by 106%, often as divers approached or adjusted position to observe the wildlife.

“It’s difficult to quantify the true scale of the reef contact problem,” Dr Lin said. “But what is clear is that unregulated underwater tourism is an overlooked local driver of damage that adds to, and amplifies, other acute and chronic reef stressors.

“Tourism is critical to many coastal economies, including those closely linked to Australia.

“But without changes to diver behaviour, training and industry standards, it risks undermining the very ecosystems it depends on.”

Image: A scuba diver in Leyte, Phillipines 

Brisbane's north gets a new international hotel

Brisbane’s north has a new focal point with the 148-key Adina Chermside Brisbane now officially open.

Billed as being created "for travellers who value space, comfort and connection", the new hotel is located in one of Brisbane’s fastest-growing lifestyle precincts, moments from Westfield Chermside, close to leading hospitals, and an easy drive to Brisbane Airport, the Brisbane Entertainment Centre, and the city.

Designed by WMK Architecture, Adina Chermside is "a calm, light-filled retreat crafted to reflect Brisbane’s subtropical climate and meet the needs of the evolving northern corridor". 

Guests at the TFE Hotels property can select from a mix of studio rooms and one-bedroom apartments with kitchen and laundry facilities. The hotel also offers access to an all-day café and bar, gym, meeting spaces, and undercover parking.

Brisbane will host the 2032 Olympic Games with accommodation expected to be at a premium. 

“The interior experience was about creating a sense of retreat within an urban setting,” says WMK Architecture Practice director David Percival.

“Now that the hotel is open, you can see how the continuity of materials and the softness of the palette help establish a genuine ‘home away from home’ for a wide range of guests.”

“Adina Chermside isn’t just opening its doors; it’s opening a space where travellers can breathe out, settle in, and feel held by something recognisably their own,” says GM Sue Rowe. 

To celebrate its opening, Adina Chermside is offering a special Shop, Stay and Play opening package. 

Book for stays from now until July 31 and you will receive a 15% discount on the rooms, a $50 Westfield voucher to the first 100 to book direct, a bottle of wine and noon check-out. Room rates start from $211. Book via adinahotels.com.

Adina has hotel apartments in Australia, New Zealand and Europe.

For more details see https://adinahotels.com/en/apartments/chermside-brisbane.