New lustre at Auckland’s Rendezvous Grand
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two restaurants and conference space capable of seating more than 500 for dinner, it is the biggest stand-alone hotel in the country.
Planned as a link to the Aotea Centre, it was constructed to a very high standard for its then Japanese owners, says the hotel's present general manager, Paul Gallop. Carlton took it over a few years later and ran it for a considerable time, boosting the number of rooms by 167 by adding a second wing.
"During the early years as a Carlton, the property was certainly the premium hotel in the city. The bones in here are exceptional. Our room sizes are 36sq m per room. Today, if anybody was building a hotel, they'd probably squeeze them down to 28-30 sq m. to fit more rooms in," Gallop said.
"The quality of the original fittings was also superb and they have worn extremely well. They'd used a lot of marble and a good deal of the original furniture is still here. It's lasted 21 years so that shows you how good it was when it was installed."
Seeking the best
The management, Rendezvous Hospitality Group, decided it was time for refurbishment. "We wanted to make sure the Rendezvous Grand Hotel Auckland retained its relevance to today's corporate and leisure traveller," said Paul Gallop. "That meant ensuring the rooms all had the refined features they are now looking for, such as connectivity for iPods, an ergonomic desk set-up and a generous number of power points.
"We decided to seek out the very best in modern lighting and we wanted to convert to LED as far as possible for the considerable energy savings it made. We also decided to brighten up the interior of our Japanese restaurant, Katsura, and improve the layout and lighting of the ground floor breakfast restaurant, Straits Cafe. All televisions were to be replaced and a full broadband upgrade completed."
One guest room fitted out as a model to work from. Then it was time to bring in professional help and Auckland firm, CDA Architecture was appointed. CDA specialises in hotel architecture and interior design and has experience in projects in New Zealand, Fiji, the Middle East and the United States. Working with Paul Gallop and representatives from Singapore, the first step for CDA was to focus on the budget.
"One of the major factors was that it is a really large hotel, unusually big for a hotel in New Zealand," said Brett Taylor from CDA who oversaw the company's work. "When you're doing a fairly full refurbishment it can soak up a lot of money. It's all about prioritising spending so you're putting the money in the areas that you're going to get the most effect and return from."
With some changes in emphasis, agreement was reached on how the budget would be spent, and then with the Rugby World Cup looming and the hotel needing to refurbish a number of rooms before visitors arrived for that, it was time to get to work.
Refurbishment begins
"As of June last year, we began a full refurbishment of every one of the 452 guest rooms, as well as the public areas, including our signature Japanese restaurant Katsura, Straits Cafe, Aucklander Bar, Coromandel Room and the club lounge, so it was quite a big project. All we haven't touched is upstairs in the atrium and ballroom, but they'd been upgraded about three years prior," Gallop said.
"It was all undertaken in the period leading up to Rugby World Cup, and ceased while the tournament was on. It was then re-energised for a little while until November, while we were in peak season. We started up again in the middle of December through to about the end of January, then stopped again for the high season in February and March." The work was re-commenced in April and finally completed in July. It was an upgrade on a major scale, yet ran quite smoothly, says Gallop.
"We had a few suppliers who couldn't meet the timelines, and at times our room demand was high, so we had to slow the project down. You've got to balance between making money and keeping the project going.
"We sourced just about everything locally – very little of it came from overseas. That's probably quite unique. In most hotel renovations, most of the furniture would come from somewhere like China, but nearly all of our furniture was New Zealand designed and made – by a combination of companies."
Using New Zealand suppliers was a deliberate decision, he said. "If the price was right, then we would always have wanted to go down that track because there are several advantages in going New Zealand made. It keeps the money in the local economy, there are far quicker lead times, and you have a better guarantee. You're able to talk to the manufacturer face to face, and if there are any defects or anything goes wrong in the future, we're able to go straight back to them."
However, he says there has been no issue with the standard of work. "The quality's good, as per specification. We've put a lot of concentration on lighting in the rooms."
Good commercial result
Extensive and expensive though the renovation might have been, Paul Gallop has no doubt it has been well worthwhile. "It's made a big difference to the business. We're able to go and talk to corporate accounts and to large pieces of conference business now. We have a standardised product right across the property. It all feels new.
"The product was always very good but I think the upgrade has helped us win new business and will continue to do so. It's brought the hotel back much closer to the standard of where it was. The value for money aspect in the property is exceptional because it's probably the equal of any 5-star in the city from a product point of view, yet we're still selling at about a 4-star price. The end value for the clients is very good."
Brett Taylor from CDA Architects was also well satisfied with what was delivered. "The quality is all top notch – a testament to what local manufacturers and suppliers can do.
"Where money was spent, it looks as though it was. The hotel owners got very good bang for their buck. The capital investment is showing in improved rev par. At the end of the day a refurbishment is not just about getting pretty pictures – it's about obtaining a good commercial result."
To help capitalise on the quality now evident, the hotel has just appointed a new director of sales and marketing for New Zealand – ex Sky City Auckland, and previously with the Rendezvous Hospitality Group's corporate office in Sydney – Richard Dodds.
Coinciding with the upgrade, Rendezvous Hospitality Group (RHG) has rebranded the property Rendezvous Grand Hotel Auckland. The move follows the group's decision to rebrand its portfolio of 13 hotels, uniting Rendezvous Hotels and Marque Hotels under the Rendezvous brand. Hotels will then be split into three sub-brands – Rendezvous Grand Hotels, Rendezvous Hotels and Rendezvous Studio Hotels.
RHG's CEO Eric Teng says "the rebranding is part of our program to strengthen our market position and unify our hotels across Asia Pacific. With the recent completion of the refurbishment in Auckland, we are now well underway, heralding continued growth of our group. The Rendezvous Grand Hotel Auckland will mirror many of the grand values of the past. Rendezvous Grand Hotels are predominantly city properties of a significant size." The Auckland hotel is the only Rendezvous Grand Hotel in New Zealand.
By Brent Leslie, Industry Reporter
