From Fresh Faced Newcomer to Beloved Local Brand, Australia's Vibe Hotels Turns 21 This Month
SYDNEY: Homegrown hotel brand, Vibe Hotels, is celebrating a milestone 21st birthday today, marking more than two decades of connecting people, places and creating memorable stays across Australia. Since its debut in 2003 with Vibe Hotel Rushcutters Bay in Sydney, the Vibe brand has become synonymous with contemporary design, intuitive Australian hospitality, and localised guest experiences.
In recent years, the Vibe brand has completed its lap of the Aussie map with Melbourne Docklands, Vibe Adelaide, Vibe Hobart, Vibe Subiaco Perth, Vibe Melbourne, and Vibe Darling Harbour joining the fold. And the brand made its first foray offshore with the opening of Vibe Singapore Orchard in November 2022.
Looking ahead, the brand continues to grow, with plans to open Vibe Hotel Westmead in 2026. A thriving destination for progressive medical-related business, the Westmead mixed use precinct is pushing boundaries in terms of innovation and design. The Vibe brand was also pushing design boundaries in its 21st year, thanks to investor confidence off the back of new design-led development and capital works across the existing portfolio.
As our name suggests, we’ve always been about creating positive energy and the conditions for a good time” says TFE Hotel’s Global Marketing Officer, Katia Giurtalis. “So, to make our 21st anniversary memorable and fun, we’ve launched the Vibe Dance Off on social media and are encouraging friends and guests to submit a TikTok or Instagram reel to win one of $25,000 worth of prizes.
“At its core, our “Dance Like You’re 21 birthday campaign” is about owning the positive vibe and truly making it our own – and I think our teams are doing just that.”
Today, hotels teams from Darling Harbour (led by Jefferson Gonzales, the dancing housekeeper) to Melbourne’s Docklands (with General Manager and King of Swing, Arthur Rojas) are dancing up a storm to celebrate 21 years.
Whilst GM Arthur admits he initially took a little persuading to bust out dance moves, he maintains the Vibe Birthday campaign has brought nothing but good vibes with the team and guests alike.
“It’s fair to say there were lots of laughs, and positive vibes in the room when we learned the dance,” Arthur said. “It may have taken us a few hours of practice, but we got there in the end and had plenty of fun doing so.”
Arthur said he’d loved seeing everyone from around the country share their dance videos across social media and looked forward to sharing the enthusiasm with guests at Vibe’s 21st birthday party a little later today.
With 21 years of innovation in design and exceptional service history behind them, Vibe Hotels looks set to continues to set the standard for modern, lifestyle-focused stays. But first, a trip down memory lane!
21 Fast Facts about Vibe Hotels
1. TFE Hotels currently operates 12 Vibe Hotels (2174 rooms) across 8 cities and 2 countries. The homegrown brand was born in Sydney, Australia in 2003 and celebrates its 21st birthday on 16 October.
2. The very first Vibe Hotel – Vibe Hotel Rushcutters Bay - or “Rushies” as it was affectionately called - opened in 2003. Dog weddings were a ‘thing’ at Rushies, and guests could hire a dog concierge to train their dog to be in the wedding party.
3. Vibe Hotel Melbourne Docklands is the newest of the brand in Australia, opening in April 2024 with Vibe Hotel Westmead Sydney set to open in the $100 million West Grove gateway commercial and retail precinct in 2026.
4. Vibe Hotel Singapore Orchard opened on 3 November 2022 - the first Vibe Hotel to open outside of Australia.
5. The dual branded Adina-Vibe Darwin Waterfront is the only partly indigenous-owned hotel in Darwin.
6. Vibe Hotel Sydney Darling Harbour is located on land once part of a steam-flour mill owned by Thomas Barker. Barker was an engineer, manufacturer, grazier, and philanthropist who arrived in Sydney in 1813. From 1828, Barker expanded the Mill substantially and constructed a cloth mill on land adjacent to the existing steam flour mill.
7. Dating back to 1873, Vibe Hotel Melbourne’s grand Renaissance Revival-style heritage façade (on the lobby level first claimed a foothold in the city’s heart during the peak of the gold boom (1850s – 1890s). Anchored to Australia’s maritime history, it started life as offices for merchant trade, which later inspired Fleet rooftop bar.
8. When Vibe Hotel Canberra Airport opened on 2 November 2015, it became the first new nationally branded, full-service premium hotel to be set up in Canberra since the Novotel more than a decade prior. The hotel’s dramatic circular atrium shape reflects the geometry of Walter Burley Griffin’s plans for Canberra. You can find more at the National Capital Exhibition.
9. During construction of Vibe Hotel Hobart, an archaeological survey discovered the site was once Hobart’s very earliest homesteads (circa 1820) owned by a man dubbed ‘The father of Tasmania’, Anthony Fenn Kemp. A merchant and former soldier, famed as a rascal, rebel, monopolist, acquaintance of George Washington, father of 18, and chronic stirrer – not least being for his involvement in Australia’s only military coup, the ‘Rum Rebellion’ of 1808.
