Accor to reach 20 hotels with 5,000 rooms by 2015 and anticipates positive growth across all market segments

Accor announced today the expansion of its hotel network in Malaysia with an additional 12 properties, comprising more than 2,600 rooms, in the pipeline throughout the country. The announcement will see the Group’s Malaysian network increase more than double in size – from eight hotels, 2,520 rooms to a total of 20 hotels with over 5,000 rooms - across all hotel segments by 2015.

Gerard Guillouet, Senior Vice President for Accor Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore said, “Accor sees Malaysia as one of the top tourism destinations in Southeast Asia. The country is full of potential and has plenty of room for us to grow. We are focusing our energy to develop more hotels in the country across all market segments. With the strong support from our hotel owners, tourism authorities and local communities, we are excited and optimistic about the future prospects for our hotels in Malaysia.”

“Just in time for ‘Visit Malaysia Year 2014’, we expect to open several hotels in both Peninsular and East Malaysia this year, including Mercure Kota Kinabalu Metro Town, ibis Styles Ipoh, and ibis Styles Sandakan Waterfront,” said Mr Guillouet. “This momentum of new hotel openings will lead the Group to achieve our target of 20 hotels by 2015, creating jobs opportunities and economic benefits for the communities surrounding the hotels. It will allow us to become one of the leaders transforming the country’s hospitality industry into the future.”

Multi-brands for multi-segments

Accor will open hotels across the spectrum to meet the needs of the different market segments visiting Malaysia. “The mix of hotel segments in our pipeline indicates that we will continue to have a well-balanced network in 2015 with 15% of the hotels being upscale, 40% midscale, and 45% being economy hotels. The network will also be geographically balanced, with hotels in strategic business and leisure destinations throughout the country. Our long-term strategy has been to emphasise development in central Malaysia first, eventually expanding into other regions, including Penang, Perak, Selangor, Melaka, Johor, Sabah and Sarawak,” said Mr Guillouet.

The latest additions to the Accor family in Malaysia are Pullman Kuala Lumpur Bangsar and ibis Styles Ipoh.  Opened in December 2013, the 513-rooms upscale Pullman Kuala Lumpur Bangsar is strategically located in the centre of Bangsar Business District and plays an important role in capturing both business and leisure travellers. “This is the first upscale hotel in the heart of Kuala Lumpur and the third Pullman hotel in the country. The hotel’s cosmopolitan, modern identity has brought a new concept of hospitality to Kuala Lumpur and perfectly sets the momentum for our network expansion in the country,” said Mr Guillouet.

Ibis Styles Ipoh opened in January 2014 with 113 modern-designed guestrooms. Suitable for both business and leisure stays, the hotel is strategically located just 10 minutes from Sultan Azlan Shah Airport and five minutes from the railway station as well as many famous eateries in the old town of Ipoh. This hotel has four meeting rooms, the ibis Styles signature sTREATs Restaurant and Mu, a rooftop bar offering panoramic views of the city.  

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Accor, the world's leading hotel operator and market leader in Europe, is present in 92 countries with more than 3,600 hotels and 460,000 rooms. Accor's broad portfolio of hotel brands - Sofitel, Pullman, MGallery, The Sebel, Grand Mercure, Novotel, Suite Novotel, Mercure, Adagio, ibis, ibis Styles, ibis budget and hotelF1 - provide an extensive offer from luxury to budget. With more than 160,000 employees in Accor brand hotels worldwide, the Group offers its clients and partners 45 years of know-how and expertise.