Accor Pacific Senior Vice President Development and Franchise, Lindsay Leeser, discusses the growth of midscale and upscale brands within the business.
As midscale and upscale brands continue to prove a popular choice for travellers to city and regional destinations, interest from owners in our signature Novotel, Mantra and Mercure brands has never been stronger.
From all around the world, travellers are telling us there is a desire for international branded properties that offer product quality and affordability, with choice, consistency, lifestyle experiences and amenities key. Pleasingly, our midscale brands deliver on these touchpoints in spades.
As Australia’s largest hotel brand with 75 properties across the country, Mantra has experienced a great journey of strategic pipeline growth over the years. Since acquiring Mantra in 2018, Accor has continued to grow the brand adding five new Australian hotels, including Mantra Albury Hotel, Mantra Epping Melbourne, Mantra Mackay, Mantra Melbourne Melton, and Mantra Traralgon.
We were thrilled to recently announce the finalisation of our landmark hotel management portfolio agreement with Salter Brothers, which sees the rebranding of 10 Travelodge hotels – nine to Mercure and one to ibis Styles. The addition of these nine Mercure hotels grows the Mercure brand to 53 properties in Australia, making Mercure the largest and fastest growing global midscale brand in the country.
Last year, we unveiled our next generation of Mercure hotels with the launch of Mercure Melbourne Doncaster and Mercure Auckland Queen Street. These new-look properties have introduced a benchmark for midscale hotels in the region with market leading innovation, indulgent design, and authentic engagement. We have also recently announced a stunning new Mercure hotel in Pakenham, Victoria which will open in September.
Novotel recently celebrated its 30th anniversary in Australia and it continues to grow with an array of key new openings and signings, including Novotel Christchurch Airport, Novotel Melbourne Preston, Novotel Devonport, and Novotel Hawthorn Melbourne. Now, with these new additions, Novotel is the Pacific region’s largest upscale hotel brand.
2022 is proving to be a pivotal year of growth for Accor, particularly across our midscale and upscale portfolio.