Plans for Ramada hotel in Newmarket

Wyndham Hotel Group will build a 63-room hotel in Auckland.

The Ramada Hotel and Suites Newmarket will be the group’s ninth property in this country and fifth in Auckland. It is set to open in 2020.

The $22 million project is part of a $100m mixed use development built in partnership with developer Safari Group. Ramada Newmarket will feature hotel units, studio units and one and two-bedroom apartments, along with a purposebuilt meeting space.

Barry Robinson, president and managing director of Wyndham Hotel Group South East Asia and Pacific Rim, said the company was responding to greater-than-expected tourism growth.

“The surge in demand for hotel rooms throughout New Zealand makes the country a key focus area for growth, and we’re intent on strengthening our already-extensive presence in Auckland,” he said.

Price data from Hotels.com shows Auckland prices averaged $213 a night in 2017, up 8 per cent on the 2016. During the past three years prices in Auckland have increased by 27 per cent as demand from tourists outstrips new hotel building. The average nightly rate at 20 top New Zealand destinations was $185. Hotel occupancies in Auckland averaged 87 per cent for the year ending June, 2017. Construction of the Gilles Ave hotel is expected to start late this year.

Ramada has nearly 850 hotels in 64 countries, including 63 hotels across the South East Asia and Pacific Rim region.