Journey Beyond eyes Kakadu's Crocodile Hotel
American private equity-backed Journey Beyond is seeking to expand its rapidly growing Australian resort portfolio with the proposed acquisition of the iconic Crocodile Hotel in Kakadu National Park, just weeks after completing its $300 million purchase of properties at Uluru.
The deal is currently before the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), which is assessing its impact on competition. If approved, Journey Beyond, owned by New York-based Crestview Partners, would control the majority of upscale resort properties across the Northern Territory.
The proposed purchase would see Journey Beyond's wholly owned subsidiary, Experience Australia Group, acquire Crocodile Hotel Pty Ltd from the Indigenous-owned Kakadu Tourism Group. The group is also seeking a 100 per cent leasehold interest in the underlying land from Gundjeihmi Aboriginal Corporation Jabiru Town.
The move comes just one month after Journey Beyond finalised its acquisition of Voyages Indigenous Tourism Australia, a deal that brought the iconic Ayers Rock Resort in Yulara and Mossman Gorge Cultural Centre in far north Queensland into the fold. As part of that transaction, Journey Beyond removed the word "Indigenous" from the Voyages corporate name to reflect the change in ownership from the Indigenous Land and Sea Corporation.
The Crocodile Hotel is a genuine hospitality curiosity — a 110-room, crocodile-shaped property stretching 250 metres long and 30 metres wide, built around a central swimming pool and developed in 1988. Situated within a UNESCO World Heritage-listed national park, it is the only hotel of its shape in the world and has featured in film productions. The property has been managed under the Accor-owned Mercure brand for the past 12 years and includes conference facilities for up to 250 delegates.
The hotel was brought to market last year through Colliers, which positioned it as a "leasehold interest and business opportunity" via expressions of interest. At the time, Colliers noted that the hotel's 33 square metre rooms could be "upgraded to upscale standard" and that food and beverage concepts could be "innovated," with potential to expand tour offerings and cultural activities.
Journey Beyond's tour operator, Outback Spirit, already utilises the Crocodile Hotel on select itineraries, giving the group an existing operational foothold in the property. A Journey Beyond spokesman declined to comment.
The only significant Northern Territory luxury property remaining outside the group's reach is Longitude 131, which has since moved into the portfolio of Beckons — a newly formed operator backed by Denver-based KSL Capital Partners, which also controls Silky Oaks Lodge in the Daintree, Southern Ocean Lodge on Kangaroo Island, and Huka Lodge in New Zealand.
Submissions to the ACCC regarding the proposed acquisition closed on April 14.
Jonathan Jackson, 16th April 2026
