Accor set to open one luxury/upscale hotel per month in Asia Pacific for next 5 years

As Accor celebrates the successful launch of several high-end hotels across Asia Pacific including Sofitel So Singapore, Pullman Shanghai South, and the signing of the highly coveted Sofitel Sydney Darling Harbour at the Sydney International Convention Centre, the group has moved its Global Luxury and Upscale marketing operations from Paris to Singapore, in a move that signals the growing importance of Asia Pacific in these segments. With Asian consumers now accounting for almost half of global luxury sales, Accor decided that a move to Singapore would bring new insights into luxury and upscale hotels and place the nerve centre of its marketing operations closer to where its customer base is growing fastest.

“Over the past decade Asia Pacific’s economic development has been remarkable and as travelers become more affluent, their desire to travel and explore the world grows, making this region the fastest growing luxury market in the world,” says Michael Issenberg, Chairman and CEO Accor Asia Pacific. “We currently have more than 170 luxury / uspscale hotels with over 37,000 rooms in the region, plus over 70 luxury and upscale hotels under development. This means that Accor will open, on average, a new luxury and upscale hotel in Asia Pacific every month for the next five years.

“With Sofitel celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, Accor has a long history in luxury and upscale hotels and our credentials in this segment continue to grow with our expanding pipeline in this sector, including more than 30 Pullman hotels in China alone,” he said.

The move of the Luxury and Upscale Global Marketing team to Asia follows a restructuring of Accor’s business model around geographical lines, with all its brands now divided into three segments: Luxury and Upscale; Midscale; and Economy/Budget. The Luxury and Upscale segments, now emanating from Singapore, include Accor’s Sofitel, Pullman, MGallery, Grand Mercure and The Sebel brands. China alone already has 19 Sofitel and 15 Pullman hotels, making it the number one market for these brands outside of Europe.

“Asian travellers are very demanding and the standard of hotels in this region is very high. We believe that Asia right now is a hub of creativity, innovation and transformation and that this environment provides the perfect breeding ground for us to take our luxury and upscale brands to the next level,“ says Rick Harvey Lam, Senior Vice President Global Marketing, Accor Luxury and Upscale Brands, who recently made the move from Paris to Singapore.

With its central location, excellent infrastructure and business-friendly climate, Singapore is an ideal hub from which to manage Accor’s growth in the region, and brings the company’s leadership closer to more of Accor’s core luxury and upscale markets.

In coming years, Asia will replace North-America and Europe as the key market for travel, especially in the upmarket and luxury segments. And while China and India are leading the way, other markets such as Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines also have a growing affluent middle class with increasing disposable incomes, and a real thirst for travel. Accor has luxury and upscale hotels in all these regions and will continue to grow its high-end footprint in all these countries.

As one of the world’s largest and oldest operators of luxury hotels, Accor aims to make its Sofitel, Pullman, MGallery, Grand Mercure and The Sebel brands the reference point for discerning travellers throughout the Asia Pacific region and globally

Accor, the world’s leading hotel operator, offers its guests and partners the dual expertise of a hotel operator and brand franchisor (HotelServices) and a hotel owner and investor (HotelInvest) with the objective of ensuring lasting growth and harmonious development for the benefit of the greater number.

With around 3,600 hotels and 460,000 rooms, Accor welcomes business and leisure travelers in 92 countries across all hotel segments: luxury-upscale with Sofitel, Pullman, MGallery, and Grand Mercure, midscale with Novotel, Suite Novotel, Mercure and Adagio and economy with ibis, ibis Styles, ibis budget and hotelF1. The Group boasts a powerful digital ecosystem, notably its booking portal accorhotels.com, its brand websites and its loyalty program Le Club Accorhotels.

As the world’s top hospitality school, Accor is committed to developing the talents of its 170,000 employees in Accor brand hotels. They are the daily ambassadors of the culture of service and innovation that has driven the Group for over 45 years.

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