The Australian city’s laid-back nature and cultural heritage will work their magic on business travellers, says Chris Pritchard
A joke I’m told repeatedly by Melbourne residents goes like this – Sydney boasts of having Australia’s best museums, art galleries and restaurants, but there’s a catch – you have to fly to Melbourne to enjoy them.
The two cities are long-time friendly rivals, and while Sydney has the draw of its harbour, iconic bridge and opera house, Melbourne is experiencing a rebirth and is no longer happy to play second fiddle. It considers itself more sophisticated than Sydney, where dinner-table conversation is typically about property prices. In contrast, Melbourne makes much of its reputation as an art and culture centre.
And while Sydney is well known for its high-profile sporting events – the Olympics were a huge success – Australia’s second city arguably trumps them, hosting the Australian Open, the Melbourne Cup, the Australian Grand Prix, major golf tournaments, cricket tests, and rugby finals (a variant called Australian Football League).
The city is home to almost four million of Australia’s 22 million residents and is the capital of Victoria. Melbourne International airport is about 40 minutes’ drive away. The compact downtown area hugs the Yarra River, a once neglected waterway that has been transformed to be a focus of civic pride. The grid street system makes it easy to navigate, and broad sunny avenues clatter with trams, a convenient way to get around. If you are in the city during the summer months, it’s easy to walk to appointments, as many of the top hotels are based in the business district.
Perhaps the sunshine helps, but Melbourne regularly ranks highly among the world’s most liveable cities, both in terms of quality of life and accessibility of amenities. And in the past ten years it has really come alive. Downtown is no longer deserted after dark, which is mostly down to the popularity of inner-city apartments – some newly built and others occupying trendy converted warehouses down narrow lanes – but also to new restaurants and 24-hour shops.
David Perry, chief executive and general manager of the Hotel Windsor, one of the city’s most prestigious five-star properties, says: “One of the most attractive features of doing business downtown is that it isn’t a wasteland anymore – many of Melbourne’s top restaurants, both for entertaining and private dining, are in this area.”
It’s around here, too, that there is a buzz of construction and development in spots such as South Wharf, with its recently opened Hilton hotel. Perry says: “The downtown district has been attractively revamped and is one of the main areas for doing business. However, while appointments are likely to be in this neck of the woods, some key companies have their head offices in the up-and-coming Docklands, Southbank and South Melbourne districts.”
The city has Australia’s busiest port, but other major industries include the automotive sector, construction materials, and software development. Downtown, banking and finance firms anchor the business district, with some of the country’s biggest pension funds. Half of Australia’s ten biggest companies have their headquarters in Melbourne, including the two leading Australian banks, ANZ and NAB. Also here is BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto (with joint headquarters in Melbourne and London) and telecoms firm Telstra.
The city’s laid-back approach makes it an enjoyable place to do business. “Formality is minimal,” Perry says. “In fact, the locals will probably use your first name at the first meeting and invite you to do the same. Jackets come off and the mood is immediately casual. But don’t be fooled – they’re serious about business and are determined to get the best deal.”
The global financial crisis seems to have affected Australia less than many other places. Canberra bureaucrats attribute this to fiscal prudence and a canny Reserve Bank, and the signs of recovery in key trading partners, particularly China, are helping. Demand for Australian mineral exports – produced mostly in Western Australia and Queensland – as well as for agricultural commodities have started to increase again. Pre-recession, hoteliers predicted big increases to the city’s relatively low room rates, but this didn’t happen. The recession meant fewer business travellers arrived from overseas – and those that landed demanded deeply discounted rates.
“Overall, we expect a flat year for hotel rates,” Perry says. “The recession ensured room charges won’t move much. Late next year, we expect modest increases.” His opinion is shared by Simon McGrath, vice-president for hotel corporation Accor, Australia, who says “rates will begin to creep up in the latter part of next year”.
One positive sign, says McGrath, is that the conference market, a big one for Melbourne, is recovering and confidence is returning. Perry says: “People are beginning to spend again on travel and entertainment.”
Looking beyond the recession, Victorian premier John Brumby insists that Melbourne remains an attractive destination for investment. Perry believes this is helped by the attitude of Melbourne’s business people. “Decisions come quickly. You’ll know almost immediately whether they are interested,” he says. “They won’t promise to get back to you and leave you hanging on for weeks.”
It’s no surprise, then, that a recent study by multinational commercial real-estate company CB Richard Ellis found Melbourne was poised to overtake Sydney by January 2010 in terms of the amount of prime CBD office space it has, with more than 2,361,000 sqm compared with Sydney’s 2,333,000 sqm. This will end Sydney’s decade-long rule as Australia’s leading business city. Melbourne skillfully arrested an eastward drift of top companies to Sydney and, in some cases, had relocations reversed. Kevin Stanley, executive director of global research and consulting in the Pacific region for CB Richard Ellis, says corporations are increasingly declaring that Melbourne would be their base and that it had outgrown Sydney.
Driving this surge in demand is the fact that office rentals – like all rentals – are, on average, 30 per cent cheaper than Sydney’s. Researchers estimate Melbourne will have an average 7 per cent office-space vacancy rate by December 31, compared with Sydney’s 9 per cent.
