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Accor plans big expansion, 12 new hotels to be added in Thailand |
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Accor, Europe's biggest hotelier, aims to launch a new hotel brand, MGallery, in Thailand this year as part of its plan to add 12 hotels in the kingdom by 2010. The new boutique hotel with 154 rooms, located near Siam Square, is expected to welcome upscale guests starting in the fourth quarter of this year. Michael Issenberg, Accor's Asia-Pacific chairman and chief operating officer, said that despite stiff competition with more than 4,000 new hotel rooms expected to emerge in Bangkok, Accor was not concerned as because there was still plenty of land available for development. He said Accor's expansion would help attract more customers. Apart from MGallery, new hotels would be developed under its luxury brand Sofitel, as well as Mercure, Pullman and the Ibis economy brand. Most of the brands are to be built in prime tourist destinations, mainly in Bangkok, said Mr. Issenberg. Accor launched the economy hotel All Seasons on Sathon Road and a mid-scale Mercure in Patong in the first quarter this year. The upscale Grand Sukhumvit by Sofitel is expected to open by year-end. It aims to add four economy hotels under the Ibis brand, partnering with Erawan Group Plc, by 2009. One hotel opened this month in Patong, Phuket. The rest would be developed in Sathon, Pattaya and Samui. The development would bring to seven the number of Ibis hotels locally. Accor also rebranded its Sofitel Khon Kaen as Pullman Khon Kaen, which is expected to launch by the third quarter this year. Following the repositioning of the Sofitel brand to Pullman, the number of Sofitel sites worldwide decreased to 130 from 200. The aggressive expansion in Asia Pacific is part of Accor's plan to reach 200,000 rooms worldwide by 2010, 22% of which would be in Asia. Accor recorded 15% revenue growth per available room in the first quarter of this year compared to the same period last year due to a stronger economy. ''Currently, we have 20 hotels in Bangkok and we will continue to expand as demand is still rising very strongly,'' Mr. Issenberg said. It aims to increase its rooms in Thailand to more than 10,000 from the current 9,338 within the next two years. ''Thailand still remains and will continue to be one of the most attractive destinations for the hotel industry, boosted by the growing medical tourist segment and development of the spa industry,'' he said. He added that the economic outlook this year for the hotel industry was positive compared to last year as investors were more confident in the country's tourism sector. |
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Bangkok Post, 16.05.2008 |
