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Accor ME eyes record expansion in key Middle East destinations by 2015

Accor Middle East, one of the leading hospitality groups in the region, announced record expansion plans at this year's Arabian Travel Market (ATM), the leading travel and tourism exhibition in the Middle East taking place at the Dubai International Conference and Exhibition Centre (DICEC) from April 30 to May 3 2012.

The French hospitality group is all set to open 22 new hotels representing 5,598 rooms, in key destinations such as Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain, Qatar and Egypt within the next three years.

Philippe Seguin, Vice President Sales, Distribution & Marketing, Accor Middle East said: "With our strong development pipeline, we are reinforcing our regional sales team with new staff and new e-commerce tools, to aggressively develop Accor's digital services and presence, from mobile apps to e-marketing, to our loyalty program, Le Club Accorhotels. We are placing greater focus on communicating the right offer at the right time to our clients through all direct marketing levers from e-mailing, to social media or content management."

Accor recently rebranded its loyalty program, formerly known as A Club to Le Club Accorhotels. It has renewed the loyalty program as Accor's way of rewarding guests' loyalty. Hotel guests earn points each time they stay in any of the 2,500 participating hotels and enjoy a whole host of benefits.

Le Club Accorhotels offers a world of travel-related advantages: exclusive Accor hotel services, airline miles and partner discounts. To date, less than 4 years since its launch, its global members stand at 8 million loyal guests, Le Club Accorhotels program is valid at Sofitel, Pullman, MGallery, Grand Mercure, Novotel, Suite Novotel, Mercure, Adagio, ibis, ibis Styles/all seasons and Thalassa Sea and Spa.

"We have experienced exponential growth in online booking," said Seguin. "In the first quarter of 2012 alone, our new geo-localised website, Accorhotels.com, helped increase revenue by 49%."

In terms of outbound destinations, France is one of the most important Accor destinations in Europe for Middle East travelers. Online bookings through Accor websites increased by 36% in room nights in March 2012 compared to March 2011 to France. Paris remained the top destination for leisure purposes, especially with the Sofitel brand. As an emitting destination, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait are the most important feeder markets.

For the outbound leisure segment (tour operator and travel agencies), Europe is representing 60% of the room nights produced in Accor hotels at the end of 2011. With France (25%) and Germany (14%), other destinations like Switzerland and Austria are also top popular destinations for Middle East visitors. The ibis brand experienced the most important share of bookings (25%), followed by Novotel (22%), Mercure and Sofitel (17% each).

For 35% of Accor's corporate customers or business travellers based in the Middle East, UK, Germany and France are the top destinations. Guests usually stay at Sofitel hotels, followed by Novotel. Guests from the region are also starting to book at Pullman hotels due to the increase of the brand awareness in the region with the launch of the Pullman Mall of the Emirates in September 2010.

Christophe Landais, Managing Director of Accor ME said: "With our regional sales team in full force in three business units in Dubai, Jeddah and Cairo, we are well on-track on achieving our target of increasing sales and expanding Accor's current network from 56 internationally-branded hotels in the Middle East to 100 hotels representing more than 21,500 rooms by 2015."

As one of the resource speakers at two panel sessions during ATM, at the Business Traveller Middle East ATM hotel seminar and at the BBC World News television MEBR (Middle East Business Report) ATM debate, Landais will provide interesting insights on the impact of the Arab Spring on the tourism industry in the region, the challenges facing the hospitality industry and growth of tourism in the Middle East.

-Ends-

Accor ME
Accor ME is one of the fastest growing hospitality groups in the Middle East. Currently, the Group's regional portfolio includes a total of 56 operational hotels representing 12,335 rooms in ten countries. Among the existing global brands ranging from Sofitel, Novotel, Mercure and ibis, new brands such as Pullman and Adagio are emerging as strong players in the region.

With over 25 years of regional experience, Accor ME is the first to establish a training academy. Dubbed as Tamheed - Accor Academie Middle East, the training facility is dedicated to educate and prepare staff at all levels and ensure optimal career development.

Accor
Accor, the world's leading hotel operator and market leader in Europe, is present in 92 countries with more than 4,400 hotels and 530,000 rooms. Accor's broad portfolio of hotel brands - Sofitel, Pullman, MGallery, Novotel, Suite Novotel, Mercure, Adagio, ibis, all seasons/ibis Styles, Etap Hotel/Formule 1/ibis budget, hotelF1 and Motel 6 - provide an extensive offer from luxury to budget. With more than 180,000 employees* in Accor brand hotels worldwide, the Group offers to its clients and partners nearly 45 years of know-how and expertise.

*Including 145,000 in owned, leased and managed hotels

Press Contacts:
Andrea Krenn
Action UAE
Andrea.k@actionprgroup.com
Tel. +971 4 3902974

Ferial Kurimbux
Accor ME
ferial.KURIMBUX@accor.com
Tel. +971 4 395 15 13

© Press Release 2012

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