Tune Hotel Melbourne Officially Opened by Premier Denis Napthine

Tune Hotels has stamped its first footprint in Australia with the official opening of the Tune Hotel Melbourne.

The group has plans to expand this footprint within the Australasia region and Melbourne will be its operational hub.

The 225-room property was officially launched today during a ceremony attended by Premier of Victoria Dr Denis Napthine, Malaysia’s Consul-General in Melbourne Datuk Dr Mohamad Rameez Yahaya and Group CEO of Tune Hotels Mark Lankester.

Premier of Victoria, Denis Napthine said, “Tune Hotel Group’s decision to open its first Australian hotel and base its operations here in Melbourne will create more than 100 direct and indirect local jobs ... This decision by Tune Hotel Group is a major vote of confidence in Victoria and our economy ... Tune Hotel Melbourne brings a new model of accommodation to Australia, and I am very proud that Melbourne is at the forefront of this new tourism concept ... As Australia's events capital, Melbourne offers visitors access to world-class sporting and cultural events.”

The official opening came just a couple of days after Melbourne’s biggest social event, the Melbourne Cup Spring Racing Carnival on Tuesday.

Tune Hotel Melbourne had soft-opened for business on 21 October, two weeks ahead of its 1 November scheduled date and celebrated that with a super low launch rate of just A$50 a night - one of the most affordable room rates seen in central Melbourne for years.

Located at 609 Swanston Street, Carlton, Melbourne, Tune Hotel Melbourne is next to the University of Melbourne and a stroll to RMIT University, just two streets away from the popular eateries of Lygon Street, around the corner from Queen Victoria Market and minutes to Melbourne’s Central Business District (CBD) via the trams which stop outside the hotel.

The hotel features an indoor open air courtyard, a recreational lounge, a restaurant, café, luggage storage, self-service launderette and free Internet desks on the ground floor. In addition the hotel is equipped with basement car parks - something unusual for city centre hotels in Australia.

Melbourne will also be the location for Tune Hotels’ operational headquarters overseeing Australia and New Zealand operations, working in conjunction with the corporate office in Kuala Lumpur and creating up to 100 jobs.

“We are very excited to have finally established our first hotel in Australia right here in Melbourne, giving business and leisure visitors to this amazing city a truly compelling choice of accommodation alternative. As Australia’s events capital, Melbourne is a great market for Tune Hotels, as it boasts a rich calendar of theatre, sporting and arts and cultural events, and we have experienced strong forward bookings since announcing our entry into the market in June,” said Mark Lankester. “We would like to thank the Victorian Government, Tourism Victoria, Tourism Australia as well as the City of Melbourne for their invaluable and continued support of Tune Hotels. Given our long term plans for this region, the Tune Hotel Melbourne is just the beginning for what we have planned for the Tune Hotels concept in Australia and New Zealand and travellers can expect to see more hotels opening in the region in the coming years.”

Tune Hotel Melbourne is the 34th property for Tune Hotels, which pioneered a “pay-as-you-use” concept under which guests only pay for room rates with the option of adding on other amenities like towels and toiletries, in-room Wi-Fi and satellite TV service to keep costs down, reduce waste and save energy.

Apart from Tune Hotel Melbourne, the group has eleven hotels in operation and available for booking in in Malaysia, eight in the Philippines, six in Indonesia, five in the UK, four in Thailand and one each in India and Japan.

See also: HD Video Interview with Mark Lankester, CEO of Tune Hotels and HD Video of New Look Rooms at Downtown KL and HD Video of a Room at Tune Hotel Liverpool Street (UK)