TRIBE SET FOR GEOGRAPHIC + CATEGORY EXPANSION FOLLOWING ACCOR ACQUISITION

A strategic partnership ensuing from the Accor acquisition will see Tribe founding partners Mark and Melissa Peters continue to play a key role in the future development of the brand alongside the Accor team. Established in Perth in 2017 as Australia’s first integrated modular design hotel brand, Tribe’s linkages through Accor will see its hotel footprint grow from one (Tribe Perth) to 50 properties internationally by 2020. It is understood the Tribe brand expects to have launched in 150 international destinations by 2030, inaugurating in gateway locations such as Paris, London, Singapore, Dubai and Bangkok. In the Australian market, Tribe hotels are set to open over the short term in Adelaide and Melbourne.

Speaking to Built Offsite, Tribe founder and Director Mark Peters said Tribe’s procurement business MP Modular, which facilitates the supply of modular building solutions out of China, expected to scale up significantly over time to meet new demand.

“Accor is active in 100 countries and opens a hotel every 24 hours. Of course just a portion of those are modular, but that’s a significant uplift for Tribe.”

Tribe uses steel modular solutions modelled on containers that can be stacked “like lego”, and deploys its own proprietary solution for bathrooms and other wet areas. Peters confirmed the first and so far only Tribe hotel in Perth was completed in 12 months, a calculated six months’ program saving compared to the projected 18 months a conventional build would have required.

“Our process of developing and perfecting our methodology is ongoing,” he said. “We still face challenges, chiefly how to most effectively work alongside conventional building approaches. We currently work with preferred builders who understand the offsite approach and we’d expect to partner with expertise in that space in overseas markets.”

“Europe is a particularly interesting market for us. It’s a developed market and they’re well versed in modular; they also face serious challenges in conventional building such as skills shortages and high material costs.”

Over the longer term Peters said he saw the company’s international expansion as an entry into opportunities in other sectors both abroad and locally.

“They’d need to be sectors suited to our solution but yes, there are certainly opportunities for us in the affordable housing and student accommodation markets.”

MP Modular’s design and build approach is positioned as an affordable “total supply model” featuring modular build, integrated procurement and design-led outcomes that deliver superior investment returns and can be effectively rolled out for global growth.

It is understood that under the agreement with Accor, Tribe Perth will remain under the ownership of Mark and Melissa Peters, Salta Properties and Victor Smorgon Group, who will look to expand their combined Tribe hotel portfolio across Australia, New Zealand and further afield.■