The Accor group has set an ambitious growth plan for the company with plans to open 10 new hotels in 2013 and 100 hotels opened by the end of 2015 in the region Middle East.
Its latest hotel opening was the Pullman Deira City Centre hotel in Dubai following a massive overhaul of the hotel by owner Majid Al Futtaim Properties. The opening was part of the brand’s aim to expand its Pullman brand in the Middle East region.
According to Yann Caillere, president and chief operating officer for Accor Hospitality, when a company is expanding so rapidly with big numbers in terms of development, it is a sign of good performance.
“Otherwise owners would not have faith in Accor and want to develop hotels with us.
“In Dubai, on the economy and mid-market segment, business has remained strong across all our brands. Our luxury brand Sofitel has a strong presence in the market now and we plan to further boost our presence with the Sofitel Dubai Palm Jumeirah Resort & Spa offering 543 rooms on the Palm Jumeirah.
“For us the region and the UAE in particular is not a new destination. We understand how it works, having had a presence here for so many years” said Caillere.
The Pullman brand alone will see a strong development portfolio of 15 properties in key Middle East market. This includes the Pullman Dubai Jumeirah Lakes Towers scheduled to open by the end of 2013. The Pullman Zamzam Makkah and the Jeddah Al Hamra Hotel managed by Pullman in Saudi Arabia and the Pullman Doha West Bay scheduled to open in 2015.
Accor will also introduce its newest hotel brand, Adagio City Aparthotel, with the launch of the first Adagio hotel in Abu Dhabi in late 2013 followed by the Adagio Fujairah Town Centre and Adagio Al Barsha in Dubai.
Novotel is also on a rapid expansion plan with three new hotels in the UAE – Novotel Dubai Al Barsha, Novotel Abu Dhabi Al Bustan, Novotel Fujairah Town Centre and the Suite Novotel Riyadh Olaya in Saudi Arabia.
“As a hotel company we are very resilient. Each of the Accor brands have a strong market share and we are very well spread across each brand,” he added.