Bookmark & Share
International hotel operator Accor announced Monday (8 September) that it is moving its global Luxury and Upscale marketing operations from Paris, France to Singapore, banking on the continued growth of these segments in Asia Pacific.
“With its central location, excellent infrastructure and business-friendly climate, Singapore is an ideal hub from which to manage Accor’s growth in the region, and brings the company’s leadership closer to more of Accor’s core luxury and upscale markets,” the company said in a release.
Accor also noted that Asian consumers now account for almost half of its global luxury sales. Michael Issenberg, Chairman and CEO Accor Asia Pacific said the group currently has more than 170 luxury and upscale hotels in the region, and has over 70 more under development. “This means that Accor will open, on average, a new luxury and upscale hotel in Asia Pacific every month for the next five years,” he said.
Rick Harvey Lam, Senior Vice President Global Marketing, Accor Luxury and Upscale Brands added: “We believe that Asia, right now, is a hub of creativity, innovation and transformation and that this environment provides the perfect breeding ground for us to take our luxury and upscale brands to the next level.”
Accor brand are divided into three segments, luxury and upscale, midscale, and economy and budget. Its luxury and upscale segments include brands such as Sofitel, Pullman, MGallery, Grand Mercure and The Sebel. According to the company, theere are 19 Sofitel and 15 Pullman hotels in China alone, making it the number one market for these brands outside of Europe.
The statement also noted that while China and India are leading the way, other markets such as Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines also have “a growing affluent middle class with increasing disposable incomes, and a real thirst for travel.” Accor has luxury and upscale hotels in all these regions and will continue to grow its high-end footprint in all these countries.
Image: Accor’s Sofitel So Singapore
Nikki De Guzman, Editor at CommercialGuru, wrote this story. To contact her about this and other stories, email nikki@propertyguru.com.sg
Related Articles:
CapitaMalls Asia appoints new CEO