AccorHotels

History

In 1967, Paul Dubrule and Gérard Pélisson founded the Société d'investissement et d'exploitation hôteliers (SIEH) hotel group and opened the first Novotel hotel outside Lille in northern France.

In 1974, they launched the Ibis brand with the opening of the Ibis Bordeaux. The following year, SIEH acquired the Courtepaille and Mercure brands, and in 1980 the Sofitel hotel brand, which then consisted of 43 hotels. In 1982, the SIEH bought Jacques Borel International, the then world-leading brand offering restaurant vouchers. In 1983, the group, which had restaurant tickets and hotels, changed its name to the Accor Group.

In 1985, it launched Hotel Formule 1 brand, offering basic accommodation at low prices.

In 1990, it entered the North American market by acquiring Motel 6; and later the Red Roof Inn chain, which it later sold to Starwood and a consortium of Citi’s Global Special Situations Group and Westbridge Hospitality Fund, L.P. respectively.

In the 1990s, it diversified to include Accor Casinos and in 2004, bought a nearly 30 per cent stake in Club Méditerranée.

In June 2010, the shareholders of Accor approved the demerger of its hotel and voucher businesses. Accor Services became Edenred. The two entities started trading as separate companies on the Paris stock exchange from 2 July 2011. In 2011, Accor introduced its new brand positioning with the slogan: "Open new frontiers in hospitality".

In November 2013, Accor redefined its group business model on two core competencies: hotel operator and brand franchisor (HotelServices) and hotel owner and investor (HotelInvest).

In October 2014, Accor transferred management of its Central European operations to Orbis. In December 2014, Accor announced an alliance with Huazhu (China Lodging) to accelerate expansion in China.

In June 2015, Accor became AccorHotels and adopted a new slogan "Feel Welcome".

In December 2015, Accor announced the purchase for US$2.9 billion in cash and shares of FRHI Hotels & Resorts, the owner of the Fairmont, Raffles, and Swissôtel chains. The transaction adds landmark properties such as the Savoy Hotel in London, Raffles Hotel in Singapore and the Plaza Hotel in New York to Accor's luxury and high-end hotel portfolio.

In 2016, AccorHotels acquired John Paul, the worldwide leader in concierge services.

In 2017, the European group declared plans to open three hotels in Ethiopia.

Management

In 2006, Gilles Pélisson, nephew of Accor co-founder Gerard Pélisson, took over the group as CEO, replacing former CEO Jean-Marc Espalioux. Accor appointed Serge Weinberg, head of Weinberg Capital Partners, chairman of the supervisory board. In February 2009, CEO Gilles Pélisson was appointed chairman and CEO. Gilles Pélisson was co-vice-president of the Novotel brand in 1994.

In 2009, Denis Hennequin joined the group’s board of directors and replaced Gilles Pélisson as CEO in January 2011. He stepped down in April 2013 and Yann Caillère was appointed CEO for a transitional period. In August 2013, Sebastien Bazin was named Chairman and CEO, replacing Yann Caillère who left the group.

Offices

The company's head office, which houses the company's executive management, is located in the ' Immeuble Odyssey in the 13th arrondissement of Paris, France. This facility is the company's registered office. The seven storey, 14,000-square-metre (150,000 sq ft) building was designed by British architect Norman Foster and features glass plates in its façade. Géraldine Doutriaux of Le Parisien called it "[u]n bel immeuble lumineux" ("a beautiful, bright building").

The company's other major office facility, which used to serve as its registered office, is located in Courcouronnes, Essonne, near Évry, France.

The Tour Maine-Montparnasse in Paris' 15th arrondissement used to house the executive management of Accor.

Economy brands

In August 2012, Accor announced its economy brands would be converted into "the ibis family", including three complementary brands - Ibis, Ibis Budget (formerly Etap Hotel) and Ibis Styles (formerly All Seasons). All Ibis Family brands (corporately styled "ibis") feature the SweetBed. In 2014, the brand launched its new restaurant concept: Ibis Kitchen.

Hotel F1 is a chain of 238 "no frills" budget hotels in France. Guestrooms are equipped with a wash corner and each floor offers shared bathroom and shower facilities.

Ibis Budget (blue logo) has 541 hotels in 17 countries. The full network uses the brand’s "cocoon concept", awarded Best Interior Design at the 2008 European Design Awards. In 2012 Ibis Budget was created from the re-branding of former Etap Hotels and Formule 1 hotels.

Ibis Styles (green logo) has 293 hotels in 25 countries. In 2012 Ibis Styles was established with the re-branding of the former All Seasons properties.

Ibis (red logo) represents Accor's largest portfolio of hotels and resorts with 1,047 hotels in 61 countries. From 1997, Ibis was the first economy hotel brand to be quality certified ISO 9001, an international standard outlining its commitment to service quality. 85% of the network is ISO 9001 certified. Ibis is a standard brand equivalent to two- to three-star hotels.

