Wyndham Hotels & Resorts and Ovolo Group have confirmed their first new-build hotel under the brands’ strategic franchise partnership, with The Bennett by Ovolo Perth a Wyndham Hotel set to open in East Perth in March 2028.
The 111-room property at 180 Bennett Street will include a bar, restaurant and fitness centre, with construction scheduled to begin in the third quarter of 2026. The signing represents a significant development in the partnership announced in July 2025, which positioned Ovolo’s design-led identity within Wyndham’s global distribution and loyalty infrastructure.
The Bennett will become the fifth Ovolo by Wyndham property in Australia, joining the existing portfolio in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Canberra, with Ovolo Central in Hong Kong rounding out the current six-strong collection. Perth, notably absent from that initial line-up, now enters the picture as the partnership’s first purpose-built test of whether the Ovolo brand can scale through the franchise model rather than direct ownership and management alone.
Partnership enters its next phase
When Wyndham and Ovolo Group formalised their APAC franchise arrangement last July, the immediate focus was converting five existing Ovolo properties, representing over 450 rooms, into the Wyndham network. Those hotels retain Ovolo’s ownership and management while benefiting from access to Wyndham Rewards, which counts approximately 120 million enrolled members, and the group’s Wyndham Advantage commercial platform, backed by nearly US$350 million in technology investment since 2018.
The Bennett marks a shift from portfolio conversion to new pipeline origination. It is the first property to be signed specifically as a franchise development rather than absorbed from existing stock, which the two groups say validates their model for prospective owners and investors.
Matt Holmes, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts VP of Business Development for South East Asia and Pacific Rim, said the signing affirms why the partnership was formed. “Ovolo brings something genuinely distinctive to the market – a design-led brand with a loyal following, a strong identity, and a guest experience that resonates with modern travellers,” he said. “Wyndham’s global distribution, commercial infrastructure and Wyndham Rewards loyalty platform amplify what Ovolo has built, and together we are creating real value for owners and guests alike.”
Perth: a market with structural tailwinds
The choice of East Perth for the partnership’s first greenfield project is well-grounded in market data. According to a demand study commissioned by the Cook Government through Tourism WA, Perth’s hotels recorded an average occupancy rate of 81.2 per cent across 2025, compared with the national average of 73.2 per cent, with extended periods above 85 per cent. The study projects that visitor demand will continue to outpace supply, and that the city could absorb up to 3,500 additional hotel rooms by 2035 while sustaining occupancy above 80 per cent.
The same study specifically identified East Perth, alongside Elizabeth Quay, Northbridge and the CBD corridor, as a priority precinct for new accommodation development. Western Australia also recorded more than one million international visitors in the year to October 2025, a state record, supported by expanded aviation links from South-East Asia and the Middle East.
That demand profile makes the 2028 target window strategically sound. The Bennett will enter a market already operating at high utilisation and forecast to tighten further, with lifestyle and boutique accommodation identified by state planners as an undersupplied segment.
Testing franchising at scale
For Ovolo, the deeper significance of The Bennett lies in what it demonstrates operationally. The brand, founded in 2010 and built around a design-and-culture ethos it describes through its ‘FUN’ service philosophy – fabulous, unconventional, never boring – has historically grown through owned assets. Franchising introduces a different set of quality-control challenges, particularly for a brand whose identity rests on sensory and experiential consistency rather than standardised service protocols.
Ovolo Group COO Shivang Jhunjhnuwala acknowledged this directly. “This will not simply be a hotel that looks like an Ovolo – it will feel like one,” he said. “From the design language to the service philosophy, every signature touchpoint that defines the guest experience across our properties will be present here.”
That commitment will be tested closely. Boutique brands entering the franchise model risk what operators call brand dilution: the gradual erosion of distinctive experience as properties prioritise cost efficiency over character. How Ovolo manages design and service standards across franchised properties, as opposed to its own managed estate, will be a key indicator for prospective partners and development investors watching the APAC lifestyle segment.
Implications for hospitality owners and developers
The Bennett signing sends a clear signal to developers and asset owners across Australia. The Wyndham-Ovolo model offers access to a proven boutique brand and a major loyalty programme without requiring direct Ovolo management, a combination that has historically been difficult to secure in the lifestyle segment. With East Perth specifically flagged as a high-potential development corridor in official demand modelling, the timing and location of this signing will not be lost on competing operators.
Broader appetite for lifestyle and experiential travel continues to grow, with McKinsey valuing the segment at US$1 trillion globally, driven substantially by younger travellers seeking distinctive, character-led stays. If The Bennett successfully delivers the Ovolo experience through the franchise model, it could accelerate the partnership’s stated ambitions across South-East Asia, Greater China and India – markets Ovolo leadership has publicly identified as long-term priorities.
