Travel and Car Hire News » Accorhotels

Accor Increases Stake in Orbis

Stuart Parker — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 05:14:20 +0000

In a bid to increase its hotel holdings in Central Europe, Accor has announced that it has increased its stake in the Orbis group to 50.01 percent. This gives Accor de facto control of the company and its subsidiaries. Orbis is listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange, and Accor increased its holdings from their previous levels of 45.48 percent, held in August of 2007. Accor purchased an additional 4.53 percent of the company at a price of PLN 55.4 per share. That represents an investment of nearly 35 million euros.

Orbis is a formerly state-owned company, privatized in 2000, and is the largest hotel operator in Poland. The company owns and manages a total of 61 hotels in Poland, amounting to 12,000 rooms. 42 of the hotels are operated under the Sofitel, Novotel, Mercure, Ibis, and Etap Hotel names. The hotels are primarily located in desirable locations around the country’s 30 largest cities.

Orbis was an attractive investment, after earning a newt profit of 41 million euros on revenues of 307 million euros, and was fully consolidated into the Accor brand beginning in July. Orbis has a broader business than simply hotels; the company also owns and operates a major car rental division, as well as tourist services, and coach services. The company also operates several highly successful casinos in Poland, and has a workforce approaching 5,000 employees. Operational control of the company will be held by Accor, and there have been no public announcements of changes to upper-management.

Learn more at: www.accorhotels.com

Accor and Choice Offer New Points Programs for European Travlers

Ted Harris — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 06:00:52 +0000

Travelers have lots of options. They can take a flight by any number of carriers to their destination. Travelers can choose to rent a vehicle from more than a dozen carriers but when it comes to choosing a hotel to spend the night in the possibilities can be overwhelming. In most cases avid travelers find one chain they are comfortable with and use it consistently. Taking this into consideration Accor Hotels and Choice Hotels are launching new customer loyalty programs for European travelers.

Based on the Privileges program developed in 1998 and launched in North America, Choice hotels will begin providing similar services in their European customers. Members of the program will receive ten points for each dollar they spend on a hotel room at one of the Choice Owned Complexes. Choice which operates several hundred locations in Europe and the UK is the parent company of Quality Inn, Comfort Inn, and Clarion hotels.

Following the Choice points program Accor Hotels will be unveiling a similar program on September 15. The A Club program will provide points to anyone staying in the hotels owned by Accor. Rather than only taking the price of the room into consideration when awarding points Accor Hotels will provide points for all services including room service. Once points have been accumulated the participant can cash them in to receive discounts on future stays or on for discounts on flights provided by a number of international carriers.

Learn more at: www.accorhotel.com

Accor Expands into Vietnam

Natalie Cooper — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 06:00:56 +0000

According to reports released by Accor Hotels, the French multinational hotel conglomerate will be expanding into Vietnam’s Ha Long Bay. Famous for such films as Indochine, Ha Long Bay is known for its magnificent limestone karsts, tall fingers of rock which protrude from the ocean. Many of these exceed 500 meters in height, and the entire bay has been named a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Ha Long Bay is located 165 kilometers from Hanoi, in the Gulf on Tonkin. As of the first day of October, it will be home to the newest Novotel Hotel, built by Accor Hotels.

Thousands of tourists dot the landscape to take in the breathtaking scenery, but until recently they have been forced to leave the area at the end of the day. There have been no hotels suitable for international travelers. The newest Accor Hotels offering will allow tourists to stay in the area, not only enjoying the scenery and the local hospitality, but also spending their much needed currency locally at the market The Novotel Ha Long Bay will be a boon to the local economy, and will be located right on the beach. It will boast incredible 360 degree views of the area, and be decorated in the local authentic Asian style. Polished stone, glass, and marble will adorn the hotel, along with silk accents.

The hotel will contain 214 guest rooms, a luxurious spa, and a restaurant catering both the Asian and Western guests with food offerings from both styles of cooking. The hotel will have a conference area, suitable for entertaining and accommodating up to 300 attendees. Patrick Basset, Accor Vice President for East & Northeast Asia has said that “Inbound tourism has increasingly become important to Vietnam’s economy and Ha Long Bay is one of the major tourist destinations due to its uniquely beautiful scenery…” Considering that Ha Long Bay is located within a two-hour flight of the newest mega resorts in Macao and Hong Kong, having enough business to keep the staff busy shouldn’t be a problem.

Learn more at: www.accorhotels.com