In France, as in Paris, 2021 was already a productive year for the hotel industry. If not very active in the capital, due to the prolonged absence of international tourists. Notable hotel openings in Paris included two potential new palaces - the Cheval Blanc and Bulgari private hotel-club Soho House, top-of-the-range lifestyle establishments with the Kimpton St Honoré and Madame Rêve, and the arrival of the new Canopy and Tapestry brands from Hilton. Not to mention a host of attractive independent hotels such as Mother House or Villa M, a health and well-being hotel created by Groupe Pasteur Mutualité and designed by Philippe Starck.
Bridging the gap between 2021 and 2022, the Pullman Montparnasse, with its 957 rooms and immense space dedicated to meetings and events, has reopened its doors to the public. At the very end of December and initiated a new dynamic of openings for the current year. In line with a strategy applied worldwide, the Accor group is preparing to expand its luxury and lifestyle offering in the heart of the capital, in particular with the future SO/ Paris. Expected to open in mid-2022, this hotel is part of the redevelopment of the Cité administrative on Boulevard Morland, designed in the early 1960s by architect Albert Laprade. Redesigned by David Chipperfield, the site will house, among other things, this trendy new hotel, topped by a panoramic terrace restaurant.
At the end of the year, the French group will also carry out the launch of Maison Delano in Parisan exclusive, urban take on the lifestyle brand of American origin. For the occasion, the hotel will be investing the walls of an 18th-century town house located on rue d'Anjou, in the 8th arrondissement, and will offer 56 rooms and suites, as well as a culinary concept by star chef Dani Garcia. Also among Accor's brands is the MGallery Domaine de la Reine Margot, due to open at the end of the year in Issy-les-Moulineaux. This historic site, once frequented by Henri IV's wife, has now been transformed into a contemporary hotel by Jean-Michel Wilmotte.
In a more business-like vein, the La Défense district, which has been committed for several years to in diversifying its hotel offeringwill also be taking on a more lifestyle feel. Following the opening of a CitizenM in summer 2017, Mama Shelter, another flagship brand in the budget design hotel sector, will be setting up in March next year, close to the headquarters of a number of companies, between the Esplanade de la Défense and the Pont de Neuilly. This new living space will feature two restaurants, a rooftop with a view of the Eiffel Tower, six meeting rooms and 211 hotel rooms. A few weeks later, in May, the Okko The business district will also see the addition of a 184-room hotel with a real restaurant - a first for this concept, which until now has relied solely on the appeal of its Club, an airport lounge where guests can enjoy an aperitivo at the end of the day.
Several openings in major cities
While the capital is expecting more hotels, including a second Tapestry by Hilton, the Belgrand, in the 16th arrondissement, the major French cities are also preparing to welcome new establishments in 2022. On the Hilton side, for example, a DoubleTree is being prepared near Lyonlocated in the heart of the St-Priest technology park and close to the Eurexpo convention and exhibition centre. A NiceAnantara will unveil 151 elegant rooms and suites inspired by the golden age of the Côte d'Azur. MarseilleThe Crowne Plaza brand, part of the IHG group, will be setting up close to the Dôme, the city's Zénith.
Bordeaux will continue the internationalisation of its hotel portfolio by welcoming world-renowned brands. A Hyatt Group hotel, under the JdV brand, is due to open this summer in the Meriadeck district, in the former offices of insurer Allianz, converted into a 147-room lifestyle hotel. Other developments are also underway near the airport. Bordeaux Mérignac. For example, a 177-room Sheraton will be integrated at the end of the year into the 45e Parallèle project, a new business complex developed by Nexity combining offices, a hotel and a convention centre.
In a more economical style, B&B Hotels is also in the process of arriving at the airport. This opening is part of the twenty new hotels in France planned by the channel in 2022, including overseas, since the budget brand will make its debut in Martinique, in Fort de France, and St Pierre, La Réunion, as the Indian Ocean island also prepares to welcome a hotel Radisson in Saint-Denis de La Réunion. In parallel with its foray into the French overseas departments and territories, B&B Hotels will be strengthening its presence in a number of secondary towns such as Bourg-en-Bresse and Sète, as well as around the major hubs for business travellers - Toulon and Le Creusot railway stations and Rennes airport - and in the Ile-de-France region with the B&B Hôtel Paris Quai de Seine and other establishments in Bois d'Arcy, Créteil, Ivry, Montrouge and Rosny-sous-Bois.
The budget hotel sector still going strong
Also expected to open in Bordeaux Merignac, the Holiday Inn family of brands is also preparing to strengthen its presence in Marseille. But it is above all its budget Holiday Inn Express brand that will see the most openings in 2022, Marseille and Ajaccio in the south of France, Annecy and Marne la Vallée. Demonstrating IHG's ambitions in the French market, the British group will also be opening a new hotel in Avignon for its upmarket Voco brand, already appeared in Paris and Strasbourgand will see the French debut of the Staybridge Suites long-stay brand in Cannes.
As for Accor, the leader in the French and European hotel sector, it will continue to be a major player in its sector.expand its network of low-cost brands in parallel with its expansion in the luxury and lifestyle segment. Among the hotels expected this year is an ibis Styles in the heart of Dreux, with a theme paying homage to Le Corbusier, as well as the continued development of its brand greeta concept focused on sustainability and CSR. After Paris and Boulogne-Billancourt as well as Castres and Angoulême at the end of last yearNew facilities are expected to open in La Rochelle in 2022, as well as in Vincennes, on the outskirts of Paris.
Also positioned in the eco-responsibility niche, the Eklo channel is preparing three openings in 2022, in Toulouse, Lyon and Roissy. Finally, at Louvre Hotelsanother leading player in the budget hotel sector in France and Europe, is above all the Kyriad Directwhich focuses on non-standard two-star establishments, will see the most expansion, with more than a dozen new franchisees in the pipeline, including in Caen, Dijon, Orléans, Limoges, Macon and Nancy.
