SAVILLS commercial real estate agent Benson Zhou has expanded his role within the firm by joining the hotels team, as the sector experiences a surge in investment activity due to a travel boom.
He will maintain his position at Savills’ Melbourne office as head of the Asia markets team and director within Commercial Sales.
Benson is tapped into a highly motivated network of buyers from across Asia and is regarded as a leader in his field.
Recently Zhou was featured on Australian Property Journal’s Talking Property podcast discussing the rise of Australia to the top of the list of favourite countries for Chinese property buyers, overtaking the United States and Thailand, which had been ahead of Australia for two and four years, respectively.
“It’s a pleasure to be joining the hotels team, and to be servicing our local and interstate clients while bringing my focus towards Australia’s rebounding accommodation sector. We predict that trading conditions will be strong, with an uptick in tourism and a rise in interest from global capital for the foreseeable future,” said Zhou.
“Benson has an innate understanding of commercial property markets, strong multilingual communication skills and the ability to bridge the gap between Asian capital and Australian assets,” said Leon Alaban, national director of hotels at Savills.
“We’re delighted to see a familiar face joining the Hotels team, which will undoubtedly benefit from Benson’s expertise, abilities and strong connections to investors within the Asia Pacific,” he added.
Hotel capital markets managing director Mark Durran said Australian tourism has recovered to pre-COVID levels, underpinned by a strong uptick in domestic and overseas travel, while the hotel market remains buoyed by investor interest and bolstered by strong returns.
“Benson has cultivated strong client relationships and contributed a broad set of skills within the commercial sales team, and this will translate well into his new hybrid role,” said Durran.
The hotel sector has seen significant growth in demand this year. Most recently a Queensland group bought Quest Chermside.
Last month ARK Capital Partners and its investor, Kyko Group, bought the Seasons of Perth Hotel in a deal worth a reported $22.5 million.
In the same month Shakespeare Property Group sold Canberra’s Abode Hotel and Apartments to Serene Capital for $41.5 million, returning 15.7% IRR return to investors.
Prior to that, Worldwide Hotels Group acquired the Novotel & ibis Melbourne Central Hotel in the city’s biggest hotel deal in over six years, which came hot on the heels of the Lygon Lodge selling for $17,380,000.
Other major hotel transactions so far in 2023 include mining billionaires Andrew and Nicola Forrest acquiring Australia’s first Waldorf Astoria Hotel, in Sydney’s Circular Quay, in a $520 million deal with developer Lendlease and Mitsubishi Estate, while Singapore multinational City Developments Limited bought the 416-room luxury Sofitel Brisbane Central hotel from Brookfield for $177.7 million.
