AccorHotels launches lifestyle division
AccorHotels has announced the launch of a lifestyle division to cover its growing collecting of brands operating in that sector of the market.
The division, comprising Jo & Joe, Mama Shelter and 25th Hotels, will be headed by Cédric Gobilliard, an AccorHotels stalwart for eight years who will now oversee its growth.
Jo & Joe is a new economy brand launched by the French hotel giant in September 2016 to appeal to millennials and which blends hotel, hostel ad private-rental formats. Fifty sites are set to launch worldwide by 2020, including in London.
An outpost of Mama Shelter, a designer-budget hotels, is also set to open in London after AccorHotels acquired a 35% stake in the business in 2014. The new partnership is intended to help the brand to grow from its current portfolio of six to around 20 properties by 2019.
AccorHotels also acquired a 30% investment in German boutique brand 25hour Hotels, two months ago. Currently numbering five hotels in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, a further five are set to open over the next two years.
Sébastien Bazin, chairman and chief executive of AccorHotels, said that the company is expanding its offer in the lifestyle segment because it is a dynamic area of the industry which is experiencing great demand.
"Increasingly, travellers appreciate unique brands with strong personalities that are both working environments for urban nomads and places to meet people and enjoy interesting experiences," he explained.
Gobilliard joined AccorHotels group in 2009 after 10 years with Club Med where he was chief executive of North America. Since joining AccorHotels, he has been responsible for internet activities, the launch of the Le Club AccorHotels card, global sales in France and Novotel and Mercure brand operations in the French provinces. He has also managed relations with the Mama Shelter teams.
Gobilliard will report directly to Bazin.
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