Metro Hotels

Metro Hotels is an Australian hotel chain whose origins date to 1976, when John McEvoy established the business in Sydney. It developed through the acquisition and operation of metropolitan and regional hotels, becoming the principal trading entity of Metro Hospitality Group, the hospitality operating arm of Transmetro Corporation Limited. Transmetro owns the business, while the Metro Hospitality Group oversees its hotel and pub operations. The chain describes itself as the oldest fully Australian-owned hotel chain. Its estate has included accommodation properties in Sydney, Gladstone, Ipswich, Perth, Darwin and Groote Eylandt, together with pubs in Adelaide and Sydney. The reference material identifies a network of 15 hotels and two pubs, although individual properties and the operating portfolio can change over time. Metro’s business has therefore combined branded hotel accommodation with the operation or management of independently named hotels, pubs and hospitality venues. The company’s early expansion included Metro Inn Edgecliff, acquired in 1976; Metro Inn Ryde, added in 1977; and Metro Hotel Miranda, added in 1978. It also operated Canberra’s Rex Hotel for a period before the property was sold in 1988. In Brisbane, Metro took over operation of the Tower Mill Hotel in 1994. That property was later associated with a redevelopment and remained part of Metro’s portfolio until the company sold its interest to Interstay in 2018. Metro Hotels has also pursued partnerships and geographic opportunities beyond its core Australian estate. In 2007, it entered a marketing alliance with Argyle Hotel Group, an Australian hotel management company with hotel operations in China. The relationship was intended to support marketing cooperation between the two groups. Metro also participates in the Qantas Frequent Flyer program. A proposed 2009 Auckland development, described as a planned A$20 million, 170-room four-star hotel, did not proceed, with the global financial crisis cited as a major factor. The company has periodically changed or rationalised individual venues. In 2011, it acquired a Haymarket pub in Sydney that had originated as the Palace in 1877. After briefly renaming it Paddy McGuires Pub and then Yardhouse Bar and Brasserie, Metro reverted to the name The Palace since 1877 following a trademark issue involving the Yardhouse name. In Sydney, Metro Hotel on Pitt, operated by the group from 2003, closed in September 2017 to make way for infrastructure associated with the Sydney Metro rail project. Metro Hotels is led within a long-running Transmetro ownership structure. John McEvoy founded the chain and has served as chairman of Metro Hotels, as well as chairman and managing director of Transmetro Corporation Limited since 1979. George Bedwani was chief operating officer from 2007 until his retirement in 2015; Peter Frawley succeeded him and is identified as the company’s managing director. Metro remains an Australian-focused accommodation and hospitality operator, with its identity built around locally owned hotel operations rather than a globally franchised lodging system.

Metro Hotels began in Sydney in 1976 under the leadership of John McEvoy. Its initial growth came through hotel acquisitions, beginning with Metro Inn Edgecliff in 1976, followed by Metro Inn Ryde in 1977 and Metro Hotel Miranda in 1978. These properties established the company’s model of operating hotels in metropolitan locations while retaining an Australian ownership and management identity. The business became the main trading entity of Metro Hospitality Group, the operating arm of Transmetro Corporation Limited. McEvoy remained closely associated with the wider corporate structure, serving as chairman of Metro Hotels and, from 1979, as chairman and managing director of Transmetro Corporation Limited. The company has been traded on the Australian Securities Exchange since 1987 and has presented itself as the oldest fully Australian-owned hotel chain. Metro expanded beyond its initial Sydney base. It operated the Canberra Rex Hotel until its sale in 1988 and took over the operation of Brisbane’s Tower Mill Hotel in 1994. The Tower Mill had opened decades earlier and became known for its prominent tower design and for protests connected with opposition to apartheid during the 1971 Springboks tour of Australia. Metro’s involvement continued until it sold its interest in the property to Interstay in May 2018. In 2007, Metro entered a marketing alliance with Argyle Hotel Group, linking the Australian chain with a hotel management company operating properties in China. Metro also became a participant in the Qantas Frequent Flyer program. The company later considered an Auckland development involving a planned 170-room, four-star hotel. The project, estimated at A$20 million in the supplied reference material, did not proceed, with the financial crisis of 2008 identified as a central reason. Metro continued to adjust its portfolio and venue identities. In 2011 it acquired a Haymarket, New South Wales pub whose history dated to 1877. The business was initially associated with the name Paddy McGuires Pub and was then renamed Yardhouse Bar and Brasserie. After receiving notice that Yardhouse was already a registered Australian trademark connected with a United States theme-pub operator, Metro changed the venue name to The Palace since 1877. The group also participated in a wider Australian hotel-industry response to the cost of public-holiday penalty rates in 2014, reducing some Easter services. The action prompted criticism from the hospitality union and reflected the tension between hotel operating costs and holiday service expectations. In Sydney, Metro Hotel on Pitt, which the company had operated since 2003, closed in September 2017 to make way for a Sydney Metro station. Leadership changed in 2015 when Peter Frawley joined after the retirement of George Bedwani, who had been chief operating officer since 2007. Frawley became managing director. The supplied reference material describes Metro Hotels as operating 15 hotels and two pubs across Australia, including properties in Sydney, Gladstone, Ipswich, Perth, Darwin and Groote Eylandt, although hotel portfolios are subject to later changes. The company is headquartered in Sydney and remains part of Transmetro Corporation’s hospitality operations.

• 2018

  Tower Mill interest is sold

  [1]Metro Hotelsen.wikipedia.org

  Metro Hotels sells its interest in Tower Mill Hotel to Interstay.

