Quest Apartment Hotels will unveil five new hotels over the next seven months within the Melbourne metro area, reflecting unprecedented growth for the franchise chain.

STR, which provides benchmarking, analytics and marketplace insights for the hospitality industry, suggests Quest’s activity in the Melbourne market is unmatched.

“In the past decade, no other single brand has opened so many properties in one year in one market”, said Matthew Burke, STR regional manager Pacific.

Melbourne remains Quest’s heartland, with founder and chairman Paul Constantinou establishing the first Quest property in 1988, Quest Royal Gardens in Fitzroy. The city has remained a priority region within Quest’s assertive international growth strategy.

Quest Maribyrnong and Quest Epping opened in late June and July, and further properties will open in Notting Hill, St Kilda Road and NewQuay.

The developments will bring Quest’s total number of Melbourne properties to 47, offering 3,169 rooms across the city, and add about 125 employment opportunities.

James Shields, Quest general manager – growth, said the city is attracting an increasing number of residents and investment.

“This growth, paired with the continued urbanisation of the metro area presents a huge opportunity for new Quest properties.

“Major projects such as Melbourne Metro, Level Crossing removal project and the West Gate Tunnel demonstrate the investment and interest in the state and have been major drivers for many new Quest properties.”

The franchise chain has a total of 13 new properties scheduled for opening in the next 18 months across Australia, New Zealand and the UK: South Perth (WA); Penrith and Orange (NSW); Quest on Manchester, Quest Tauranga Central, Quest on Tuam and Quest Mount Eden (NZ); and Liverpool (UK).