Ovolo Hotels (Chinese: 奧華酒店) is an independent hotel brand and serviced apartment owner-operator[1] headquartered in Hong Kong. Founded by Girish Jhunjhnuwala, Ovolo Hotels remains a privately family-owned business under the Hind Group.

Ovolo Hotels
Company typePrivate
IndustryHospitality, tourism, hotel
Founded2002; 22 years ago (2002)
Headquarters
Number of locations
12
OwnerGirish Jhunjhnuwala

History

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Ovolo Hotels[2] started as a serviced-apartment company in 2002. Girish Jhunjhnuwala acquired a single office complex in the heart of Hong Kong's Central Business District and developed it into an upscale serviced apartment.

After the opening of its first serviced apartment in 2002, the group has expanded. It had eight properties as of 2014.[3] It now has hotels in Canberra, Melbourne and Sydney.[4] The Weekend Australian in 2016 reported Jhunjhnuwala's intent to aggressively pursue the Australian market after the successful acquisition and turnaround of a hotel in Woolloomooloo, a suburb of Sydney.[5] EJ Insight reported that Jhunjhnuwala's recent focus on Australian acquisitions is a result of high property prices in Hong Kong and the depreciating Australian dollar.[6]

In Hong Kong, Ovolo operates 4 hotels across Hong Kong Island, with an addition of one remaining serviced apartment.

Since 2015, Ovolo has offered a live-in coworking space under what it calls the Mojo Nomad programme.[7]

In 2018 Ovolo purchased the New Acton located Hotel Hotel in Canberra, and renamed it Ovolo Nishi as of March.[8]

In 2020, Ovolo switched all of its hotels and restaurants to go vegetarian for 365 days.[9][10]

References

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  1. ^ "Ovolo Hotels story in Hong Kong and Australia". Ovolohotels.com. Retrieved 15 January 2015.
  2. ^ "The Ovolo way | Hongkong Business". 7 January 2017. Retrieved 17 July 2017.
  3. ^ "Ovolo Hotels Open First Overseas Headquarters in Melbourne, Australia". Hospitality Net. 25 November 2014. Retrieved 19 May 2017.
  4. ^ Kelly, Martin (2 February 2016). "Girish Jhunjhnuwala, Founder & CEO, Ovolo Hotels Group". Travel Trends. Retrieved 19 May 2017.
  5. ^ Allen, Lisa (21 July 2016). "Ovolo Hotels plans to build on Woolloomooloo boost in Australia". Weekend Australian. News Corp. Retrieved 19 May 2017.
  6. ^ Pao, Jeff (7 January 2016). "HK-born Indian entrepreneur builds hotel empire with a bold bet". EJ Insight. Hong Kong. Retrieved 19 May 2017.
  7. ^ Springer, Kate (13 February 2017). "Smart hotels where work meets play". CNN. Time Warner. Retrieved 19 May 2017.
  8. ^ Breheny, Emma (17 January 2018). "Canberra's Hotel Hotel sold to Ovolo Group". Gourmet Traveller. Retrieved 10 April 2024.
  9. ^ Jelski, Christina (27 October 2020). "Hold the meat: Ovolo Hotels going vegetarian-only for a year". Travel Weekly. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
  10. ^ "Year of the Veg: Hotel group goes vegetarian for 365 days". USA Today. 17 June 2021. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
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