independent hotel brand Ovolo has been appointed by Australian developer Perri Projects as hotel manager for their upcoming $50 million hospitality project in South Melbourne.
Ovolo’s appointment will bring the Hong Kong brand’s signature ‘effortless living’ ethos to the six-storey 100-room upper upscale designer hotel located at 183-199 Moray Street. The project has received planning approval and construction will commence in the third quarter of 2019.
Perri Projects managing director David Scalzo explained that Ovolo’s international track record for delivering innovative, design-led lifestyle-focussed destination hotel concepts aligned with Perri Projects’ vision for the inner-city site.
Perri Projects found the perfect partner in Ovolo to help them realise their original vision for the South Melbourne property as a mixed-use lifestyle precinct featuring destination bars and restaurants, as well as leisure, event and function facilities.
Scalzo said, “Ovolo hotels are internationally renowned for their high-end, high-energy designs that blend form and function to ensure each hotel delivers a unique experience for guests and visitors. Ovolo is well established and revered, yet agile and bold enough to challenge convention and break the mould on new sites, ensuring that each design complements and enhances the location of their hotels.”
Perri Project’s South Melbourne site represents a new phase of growth for Ovolo.
Ovolo CEO and founder Girish Jhunjhnuwala views the Hotel Management Agreement with Perri Projects as a natural evolution for their business as they look to expand their offering in new markets. An independent hospitality group, Ovolo owns and operates 10 hotels across Australia and Hong Kong, catering to both business and leisure travellers.
Jhunjhnuwala says that, “While we each bring our respective expertise in property development and hospitality management to this project, this partnership was forged through our mutual affinity for delivering truly unique projects and a shared vision for the South Melbourne site.”
Dave Baswal, COO and CFO of Ovolo Australia is confident that their offering would be well-received by the growing pool of higher-end established housing and major commercial office buildings in South Melbourne.
Baswal says, “Ovolo is a proud owner and operator of hotels and this HMA will be the start of a new chapter in order to take our disruptive lifestyle designer hotel collection to the next level in Australia and internationally.
“The underlying demographic of South Melbourne has been evolving steadily as creative industries in particular look to take advantage of the central location and raw industrial edge the suburb has to offer."
“But while the suburb is on the rise with those in the know, local hospitality amenity has not kept pace with this change, and we believe Ovolo South Melbourne with its bars, restaurants and even a rooftop function and events space will be uniquely placed to provide a focal point for those local communities.”
