As general manager of the recently-rebadged Novotel Norwest, Mr Donnelly has much to look forward to, with the burgeoning north west region of Sydney going gang-busters.
Formerly Crowne Plaza, the 132-room hotel came under Accor management, taking the tag of the hotel group’s premier Novotel brand, in April.
Mr Donnelly took up the reins the same month and is aleady making his mark in the Hills area - an area he finds fascinating not only because of its future but also its colonial past.
“It is a good time to be in Norwest Business Park, with the rail link coming here, which can only mean growth,” Mr Donnelly said.
“There are 25,000 people who come to the business park every day and that is predicted to grow to 35, 000 when the rail link opens (about 2018). This is a great position for a Novotel, catering for corporates, which come mostly from interstate, but also overseas tourists who like to stay halfway between Sydney city and the mountains.”
A big part of the business are conferences and events such as weddings.
But Mr Donnelly also wants to woo the local market for stay-ins - the mums and dads seeking a weekend break as well as those residents and workers who want to dine there.
And that is where the past is remembered. The Rebellion Bar and Grill gives a nod to the convict uprising at Castle Hill in 1804, named the Vinegar Hill Rebellion, after a similar conflict in Ireland in 1798.
With Novotel signage having only just gone up, there will be some “soft’’ refurbishments to reflect the brand’s style.
“I want to concentrate on building up the food and beverage side of the business,” Mr Donnelly said.
But he also will be busy raising his, and the hotel’s, profile among the local business community.
“I will be getting involved with the Hills Chamber and in local events such as the country music festival.”
The hotel was built in 2000 to cater for the Olympics with Crowne Plaza taking over management four years later, until tenders were called for new management.
Accor, a growing global hotel company, won that tender.
Accor runs a range of hotels throughout Australia under the names Novotel, Sofitel, Mercure, Sebel and Ibis, catering for all budgets.
