A giant hotel group based in Paris is preparing for a luxury takeover in North America.
uniform, owner of 40 hotel brands that range from affordable Ibis to ultra-luxury Raffles, not a well-known commodity like Hilton and Marriott International in the US. However, that could quickly change on the high-end front in the coming years.
Accor’s most popular brands in the United States are now centered around Fairmont and Sofitel, as well as many of the brands in the company’s Ennismore lifestyle hotel collection, including brands such as The Hoxton and Mondrian. Company leaders have made overtures for many years about how they want the company to have a bigger footprint in the US, but now it seems there are some tangible signs Accor means business.
For starters, Accor’s headquarters for Raffles, as well as the Orient Express brand, are moving from Paris to New York City, several company leaders told TPG during the International Luxury Travel Markets conference , or ILTM, in Cannes, France, last week.
“It shows how serious we are about growing the brand in the US,” Jeannette Ho, Raffles vice president of brand and strategic relationships, said in an interview with TPG.
Raffles is positioned to take over in the US
The company’s first Raffles hotel and apartment project in North America is nearing completion. open next year in Boston. While Ho did not provide specifics on which cities could be on the next list, a developer with the Boston project said earlier this year the company was looking for locations in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Chicago.
Growing a portfolio of ultra-luxury hotels in the US can seem like a daunting task when Marriott, Hilton and Hyatt already have such strong brand identities here. Don’t rule it out, though.
Boston Raffles developers say they tend to choose Raffles over a larger brand because there’s more autonomy in building hotels as unique, standalone properties compared to those with standardization and a bit more rigid brand standards like Waldorf Astoria or St. register.
If the people who actually build and invest in the hotel are sold to a less well-known brand like Raffles, it makes sense to think that guests will as well assimilate. One way that brands can engage guests is by paying significant attention to food and beverage offerings.
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While the original Raffles in Singapore had 116 suites, the hotel has 10 bars and restaurants. The 147-room Raffles Boston Back Bay Hotel & Residences will feature six dining outlets.
“Most of our owners are not really organizations[al investors]. A lot of them are really influential families in each of these destinations,” Ho said. “As you can imagine, Raffles reflect who they are and their values.”
Also, while the Orient Express is included in the office move to New York City, travelers shouldn’t take that as a sign Accor is bringing super-luxury trains to the US. While Accor has plans for luxury trains in Europe, the company also uses Orient Express labels on hotels. Nothing has been officially announced for the US so far.
Sofitel and cheap brands
However, Accor’s growth is not solely tied to Raffles and Orient Express.
Maud Bailly, CEO of Accor’s Southern Europe, will also become CEO of Sofitel and Accor’s soft brands MGallery and Emblems Collection early next year. Sofitel and MGallery have a presence in the US, but it’s much larger abroad. The Emblems Collection is slated to launch in China. However, Bailly has no intention of ignoring the US.
“If I did, I would be fired,” she said with a laugh in an interview with TPG. “Sofitel perception is very strong in the US, but we can do even better.”
Similar to Raffles’ strategy, Accor’s future success with Sofitel can come from attracting hoteliers and investors first, and then guests.
“We are currently talking to many investors [and] more owners to see in the post-COVID era, what we can do to open flagships in key destinations,” added Bailly. “It is a pity that there are so few Sofitel hotels in the US. But what I’m sure of is that we love America and America loves France.”
