French hotel group Accor to expand economy brand in Asia
May 11th, 2007 - Category: Hotel, Real Estate, TravelFrench hospitality group Accor said Thursday it will open its largest economy hotel outside of Paris here as it ramps up efforts to meet growing demand for economy lodging in the Asia Pacific region.
The 538-room Ibis hotel, which will be the first ever in Singapore, and will open in the first quarter of 2009, with average daily rates at 100-110 sgd (73 usd) initially, Accor said.
It said construction has started and is estimated to cost 145 mln sgd (96 mln usd).
The Paris-based hotel group also announced its Asia Pacific headquarters will be moved to Singapore from Sydney by the end of the year to be closer to the region where it has committed to build 70 three-star Ibis hotels.
Forty of these hotels will be in China, 20 in India and 10 in other Asian destinations, including the one in Singapore. This will raise the number of the group’s economy hotels to 105 from 35 currently.
Michael Issenberg, Accor’s regional managing director, said the economy segment of the hotel market in the region offers huge prospects because it is underserved.
Economy hotels in Asia are either old hotels, four- or five-star hotels which have fallen into disrepair, or ‘ill-conceived’ economy hotels, Issenberg told AFP.
‘We certainly feel that there is a tremendous opportunity in the economy sector,’ he said.
Strong economic growth in the region is a major factor fuelling the demand for the type of lodging offered by the Ibis chain, said Issenberg.
‘If you look at the economies in the region, they are growing between six and 10 percent. That alone is fuelling demand.’
The take-off of the budget airline industry in Asia has also seen more people travelling for leisure, sparking demand for quality three-star hotels.
Accor operates in almost 100 countries with 170,000 employees, managing hotels from the luxurious Sofitel brand to the budget Formule 1 and Motel 6.
Information from: www.forbes.com
