French hospitality major Accor is all set to more than double the number of its hotels and guestrooms in the Indian market by December 2012. It will open 12 hotels next year, adding 2,516 guest rooms to the existing 2,016 across 10 hotels in the country.

Accor will also debut three new brands— Sofitel, Pullman and Formule 1 — taking the number of operational brands in India to six from three (Novotel, Mercure and Ibis) earlier.

Michael Issenberg, chairman and chief operating officer, Accor Asia Pacific, said, “Our first Sofitel branded hotel will open for guests next month in Mumbai. The 302-room hotel would be located at the Bandra Kurla Complex. Early 2012 will see another two brands — Pullman and Formule 1 — make their debut in Gurgaon and Greater Noida, respectively.”

The new openings include Formule 1 (3 hotels), Ibis (5), Novotel (2), and one each under Pullman and Sofitel brands. These would be a mix of owned and managed properties as well as pure management contracts with different asset owners as per a report in the DNA by Ashish K Tiwari.

Accor’s hotel pipeline till 2015 includes four Pullman, 14 Novotel, five Mercure and 12 Formule 1 hotels. “Our plan is to have 90 hotels across our brands in India by 2015. While we are emphasising on the mid and economy segments, efforts are being made to expand in the upscale segment as well,” said Issenberg.

The Sofitel Mumbai hotel is being developed in partnership with city-based realtor Shree Naman Group wherein Accor has invested $16 million (Rs71 crore) for a 40% stake. Work on the hotel started in November 2006 and was scheduled to open in 2009.

The total cost of the project then envisaged was Rs473 crore. While the two year delay has shot up the project cost, Accor officials said their holding in the asset remained at 40%.

(You need to login first to read complete news).
New User? Register for FREE!
» Back to Travel News