10. Gone are the days of airport hotels occupying the left-over land between the bus interchange and baggage handling. Vibe Hotel Canberra Airport is no ordinary airport hotel with all rooms named after plane classes - e.g. First Class Suite.
11. A tonne of old bricks, handmade by convicts and still bearing their thumbprints, were unearthed during the construction of Vibe Hotel Hobart. These bricks now take pride of place in the hotel's lobby, framing one side of a log fireplace.
12. At the time of launch in 2020, Vibe Hotel Perth Subiaco was the first brand-new build Australian lifestyle hotel, and the very first of our Next Generation Vibe properties in Western Australia.
13. TFE completed our lap of the Aussie map when Vibe Hotel Adelaide opened in 2023, expanding our footprint to every state and territory.
14. Vibe Hotel Melbourne is literally grounded in history. While its street-level façade – with statutes of Plus 8 men, named after the Plus 8 trousers, made by Fletcher Jones – echoes the post-World War II boom of the 1950s, when the Warrnambool-based tailor transformed the space into its main city showroom, the heritage landmark has long been a part of the very fabric of Melbourne.
15. Vibe Hotel Hobart’s design was inspired, in part, by London’s architecturally acclaimed Bosideng building.
16. The honeycomb facade of the Vibe Hotel Subiaco Perth offers style and shade in equal measure – which is perfect for Australia’s sunniest capital with 3,212 hours of sunshine year-round.
17. Vibe Hotels and Sony Music launched four CDs. The fourth album in the Vibe CD series - The Chillout Suite – was launched in 2011 and featured 40 tracks to set the mood as guests checked-in and chilled out at Vibe Hotels around the Country. The album hit number six on the ARIA Compilations Chart.
18. Vibe Hotel Canberra Airport won the prestigious Emil Sodersten Award for Best Interior Architecture at the Australian Institute of Architects’ National Architecture Awards in 2016. Judges noted the hotel’s lobby was “world-class in size and is similar in proportions to the void at (Frank Lloyd Wright’s) Guggenheim Museum in New York or the Pantheon in Rome. “To be able to build a void, or really to not build at all, in this manner in any modern building is exemplary. The fact that this is an airport hotel makes it even more admirable and award-worthy.”
19. Vibe Hotel Gold Coast’s beachy colour palette represents the transitional journey from the hinterland, through sand and surf out to the turquoise waters and beyond. The design is brought to life through “pops” of colour that represent the vibrant atmosphere for which the Gold Coast is renowned.
20. Vibe Hotel North Sydney opened in 2018 sporting a Sydney Harbour-inspired design by Nettleton Tribe that draws on external cues and plenty of natural light and street views.
21. With a commitment to driving environmental and social initiatives for the greater good, it is no surprise that the teams at Vibe Hotel Sydney and Storehouse Restaurant have proudly partnered with The Bread & Butter Project – Australia's first social enterprise bakery – in a pilot program design that sees the not-for-profit organisation deliver pastries and artisan bread to our guests. Excitingly, Bread & Butter Bakers will also have an opportunity to further their hospitality career with us.
Ends.
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Jodi Clark - TFE Hotels (Director of Communications) +61 499 900 658 / [email protected]
Jessica Wood – TFE Hotels (PR Executive) +61 437 242 034 / [email protected]
VIDEO ASSETS:
• Newly appointed GM of Vibe Melbourne Docklands, Arthur Rojas, showcases his moves (back left in the video)
• Jefferson the Dancing Housekeeper
• Vibe Melbourne starts vibing
• Vibe Gold Coast team dance up a storm
• Image of Arthur Rojas and Katia Giurtalis
• Team member names available if needed for the videos/images.
SOCIAL MEDIA
Please tag TFE Hotels, Vibe Hotels, Antony Ritch, Chris Sedgwick, Tish Nyar, Katia Giurtalis Geraldine Connell Emily Hoare Amanda Halim Emma Soutter Warwick Kahl Stephen Moore Sidd Singh Katie Obst Arthur Rojas Sid Bhatia Alison Mair (Smith) Sai Amani Graeme Rutherford Emma Sutherland Jamie Capp Julie Gibson Tish Nyar Shahnaz Bakhshay Jodi Clark Sarah Knight.
ABOUT VIBE HOTELS
Vibe Hotels are hotels designed to connect guests to their work, their fellow guests, and the local area. Each has spaces and experiences that allow guests to be inspired, with innovative interior design in bright rooms and cool communal areas. Drink and dining offerings feature fresh and local, allowing guests to connect with their inner foodie. www.vibehotels.com
WHO ARE TFE HOTELS?
TFE Hotels (TOGA Far East Hotels) is Australia’s International Hotel Group - headquartered in Sydney and operating in Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Denmark, Hungary, Austria, Singapore, and Switzerland. TFE has a portfolio of seven hotel brands - A by Adina, Adina Hotels, Vibe Hotels, Quincy Hotels, Travelodge Hotels, Rendezvous Hotels and Collection by TFE Hotels, with more in the development pipeline. https://www.tfehotels.com/