The Australasian Development Outlook
Scott Boyes, Chief Executive Officer, June 2026
Australasia’s hotel development landscape is being reshaped by an industry-wide shift in how hotels are branded, managed and powered by technology platforms. That shift is creating a very specific window for specialist third party operators like Trilogy Hotels. Across the region, we see three converging forces.
Firstly, the traditional full management model is giving way to brand franchising and flexible structures, as major brands drive their franchising platforms and owners seek stronger alignment between operating performance and investment returns. STR data indicates that for 
Australian hotels with more than 50 rooms, only a minority operate under traditional brand management agreements, with a rapidly growing share now franchised and the vast majority independent. This is a structural gap that white-label operators are beginning to fill.
Secondly, the maturity of cloud-based distribution, revenue, and property management platforms means owners can now separate “brand” from “operations”, combining global brand engines with local, focused, independent, data-driven management to unlock EBITDA.
Thirdly, capital is increasingly focused on execution: in a market where new supply, construction costs and financing conditions remain challenging, investors are seeking partners who can deliver growth and outperformance at the asset level.
For Trilogy Hotels, this is the moment for which we were built. As a pureplay independent management platform, we work with our brand partners and owners to curate an environment with the right brand, tech stack, and on-property leadership team for each asset, while remaining entirely focused on owner returns, growing careers, and guest experience.
We are seeing strong interest from city, urban, and regional owners who want big-brand demand engines without sacrificing local agility, whether that’s a major conversion like Courtyard by Marriott Darwin or bespoke strategies for investment-grade independents.
Over 2026 and 2027, we expect Australia’s under-penetrated third-party management segment to expand rapidly. This will be driven by more complex brand and deal structures, deeper adoption of integrated management platforms, and a clear premium for operators who can translate this complexity into sustainable EBITDA growth for owners, care for teams, and experiences for guests.
From the June 2026 issue of HM Magazine