The Sofitel, Sofitel Legend, MGallery and Emblems brands have been under the same management for two years as part of the Accor group's new organisation. a new dynamic. With new identities and brand promises reaffirming their premium positioning, but also a wave of renovations to strengthen the coherence of their network.
In this context, while 8 %s in the MGallery portfolio are being transformed, including the Grand Hôtel Roi René in Aix-en-Provence, these upgrades This concerns Sofitel in particular, with a quarter of its network currently under construction. And this at a time when a number of hotels have already completed their metamorphosis, such as the Sofitel Athens, Bangkok Sukhumvit and the Sofitel Soissons. Sydney WentworthIn the meantime, the flagship renovation of the Sofitel New York or the Sofitel Montréal Le Carré Doré and the Hotel Ivoire in Abidjan.
" Two years ago, this new era was little more than a vision as we laid the foundations for our new organisation and mapped out our strategic roadmap.says Maud Bailly, General Manager responsible for all these brands. Today, it's a reality" . These higher ambitions are also reflected in new developments, with no fewer than 100 hotels in the pipeline, including 48 for MGallery and 32 for Sofitel.
The year 2024 was marked by a record number of signatures for these two brands with the conclusion of more than twenty projects for MGallery and 12 new hotels for Sofitel. As for the Sofitel Legend hotels, which combine elegance and great history, they will soon be joined by three prestigious new members, one in India and the other in Prague with the ongoing transformation of The Mozart hotel, housed in a 17th-century palacee century, a stone's throw from Charles BridgeIn 2027, it will join the legendary Old Cataract Hotel in Aswan in the collection.
Before that, the Sofitel brand has also just inaugurated a new hotel in Egypt. its largest hotelwith its 615 rooms: the Sofitel Cairo Downtown Nilethe result of the conversion of a former Conrad hotel. And this, shortly after adding another hotel in Africa, in Cotonou, offering the Beninese capital a new state-of-the-art conference centre. While the brand intends to develop its offering on this continent, its ambition is also to strengthen its leadership in Europe, byhe laying of the foundation stone a hotel at Dublin airport, expected by the end of 2026.
At the same time, the brand's future is also focused on other key markets such as the Middle East, South-East Asia and India, playing on both the business and leisure destinationswith recent openings in Hai Phong and Sapa in Vietnam, and more to come soon in Riyadh and Jaipur. " By strengthening the appeal of our brands, we have consolidated the existing Sofitel and MGallery portfolios while penetrating new strategic markets." says Xavier Grange, Managing Director in charge of development for these various brands.
The collection MGallery for example, this year saw the launch of its Africa's first hotelthe Gem Forest Hotel NairobiIt will also be moving into the Caribbean with the signing of the Whimsy Hotel in Saint-Martin and the Marival Armony Punta Mita in Mexico. At the same time, the brand of charming boutique hotels continues to strengthen in its two key markets, Europe and Asia. With 67 hotels already opened in Europe, the MGallery collection is expecting around twenty more, notably in Portugal, Italy and Greece, but also in France with three new resorts signed this year.
Following the opening of Domaine du Liziec in 2024, in VannesThis year, the brand is expecting a new member for next spring in l'Isle sur la SorgueL'Isle de Leos MGallery. A boutique hotel with 49 rooms and suites that will also offer two seminar rooms for around forty people, and whose owner is anything but an unknown: Patrick Bruel. As for the Middle East and South-East Asia, where MGallery has a portfolio of 27 hotels, 17 establishments are in the pipeline, notably in Phuket, with two hotels expected by 2025.
Among the brands headed by Maud Bailly, until now, one brand has remained untouched: Emblems Collection. Unveiled by Accor in 2021, and mooted in China with a hotel in Guiyang, it had not yet been developed. But its expansion now seems to be on track with the announcement of the signing of its first seven properties, while nine others are in final negotiation. This is a major boost for a brand that is aiming to have 60 addresses worldwide by 2032.
If the details of all these projects are " confidential" However, Accor specifies that these developments should affect all continents, with North America, China and Vietnam in Asia and Italy, the United Kingdom and Greece in Europe highlighted as destinations. The only certainty is that the first opening will take place at this yearand in Europe. " In an exceptional location" said Maud Bailly.
