Australia’s largest apartment hotel network, Quest Apartment Hotels has extended its international portfolio, launching an inaugural UK property.
The new Quest Liverpool City Centre hotel brings 100 premium serviced apartments to the iconic UK town, serving as the primary point of entry for Quest’s continued expansion in the region.
Over £10m was invested to covert the former commercial office space into a hotel, with management company Cycas Hospitality appointed as independent operating partner.
Quest founder and executive chairman, Paul Constantinou said that while the headwinds brought on by Brexit had introduced some unexpected sector conditions, there was still a growing demand for business travel accommodation.
“There are plenty of serviced apartment operators in the UK, but we have certainly identified an opportunity to grow market share of the apartment hotel sector as a proportion of the overall accommodation market in the UK,” Constantinou said.
“Quest’s offering targets both extended and short-stay business travellers requiring more than just a standard hotel stay and looking for a genuine home away from home experience. The ability to seamlessly transition between work and home life is at the core of our offering.”
Quest Liverpool City Centre
While the new Liverpool City Centre hotel will be corporately-owned, Constantinou reiterated that franchise operations will commence once critical mass has been achieved.
“The demand for business traveller accommodation, the growing rate of business activity in the UK and the ease of doing business makes Liverpool an ideal location,” Constantinou said.
“Quest Liverpool City Centre is a bellwether for our UK expansion and we look forward to building relationships with the business community in the UK.”
The key areas for initial franchise exploration have been identified, with Quest looking to target Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds, Manchester, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Belfast and commercial areas of Greater London moving forward.
Paris D’Allessandro, newly appointed general manager of Quest Liverpool City Centre said the brand had a bright future on the UK market.
“Australian hospitality companies carry an international reputation for their professionalism and premium standards. We look forward to working closely with our colleagues at Quest to build the brand in the UK,” D’Allessandro said.
The new Quest Liverpool City Centre is just one of ten new Quest properties opening across Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom over the next two years.