Trilogy Hotels gets into bed with the Schwartz Family Company
A first-of-its-kind agreement will see Trilogy Hotels take over the management rights of four properties owned by the Schwartz Family Company.
This is a big win for Trilogy. Schwartz is the largest privately owned hotel group in the country, while Trilogy is new to the space and was only founded in December by hospitality veterans Scott Boyes, Tony Ryan and Grant Alchin.
Trilogy will take hold of Mercure Sydney, Ibis Sydney World Square, Mercure Canberra and Fairmont Resort Blue Mountains.
While Trilogy is new to the scene, the owners have a wealth of experience in the hospitality industry and Boyes has a direct connection to the Schwartz Family Company, having worked for them for several years.
Schwartz controls 14 hotels with more than 4,000 rooms. Its broader asset portfolio includes Sydney Brewery, the Hunter Valley Conference & Events Centre and Blue Sky Airways.
All going well, Trilogy could take over management of more of Schwartz’s properties.
“This will give us the best of both worlds – greater flexibility in terms of managing the four hotels, complemented by a franchise agreement with Accor to plug into their global distribution systems,” Schwartz said.
“I have known and worked closely with Scott Boyes and his colleagues at Trilogy Hotels for over two decades and they bring an outstanding level of experience, professionalism, and understanding of owners’ needs.
“Each of the four hotels that we’ve signed to Trilogy Hotels is different in location, style, markets and operation, and therefore I will look forward to Trilogy Hotels designing individual strategies to maximise the potential and returns for the assets.”
Boyes, who has also been responsible for a total of 85 hotels across NSW, ACT, Queensland and the Northern Territory during his time at Accor, sees the agreement as a landmark moment.
“This long-term agreement is a true meeting of the minds,” Boyes said.
“We each share a passion for the hotel industry and understand what hospitality can achieve when everyone is playing to their strengths.”
Trilogy COO Grant Alchin believes the properties will benefit from independent hotel management.
“Jerry is someone who can see the true potential of a property, and he’s not afraid to try new ways of exceeding the expectations of his guests.
“From installing mini-train rides or ice-skating rinks to attract families, he has shown time and again that he is blazing a new path for hospitality in Australia. We’re excited and proud to be part of this journey with him.”
Alchin has a reputation for transforming underperforming hotels into profitable operations for Accor and IHG.
Meanwhile, Ryan is a transaction specialist and helped deliver Accor’s $1.2 billion takeover of Gold Coast-based Mantra Group in 2018.
Jonathan Jackson, 13th March 2024