• 2017

  Metro Hotel on Pitt closes

  [1]Metro Hotelsen.wikipedia.org

  The Sydney property closes to make way for a Sydney Metro station.

• 2015

  Peter Frawley joins the company

  [1]Metro Hotelsen.wikipedia.org

  Peter Frawley succeeds George Bedwani following Bedwani’s retirement.

• 2011

  Haymarket pub is acquired

  [1]Metro Hotelsen.wikipedia.org

  Metro Hotels acquires a historic Haymarket pub and later settles on the name The Palace since 1877.

• 2007

  Argyle marketing alliance begins

  [1]Metro Hotelsen.wikipedia.org

  Metro Hotels enters a marketing alliance with Argyle Hotel Group.

• 1994

  Metro takes over Tower Mill Hotel operations

  [1]Metro Hotelsen.wikipedia.org

  Metro Hotels assumes operation of Brisbane’s Tower Mill Hotel.

• 1988

  Canberra Rex Hotel is sold

  [1]Metro Hotelsen.wikipedia.org

  Metro Hotels sells its former Canberra Rex Hotel operation to a company associated with Millie Phillips.

• 1987

  Transmetro begins ASX trading

  [1]Metro Hotelsen.wikipedia.org

  The company is identified as having been traded on the Australian Securities Exchange since 1987.

• 1978

  Metro Hotel Miranda is added

  [1]Metro Hotelsen.wikipedia.org

  The company acquires Metro Hotel Miranda in Sydney’s Sutherland Shire.

• 1977

  Metro Inn Ryde joins the portfolio

  [1]Metro Hotelsen.wikipedia.org

  Metro Hotels adds Metro Inn Ryde on Victoria Road in Sydney.

• 1976

  Metro Hotels is founded in Sydney

  [1]Metro Hotelsen.wikipedia.org

  John McEvoy establishes Metro Hotels and the business acquires Metro Inn Edgecliff.

An Australian-owned hotel and hospitality chain focused on practical accommodation, regional and metropolitan hotel operations, and complementary pub and food-and-beverage venues.

• Hotel accommodation · 1976

  Metro Hotels

  The core Metro Hotels offering is short-stay accommodation in Australian metropolitan and regional markets. The network has included hotels in Sydney, Gladstone, Ipswich, Perth, Darwin and Groote Eylandt. Properties may provide rooms, reception and guest services, food and beverage facilities, and accommodation for both leisure and business travellers.

• Pub and food-and-beverage venue · 2011

  The Palace since 1877

  This Haymarket hospitality venue traces its history to a pub opened in 1877. Metro Hotels acquired the property in 2011 and changed its operating name several times before adopting The Palace since 1877 following a trademark issue involving the Yardhouse name.

• Hotel · 1994

  Tower Mill Hotel

  The Brisbane Tower Mill Hotel was operated by Metro Hotels from 1994. It was a prominent property with a history predating Metro’s involvement and was associated with a later redevelopment. Metro sold its interest in the hotel to Interstay in 2018.

• 2007Argyle Hotel Group marketing alliance

  Australia · China

  Metro Hotels entered a marketing alliance with Argyle Hotel Group to support cooperation between Metro’s Australian hotel business and Argyle’s hotel operations in China.

  Outcome. The alliance is documented as a strategic marketing relationship; a detailed campaign performance outcome is not specified.

  Source
• Qantas Frequent Flyer participation

  Australia

  Metro Hotels participates in the Qantas Frequent Flyer program, linking stays with a major Australian travel-loyalty ecosystem.

  Outcome. The supplied reference confirms participation but does not provide campaign metrics or a launch date.

  Source

• 2018

  Tower Mill Hotel interest is divestedM&A

  Background

  Metro Hotels had operated or held an interest in Brisbane’s Tower Mill Hotel since 1994.

  Action taken

  Metro sold its interest in the property to Interstay in May 2018.

  Aftermath

  Tower Mill Hotel left Metro Hotels’ portfolio.

  Source

• 2017

  Metro Hotel on Pitt is closedOther

  Background

  Metro Hotel on Pitt had been operated by the company since 2003 and occupied a site affected by Sydney Metro infrastructure works.

  Action taken

  The four-star hotel closed in September 2017 to enable construction of a Sydney Metro station.

  Aftermath

  The property ceased to be part of Metro Hotels’ operating portfolio.

  Source

• 2014

  Easter services are reducedStrategy

  Background

  Metro Hotels joined many Australian hotels responding to high public-holiday penalty rates during the Easter period.

  Action taken

  The company reduced some hotel services over Easter.

  Aftermath

  The decision attracted criticism from the head of an Australian hospitality union, who characterised the industry response as harmful to Australian holiday traditions.

  Source

• 2011

  Haymarket venue name is changed after trademark objectionOther

  Background

  After acquiring the historic Haymarket pub, Metro Hotels used the names Paddy McGuires Pub and Yardhouse Bar and Brasserie.

  Action taken

  Following notice from a United States theme-pub operator that Yardhouse was registered as an Australian trademark, Metro renamed the venue The Palace since 1877.

  Aftermath

  The venue continued operating under the historically rooted Palace name.

  Source

• 2009

  Auckland hotel development is not pursuedStrategy

  Background

  Metro Hotels considered a proposed 170-room, four-star Auckland hotel project on a site formerly associated with a brothel.

  Action taken

  The proposed development, estimated in the reference material at A$20 million, did not proceed amid the effects of the global financial crisis.

  Aftermath

  Metro continued to focus its operating footprint on Australia.

  Proposed development cost. A$20 million (2009 proposal)

  Source

1. 1Metro Hotelsen.wikipedia.org