It’s been a busy few months for the Accor Group. They’ve opened their 500th hotel in the Asia-Pacific with the Pullman Gurgaon Central Park, New Delhi, expansion of the Pullman brand with the purchase of the Mirvac Group’s hotel interests in Australia and New Zealand, global partnership with Garuda Indonesia and launch of a Bahasa Indonesia language site. They also just opened the Arbat Moscow, their first Mercure branded property in Russia, located in Moscow’s historic district. And that’s just the major stuff.
You have to admire the way in which the group has strategically aligned itself by covering every segment of the accommodation market from budget to luxury, business to midscale. From humble beginnings back in 1967 with the first Novotel opening in Lille Lesquin in France, to now over 4,400 hotels in 90 countries and number one hotel employer in the world, Accor are not slowing in their momentum of becoming a global dominating accommodation provider.
The purchase of the Mirvac Group’s hotel interests in Australia and New Zealand was a big step for the company, with the first phase of the integration the rebranding of the Sydney Marriot Hotel to Pullman Sydney Olympic Hyde Park in late May.
If there was a blueprint for creating a world dominating hotel group, they seem to have made the mould. They even use words like ’conquest’ and ’strategic vision’ in their communications. You could say the group ostensibly tailor-made accommodation for each market segment, consciously tying in the local landscape with each of their brands, helped along by selective franchising opportunities and partnerships.
The Novotel Auckland Airport was awarded the Hotel Industry Environmental Initiative Award by the New Zealand Hotel Industry Conference in early June for its pioneering ’green’ credentials. On the same night, the General Manager of the All Seasons Christchurch was honoured with an award recognizing the key role he played in the recovery of the city after the devastating earthquake. Both are good examples of how the Group takes part and ownership of the communities where they’re situated.
As Indonesia emerges as an enormous and growing market for both domestic and international tourism, the Group signed a strategic global partnership with Garuda, the country’s national carrier, a partnership that clearly provides beneficial synergies for both parties. The company also launched their first website in Bahasa Indonesia.
As the UNWTO calls for tourism entities to help to alleviate the world’s economic woes through employment and expansion, the Accor Group are setting an exemplary example.
Footnote: From June 19 to 22, Le Club Accorhotels will launch an innovative promotion through a Facebook application called the GUEST-LIST. In conjunction with their ’Hotel Super Sale’ guests can receive up to 50 per cent off stays in over 1,300 Pullman, MGallery, Novotel, Suite Novotel, Mercure, Adagio, ibis and all seasons/ibis hotels between July 6 and September 2. By sharing through the GUEST-LIST application, members can sponsor friends through the social network who can also benefit from exclusive offers. You can find out more at www.accorhotels.com/supersale.
