Hotel operator AccorHotels has been awarded a contract to build a new 200-room Novotel facility at Christchurch Airport in New Zealand.
Warren and Mahoney Architects will be responsible for designing the 4.5-star hotel, with completion scheduled for the end of 2017. The airport will invest approximately NZ$80m (US$55m) in the project.
Malcolm Johns, chief executive, Christchurch Airport, said, “Many of our new Asian flights arrive in the evening, bringing visitors who have been flying for 12 hours or more. They want to rest before beginning their exploration of the South Island and expect to be able to do that near the airport.
“Corporate and leisure travelers arrive here on trans-Tasman flights late at night, some around midnight, or leave early in the morning. In both cases, they expect to be able to stay overnight on the airport campus, within walking distance of the terminal. From the end of next year, many more will be able to do that.”
Chris Sedgwick, senior vice president operations for AccorHotels New Zealand, Fiji and French Polynesia, said, “AccorHotels is proud to be working with Christchurch Airport to build a new Novotel hotel on the campus.
“The airport’s investment in new services and increasing airline capacity suggests the time is right for a new hotel in the precinct, particularly at a time when growing tourist numbers to New Zealand highlight the need for more accommodation.
“We continue to lead the hotel sector as an airport specialist, and as the largest operator of hotels in airport precincts in the Pacific region, we understand the specific needs of transiting short-stay business and leisure travelers.”