In mid-November, London's Fraser Suites Kensington took the helm of a brand new room model: Mercedes-Benz Living @ Fraser suites. Created with the German carmaker's design teams, the world of these luxury flats, where silver, black and dark grey dominate, is very masculine. "It's a very successful way of integrating Mercedes design into a Victorian building," says Guus Bakker, CEO of Frasers Hospitality for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Although the brand with the star knows how to be discreet, the atmosphere is that of a top-of-the-range limousine: bed almost in suspension, Swarovski chandelier in the shape of an S - S as in the crystal maker, but also S as in the S-Class, the manufacturer's flagship car -, Burmester hi-fi system, media wall lacquered in black. After six suites in London, nine more will appear in January at Fraser Suites Singapore. "If these pilots are a success, we plan to roll them out to around twenty residences, particularly in China, one of the German brand's biggest markets," explains Guus Bakker.
To complete its offer, this summer the Singaporean group acquired the Malmaison & Hotel du Vin group, two British boutique hotels with 29 establishments, for nearly 500 million euros. "We hope to expand these two brands in the UK, Benelux and Northern Europe", says Guus Bakker. Fraser Hospitality is not abandoning the long-stay segment, however, with new residences due to open in Geneva in December, followed by Istanbul, Riyadh, Doha and Abuja in 2016.
Singapore's Ascott has no shortage of resources to match its ambitions. Last July, it signed a joint venture agreement with QIA, Qatar's sovereign wealth fund, to create a 600 million dollar fund dedicated to development. This kitty should enable Ascott to reach its target of 80,000 units by 2020, compared with 43,000 today. Present in 95 cities with 270 residences, including around sixty Citadines, the group is "not stopping at anything, whether it's buying residences here and there or small groups in Asia and Europe", explains Nancy Faure, vice-president of sales and marketing Europe. With the aim of strengthening its presence in major business metropolises, Ascott has already found a new address in Paris for its luxury offering with the acquisition of a building on rue de Bassano, which in 2018 will give rise to the Citadines Suites Champs-Élysées Paris.
Renovations in progress
As part of its refurbishment programme, which began in 2010 and will run until 2016, Ascott is spending €125 million to give each establishment in its network a highly contemporary feel and local style. The result, for example, is a stylish view of the sea at the Citadines Castellane Marseille and two "couture" suites at the Citadines Opéra Paris. After six residences last year, in Paris and Marseille as well as Montpellier and Lyon, five more are on the programme for this year, in Paris and the provinces. For its part, Fraser Hospitality has launched the metamorphosis of the Fraser Suites Harmonie La Défense, which will be completed next autumn.
