Updated on 31 March
After topping the 300-hotel mark in France in spring 2021 - with the opening of a hotel in the Bassins à Flot district of Bordeaux - B&B Hotels is preparing to make a major leap forward in France. In fact, the budget brand will be welcoming no fewer than 31 hotels formerly operated under various banners of the Accor groupThese include Ibis, Novotel and Mercure. These establishments are located in Paris and the Ile-de-France region, in major cities such as Marseille, Lyon and Toulouse, and also in Belgium.
This significant increase in the portfolio of Europe's third-largest budget chain follows an agreement with Covivio Hotels, the property investor's hotel subsidiary. All these establishments, which were already owned by Covivio, had until now been leased to AccorInvest, the property arm of the leading French hotel group, under variable-rent leases. The new agreement between Covivio and B&B Hotels is based on new fixed-rent leases and no longer variable, with a firm 12-year commitment. As a result, Covivio has announced a "substantial" increase in rent compared with 2019, with the investor undertaking to participate in the works programme carried out by B&B Hotels to convert all these hotels to its brand.
As well as enabling the B&B group to strengthen its position under the nose of one of its main competitors, this game of musical chairs is a clear demonstration of the group's commitment to innovation.a certain confidence in the future of the hotel industry. " To support its recovery in 2022, we are relying on a number of levers: establishing the best operating model for our hotels, continuing to support the brands in their development and investing in our hotels so that we are as close as possible to the expectations of travellers." said Tugdual Millet, Managing Director Hotels at Covivio.
Covivio's hotel portfolio now covers nearly 350 hotelsMost are located in the heart of European cities. These include a number of former properties of the Italian Boscolo group, recently taken over. by the NH Collection and Anantara brandsCovivio is also a partner of Zoku for his arrival in Paris.
