Two new business hotels, Novotel’s four-star 412-room hotel and Ibis’ 210-room economy hotel, are scheduled to open in April 2003, as part of the Dubai International Convention Center complex. Both accommodation facilities are built in anticipation of the IMF convention in September 2003, by the French-owned hotel network Accor.
Accor announced its 2002 expansion plan, which includes 200 new hotels internationally, including the openings of 14 new Sofitel Hotels & Resorts. Accor's performance in the Arabian Peninsula last year resulted in a 20 percent increase in net profit, with 16 hotels and 3,000 rooms now in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Oman. In 2002, Accor plans to open four new properties, increasing the number of rooms in the region to 3,669, expanding into Bahrain, Yemen and Al-Ain for the first time.
The group's seven key regional hotel openings include a new Mercure Hotel in Mecca, a Sofitel in Yemen opening September 2002, a Grand Mercure in Al Ain opening this summer, a Novotel in Bahrain opening October 2002, a Novotel in Sharm El Sheikh along with Sofitel Taba Heights in Egypt, and a Sofitel in Marrakech.
Saudi Arabia and the UAE have been prime targets for Accor's expansion plans, with the re-branding of the City Center Hotel to Sofitel City Center Hotel & Residence, marking the first Sofitel in Dubai. “In line with our commitment last year, we are well on track to increase the number of rooms operated by Accor in the Arabian Peninsula to 6,000 by 2005,” Daniel Vrancx, Director of Operations Europe & Middle East, stated.
Accor also boosted its reservations network in the region, appointing new liaison offices in Cairo, Bahrain and Qatar. Since the 1970's, when Accor launched its first establishment, an ambitious extension program of 44 hotels in the region with brands such as Sofitel, Novotel, Mercure and Ibis has been developed.
With 147,000 employees in 140 countries, Accor’s two core businesses are Hotels and Services, as well as in related lines of business such as travel agencies, casinos, restaurants and onboard train services.
Despite a challenging market environment, Accor reported sustained growth in its financial results in 2001, demonstrating the effectiveness of the strategy implemented in recent years. Consolidates sales rose four percent in 2001, to €7,290 million from €7,007 million the year before, and over 1.2 million room nights via Accorhotels.com have been registered. — (menareport.com)
© 2002 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
