Accor has seen a strong start to 2019 with eight new signings across Northern Europe; five in the UK, two in Denmark and one in Belgium. The new signings will collectively add over 1,000 rooms to Accor’s portfolio in the region. This is in addition to the 1,000 new rooms which have already opened in 2019 to date, in seven hotels across Accor’s Northern Europe network.

The five signings in the UK include three Mercure and two ibis properties. Mercure St Helen’s is an 84-room franchised hotel that is undergoing full renovation due to be brought back into the network with an existing multi-hotel franchise partner in the summer; Mercure Preston Samlesbury is an 80-bedroom franchised hotel that is being rebranded to a Mercure; and Mercure Newport is a 163-room hotel, converting Newport’s Chartist Tower from office building to hotel.

The two new ibis signings are ibis London Worcester Park, a new build 132-bedroom franchised hotel opening in 2020 and ibis Folkestone Channel Tunnel, a new build 131-room managed hotel opening in 2021, which will become one of the closest hotels to the Channel Tunnel.

The signings in Copenhagen are a 170 room ibis Styles in the Orestad district, a developing area linking the airport with the City Centre where several new office and residential developments are taking shape, and a 240-room 25hours Hotel that will be open in 2021, a first for this brand in Northern Europe. 25hours is a lifestyle brand that prides itself on its unique, individual, design-oriented boutique hotels. The hotel will be situated in a historic building in the heart of Copenhagen’s old town. 

In Belgium, Accor will open the ibis Brussels Chatelain in 2019, which will be the first ibis in Northern Europe to open with the recently presented new ibis design for rooms and public areas. The hotel will take the Plaza concept, designed by the Brazilian designer Rodrigo Marcondes Ferraz of the architecture firm FGMF.

A further 11 properties already committed to open across the Northern Europe network during the rest of 2019, nine of which will be in the UK. This includes the UK’s first Tribe and Mama Shelter hotels, two significant openings from Accor’s growing lifestyle portfolio.

Phillip Lassman, Vice President of Development, Accor Northern Europe explained: “The last three months have been busy for us, as we have welcomed new partners and new hotels to the Accor network. We expect this growth to continue throughout the year as owners, operators and management companies are increasingly looking for global brand partners that can offer flexible design incorporating the look and feel of a local hotel combined with the latest services to maximise profitability. We are particularly excited about opening the first 25hours Hotel in Northern Europe, as one of the lifestyle brands that are becoming an increasingly important part of our brand portfolio.”

The hotel group has also opened seven new hotels in the first quarter of 2019. These include the Mercure Sheffield Kenwood Hall and six hotels signed with Danish real estate company Pro Ark, which will also be operated under the Mercure brand. These are based in Bedford, Cardiff, Harlow, Nottingham, Telford and Birmingham.

Thomas Dubaere, COO, Accor Northern Europe, said: “We’re confident that our range of brands, from economy to luxury and from lifestyle to aparthotels, will help us drive continued growth for Accor and deliver further success for our partners. This first quarter has been fantastic for us in Northern Europe and we are confident that this will continue throughout the year.”