From November 9 to 12, Accor held a convention in Marseille for its hotel franchise partners, under the leadership of Christophe Alaux, Chief Operating Officer, Accor Hospitality France. Reaffirming its firm intention of remaining the country’s leading hotel franchiser, Accor announced the opening of at least 200 hotels throughout France over the next four years.

Accor deploys its expert skills to support a network of franchise owners and operators representing a total of 683 hotels. Franchised establishments already account for nearly half of the Group’s hotel portfolio in France, which is comprised of 1,420 units operated under the Sofitel, Pullman, MGallery, Novotel, Mercure, Suitehotel, Ibis, all seasons, Etap Hotel, hotelF1 and Adagio brands.

Despite today’s difficult economic environment, franchising represents a priority development path. In France, the Group will open an average of one franchised hotel a week over the next four years, adding a total of 200 hotels to the network during the period. These openings will mainly involve hotels operated under the all seasons, Mercure, Ibis and Etap Hotel brands.

Organized each year by Accor Hotels France, the convention brings together all of the Group’s franchise partners across its banners. Christened “Cap Franchise” (Franchising on course), this year’s convention enabled Accor to showcase the wide array of services it provides as a franchiser. These include the marketing strength of its brands, the growing presence of the A|Club loyalty program, a constant focus on product innovation, the quality commitment guaranteed by the various banners, the Group’s powerful image and promotion campaigns, and its optimized management of procurement and logistics services. According to a survey conducted in 2008 by Institut LH2, 94% of hotel franchisees feel that Accor honors its commitments to them.

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, Adagio, Ibis, all seasons, Etap Hotel, Formule 1, hotelF1 and Motel 6 brands, representing 4,000 hotels and nearly 500,000 rooms in 90 countries, as well as strategically related activities, Accor Thalassa, Lenôtre, CWL.
- Services, with 32 million people in 40 countries benefiting from Accor Services products in employee and constituent benefits, rewards and incentives, and expense management.

Anne-Sophie Sibout
Media Relations & External Communications Manager
+33 (0)1 61 61 83 00
Accor