Pullman hotels, designed for today’s business traveler, announced today that the pace of the brands expansion in the region has exceeded forecast with a hotel having opened every five weeks.

The Pullman Hotels and Resorts brand was launched in Asia in January 2008, and in its first 14 months has acquired a network of 11 properties.

Michael Issenberg, Chairman and Chief Operating Officer for Accor Asia Pacific says that “I am not surprised by the speed of the growth of the Pullman brand throughout the region. For some time hotel owners and developers have been asking for a 5-star brand that sits at the affordable end of the market, to keep pace with customers expectations and oncreasing costs of developments. The growth prospects remain very positive with 12 more hotels under development and more anticipated as quality independent hotels seek the security of international hotel companies such as Accor.”

Today Pullman hotels and resorts in Asia Pacific network includes Sydney, Cairns, Bangkok, Khon Kaen, Beijing (2), Shanghai, Dongguan, Sanya, Putrajaya and Changwon.

Network growth Asia Pacific Globally today the Pullman network is 36 hotels and will increase to more than 59 hotels by the end of 2009. The network is anticipated to be 300 hotels and resorts by 2015 of which 100 will be in Asia Pacific.

Hotels scheduled to open this year include Seoul, Guangzhou and Bali (third quarter 2009). Beyond this hotels scheduled to open include; Gurgaon (New Delhi), Lijiang, Sanya Bay, Guilin, Chengdu, Guangzhou, Vung Tao, Sapa and Lao Cai.

Innovative services make all the difference All Pullman Hotels and Resorts have identifiable elements helping Pullman stand out from the crowd.

These identifiers include:

Co-Meetings: combining quality meeting venues with innovative services including online visual booking solutions, dedicated extranet for event organisors, innovative breaks enabling guests to recharge and restore.

Pullman Bedroom: designed to be a haven of calm. Accommodating travelers who hop between time zones, everything from the bed to the room service menu, connectivity and docking stations help keep guests in touch, recharged and relaxed.

‘Pullman Welcomer’: easily identifiable moving throughout the hotel and fully dedicated to fulfilling the requests of guests – a signature role to ensure a guests stay is both efficient and pleasurable.

‘IT Solutions Manager’: designed to ease the inconvenience of guest technology issues, the role is on hand to help guests stay connected during their stay.

‘Pullman Event Manager’: providing a single contact to event organisors and is involved from the beginning of the event planning til the end and is on hand to make suggestions, help create innovative elements and ensure the smooth running of each event at a Pullman Patrick Basset, Vice President for Accor in South Korea, Japan, Philippines and Vietnam says “The Pullman innovative service roles and products position the hotels as a place to do business. These elements help to remove the guess work from today’s demanding business travel, keeping our guests efficient and connected whilst enabling them to be self sufficient or receive full service 24 hours a day.”

Earlier this month, Pullman Shanghai Skyway opened marking the fifth Pullman to open in China in 12 months. The hotel carries the hallmarks of the Pullman brand including a strategic location in the city centre, extensive business facilities and meeting/event venues and with appeal to domestic and international companies.

The launch of Pullman brand is a part of Accor’s strategy to maintain a comprehensive brand strategy with a network of coherent hotels.

Pullman, is the upscale hotel brand of Accor. It was designed with the requirements of business women and men in mind. Located in the main regional and international cities, Pullman hotels provide an extensive range of tailored services, access to ground-breaking technologies and the “Co-meeting” offer, a new approach to organizing meetings, seminars and high-end incentives. At Pullman hotels, business travelers can choose between being independent or relying on the staff available round the clock.

At the end of 2009, the Pullman network will consist of 59 hotels in 23 countries across Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Latin America. Soon, we expect over 300 establishments around the world. All information regarding the hotels is available on the website .

Accor, a major global group and the European leader in hotels, as well as the global leader in services to corporate clients and public institutions, operates in nearly 100 countries with 150,000 employees. It offers to its clients over 40 years of expertise in two core businesses:

  • Hotels, with the Sofitel, Pullman, MGallery, Novotel, Mercure, Suitehotel, Ibis, all seasons, Etap Hotel, Formule 1 and Motel 6 brands, representing 4,000 hotels and nearly 500,000 rooms in 90 countries, as well as strategically related activities, such as Lenôtre;
  • Services, with 30 million people in 40 countries benefiting from Accor Services products in employee and public benefits, rewards and loyalty, and expense management.

Evan Lewis
Vice President Communications Accor
+65 6408 8840
Accor Asia