Former economy and budget hotels

Red Roof Inn

Accor acquired Red Roof Inn in 1999 for $1.115 billion, increasing its presence in North America. In April 2007, Accor sold the majority of its interests in Red Roof Inn to Citigroup Global Special Situations Group and Westbridge Hospitality Fund LP for $1.3 billion. Accor retained some hotels for rebranding into its Motel 6 brand.

Motel 6 and Studio 6

Accor purchased Motel 6 in 1990. In October 2012, Accor finalized the sale of its 1,102 US Motel 6 and Studio 6 hotels to Blackstone.

Midscale brands

Mercure (3 to 4 star hotels) is the largest of Accor's midscale brands found internationally with 732 hotels and resorts in 55 countries.

Novotel has 414 full-service hotels and resorts in 61 countries. Suite Novotel has 31 all-suite hotels in 10 countries.

Adagio offers 96 'ready-to-live' apartment-style accommodations in 11 countries suitable for medium and long-stay business guests. The Adagio aparthotel (apartment hotel) brand is divided into two segments with upscale called Adagio city apartments and midscale called Adagio Access city apartments. Adagio is a joint partnership between Accor hotels and Pierre & Vacances tourism.

Upscale brands

Grand Mercure is a full-service hotel and resort brand representing 15 hotels and apartment hotels in 8 countries.

Grand Mercure Apartments cater to long-stay travellers with rates that depend on length of stay. The apartments have kitchen and laundrette facilities. There are 15 apartments in 4 countries.

Mei Jue is a Chinese adaptation of the Grand Mercure brand. It is designed for travellers in China who want an upscale hotel brand. There are 14 hotels and more than 65 new developments scheduled for 2015.

Maha Cipta is the Indonesian adaptation of Grand Mercure. It has two hotels in Indonesia.

The Sebel is a brand of premium apartments. There are 21 properties in Australia and New Zealand.

Mama Shelter is a design-oriented lifestyle chain of boutique hotels. (The chief designer of Mama Shelter hotels is world-renowned Philippe Starck.) Accor acquired a 35% stake in Mama Shelter in October 2014. In April 2015, Mama Shelter had six hotels in Bordeaux, Istanbul, Los Angeles, Lyon, Marseille and Paris. The chain’s five-year plan includes properties in: Amsterdam, Barcelona, Lille (France), London, Mexico City, New York City, Seoul, and a second Parisian hotel.

Pullman has 99 upscale hotels and resorts in 28 countries.

MGallery is a collection of 77 high-end boutique hotels in 23 countries. The brand's official Ambassador is actress Kristin Scott Thomas.

Swissôtel Hotels and Resorts became part of Accor's upscale brand when AccorHotels acquired FRHI.

Luxury brands

Sofitel is Accor's luxury hotel and resort brand with 121 hotels in 41 countries.

SO Sofitel are designer hotels in Bangkok, Thailand, Bel Ombre, Mauritius and Singapore. Each SO is designed by a famous fashion designer: Kenzo Takada designed the SO Sofitel Mauritius, Christian Lacroix designed the SO Sofitel Bangkok and Isabelle Miaja designed the SO Sofitel Singapore.

Sofitel Legend is a chain of hotels in five countries. The hotels are usually listed as historic monuments. These include Sofitel Legend Metropole in Hanoi (Vietnam), Sofitel Legend The Grand Amsterdam (Netherlands), Sofitel Old Cataract in Aswan (Egypt), Sofitel Cartagena Santa Clara (Colombia), and Sofitel People’s Grand Hotel of Xi'an (China).

Raffles Hotels and Fairmont Hotels are soon to be part of Accor's ultra-luxury brand due to AccorHotels & FRHI merger. Until the merger transaction is finalized in 2016, FRHI and AccorHotels will continue to operate its brands as separate companies and manage their business affairs.

Thalassa sea and spa

Thalassa sea and spa: Prestige seaside destinations: 15 destinations, 14 thalassotherapy sites, 19 hotels, 4 countries

Lenôtre: In July 2011, Accor sold its stake in Lenôtre.

Mirvac Hotels & Resorts acquisition in Australia

In November 2011, Accor attained exclusive marketing rights to Mirvac Hotels & Resorts, greatly expanding Accor's presence in Australia with 48 new hotels and resorts.

Though some Mirvac brands - Sebel, Quay West, Citigate and Sea Temple - will remain under their existing brands, others became part of Accor's up-scale and luxury hotel and resort brands. As a result, the MGallery and Pullman brands expanded their presence in Australia.

Notable rebrandings:

Three former Mirvac hotels joined Accor's MGallery Collection due to their boutique hotel status and/or heritage listing:

Controversy

In May 2013, the online investigations company KwikChex identified Peter Hook, Accor’s Australia-based director of communications for its Asia-Pacific region, as having posted more than 100 reviews of both Accor-operated hotels and competing properties on TripAdvisor.