For frequent business travellers to the city, there is no shortage of entertainment. Festivals of arts, comedy, film, cuisine and theatre create a constant buzz. On the edge of the Southbank is the Arts Centre, home to drama, ballet, opera, orchestral concerts and exhibitions. Clustered in the business district is theatre land, with several grand old venues specialising in mass-appeal stage shows.
Melbourne is made up of adjoining “villages”, or neighbourhoods, where you’ll find some of the best dining and shopping, all within a ten-minute cab ride of downtown. There’s Italianate Lygon Street in Carlton, the Vietnamese-accented Victoria Street in Richmond, or the Spanish-influenced Johnston Street in Fitzroy. Nowhere is a single ethnic flavour dominant – instead, there’s an easy-going and harmonious lack of exclusivity.
On a recent visit I noticed two of Melbourne’s leading restaurants were far busier than on a trip six months ago. One of these – Cantonese eatery Flower Drum (flower-drum.com) – is a favourite for business entertaining. The other, Ezard (ezard.com.au), has a similarly strong corporate following and is an ideal choice for a meal with shoptalk, as tables are widely spaced, meaning whispers aren’t essential.
As the Hotel Windsor’s Perry says: “Your main reason for being in Melbourne may be business – but it’s pretty difficult not to enjoy the city as well.”
Where to stay
Melbourne is well supplied with global chains and independent hotels in or around downtown. Modest rates include 10 per cent goods-and-services tax.
Grand Hotel Melbourne
This former railway headquarters is now a 97-room downtown hotel in Accor’s MGallery Collection, and boasts a grand staircase leading to corridors broad enough to accommodate a lorry. Décor in the public areas is Victorian in style but rooms are modern with high ceilings. In-room wired/wifi internet access is AUS$27.50 (£15) for 24 hours.
- Rooms from AUS$189 (£104)
- 33 Spencer Street; tel +61 396 114 567; mgallery.com
Hilton Melbourne South Wharf
Opened in April, this 396-room property has minimalist public areas, spacious rooms, and wired/wifi access for AUS$29 (£16) for 24 hours. Wine and tapas bar Sotano is a hip hangout, and you can walk along the Yarra River to downtown in 15 minutes.
- Rooms from AUS$212 (£117)
- 2 Convention Centre Place; tel +61 390 272 000; hilton.co.uk
Langham Melbourne
A 387-room five-star on the banks of the Yarra, the Langham is amid Southbank’s lively restaurant and bar precinct. A bridge brings pedestrians to city offices in minutes, and spacious rooms overlook the city skyline. Business amenities include wired/wifi broadband for AUS$25 (£14) for 24 hours.
- Rooms from AUS$340 (£188)
- 1 Southgate Avenue; tel +61 386 968 888; langhamhotels.com
Sofitel Melbourne
With 363 large rooms above the 35th floor of a centrally located high-rise, the Sofitel has some of Melbourne’s best views. The Atrium bar is popular with business huddles, and in-room wired/wifi access is AUS$27.50 (£15) for 24 hours.
- Rooms from AUS$270 (£149)
- 25 Collins Street; tel +61 396 530 000; sofitel.com
Windsor Melbourne
This 126-year-old hotel opposite Parliament House is Melbourne’s grandest – a former Oberoi, it is now independent. Public areas display antiques and artworks, also present in some of the 180 rooms. Wired internet is AUS$15 (£8) for 24 hours. Afternoon tea is a local institution.
- Rooms from AUS$195 (£108)
- 111 Spring Street; tel +61 396 336 000; thehotelwindsor.com.au
WHAT TO SEE
- Want something for nothing? A free City Circle ride supplies splendid orientation and a sampling of Melbourne’s extensive tram network. Taking an hour, the route (clockwise or anti-clockwise) takes in downtown plus Docklands. A recorded commentary highlights landmarks with a dollop of history. Visit metlinkmelbourne.com.au
- Melbourne is renowned for its lanes – unique in Australia in that the back streets of its former downtown garment and warehouse zone were transformed with hip bars, coffee shops, restaurants, boutiques, restaurants, hotels, apartments and art galleries. Meriting a browse is Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi (75 Flinders Lane; tel +61 396 542 944; gabriellepizzi.com.au), where exhibitions include modern Australian works and Aboriginal paintings.
- Federation Square, a downtown cultural precinct, remains controversial because critics claim defiantly modernist buildings situated around cobbled public spaces clash with its traditional backdrop. Among these is the Ian Potter Centre of the National Gallery of Victoria, devoted to Australian and Aboriginal art. (Open 10am-5pm daily, except Monday.) A short walk away is the main building of the National Gallery of Victoria (ngv.vic.gov.au) at 180 St Kilda Road, which is open 10am-5pm daily, except Tuesday, and focuses on international art. Both are free, except for special exhibitions.
- If you have a few spare hours, take a 20-minute tram ride to St Kilda, the city’s top beach, and have a stroll along the pier. Wander down Acland Street, home to numerous restaurants, coffee shops and fashion outlets, and soak in the buzzy atmosphere.
Brunswick Street in Fitzroy is an earthy student zone with eccentric bookshops, funky clothing stores and cheap-and-cheerful restaurants and bars. It mostly attracts locals, while visitors tend to be pointed towards trendier Toorak Road and Chapel Street, or Lygon Street’s “Little Italy”.
Go to visitmelbourne.com
