Accor goes economy

Twenty-five years after setting up in Portugal, the Accor hotel group is continuing its development strategy in spite of the crisis. Its impact here “has been less hard than in other countries and we haven’t had to take drastic measures in terms of employees, nor have we had to delay projects underway,” states Pierre Saby, CEO of Accor Hospitality Portugal.
The group is now backing the development of economy services in the Ibis and Étap hotel offers, especially in Lisbon and Porto. Take for example the first Portug-uese Etap, opening with 100 rooms in December in Gaia, in outer Porto. And next month, the country’s nineteenth Ibis will be opening right in the centre of Porto. Meanwhile, another 129-room Ibis will be undergoing works in greater Lisbon in the first quarter of this year, scheduled to open in the first quarter of 2011. At the same time, Accor remains open “to all interesting purchase opportunities in Lisbon,” announces the CEO. “The advantage of our portfolio is that we have several solutions for integrating an existing hotel, according to its characteristics and location.”
Since the opening of the first Novotel in 1967 in Lille, France, Accor has dev-eloped its presence in 100 countries throughout the world. The group set up in Portugal in 1985, and has not stopped investing and diversifying ever since. Starting off with its first Novotel in Lisbon in 1986, it will notch up, by the end of March this year, 2,852 rooms in 26 hotel units under four hotel names: one Sofitel, three Novotels, four Mercures and nineteen Ibises.
Ever since its joint venture lasting almost a decade with the Portuguese group Amorim came to end in 2007, Accor Hospitality Portugal has been a 100% subsidiary of Accor. Similarly, all of the group’s hotels in Portugal are subsidiaries, except for the Ibis Braga which is a franchise. An exception which may shortly no longer stand alone. “The other axis of our development will occur via the expansion of franchises for Mercure, Ibis, Étap Hotel and possibly, All Seasons, which is the new economy brand launched by Accor in 2008,” explains the CEO. This is a way of expanding network coverage “without blocking one’s own capital.” In exchange, “partners benefit from the renown of our brands, international distribution and technical expertise, allowing them to make a difference on their local markets”.
As for the clientele, even if equal numbers of Portuguese and foreigners can be found, differences can be noted in certain details per brand name. “Ibis is a chain that is 60% domestic, Novotel and Mercure are 40% domestic, whereas Sofitel, with a single hotel in Lisbon, is almost entirely international with only 7% as Portuguese clients,” explains Pierre Saby. Foreign clients are primarily from Spain, France and Brazil.
Present in 14 Portuguese cities and employing 600 persons, the group has a sound geographical coverage and a range varying from economy to luxury as manifested by Sofitel. This hotel in the capital boasts a capacity to draw together “elegance à la française and the best in local culture.” And he continues: “We are present in the two largest cities, Lisbon and Porto, with most of our brands, and in major provincial towns with Ibis, Portugal’s best known hotel brand,” points out Pierre Saby. Ibis is also the country’s “greenest” brand. In 2004, it was the first hotel chain to obtain ISO 14001 certification. Ever since, sustainable development has become a group policy and by the end of the year, Novotel will also be endowed with Green Globe environmental hotel certification.
But even more than brand names, what makes a difference is geographical location, especially in times of crisis. Even if, traditionally, economy hotels resist better during hard times, “the Lisbon market has performed the best in this difficult context,” admits Pierre Saby. Accor has also felt the impact of the downturn in different market segments: from holiday clientele to the business meeting market, via business clientele. This is hardly surprising given that “it is said that the country’s business expenses linked to travel fell by 30% in 2009”. Although the group has been less affected by the crisis than elsewhere, the CEO confesses that he is “paying close attention to all management levers, thus minimising consequences of the drop in activity”.