In the same way that the major hotel groups are playing the consolidation card, the key players in the independent hotel sector are strengthening their offerings. Logis, Europe's leading network with 2,200 hotel-restaurants, most of them located in rural areas, intends to strengthen its presence in France's cities. To this end, the voluntary chain has joined forces with another network, Citotel, with 180 hotels, mainly in urban areas, to create a major group of almost 2,500 establishments and 47,000 rooms. "My ambition for Logis is to bring together as many independent hoteliers and restaurateurs as possible in France and Europe, because together we'll be stronger so that we can continue to exist in the country as well as in the city."said Fabrice Galland, Chairman of the chain. For his part, Eric Fuchs, Chairman of the Citotel association, believes that the two networks are "very complementary. As part of the Logis family, we will be able to leverage our expertise and accelerate the development of our Citotel and Urban Style brands."
"It's important to have critical mass. With the merger between InterHôtel and Relais du Silence in 2009, we were pioneers in this field."says Philippe Marguet, Chairman of the Management Board of SEH United Hoteliers. France's fourth-largest hotel group, which comprises 600 independent hotels with a total of 23,000 rooms, is also entering a new phase in its history. To accompany its new marketing strategy - with distribution strengthened by a new internet booking system, a presence on the GDSs with a code dedicated to the chain and the dematerialisation of the loyalty programme - the group has chosen to change its name to The Originals, Human Hotels & Resorts.
"This project, in which our members took part, was launched a year and a half ago.says Philippe Marguet, who is now Chairman of the Management Board of The Originals, Human Hotels & Resorts. This single brand is better adapted to market trends, not least because it will be more powerful on the internetOur clientele is global. At the same time, it promotes the values of the independent hotel industry, rooted locally, in all its diversity, from budget to luxury."
This single brand will replace the various brands owned by the group: Relais du Silence, Qualys-Hotel, Inter-Hotel, P'tit Dej-Hotel and Hôtels-Chalets de Tradition. The 600 members of the network are now grouped into six categories according to their positioning: The Originals Collection (luxury), The Originals Relais (top-of-the-range resorts), The Originals Boutique (trendy city-centre hotels), The Originals City (city hotels perfect for a business or family stopover), The Originals Access (budget hotels close to major roads) and finally The Originals Residence, fully-equipped flats offering all the services of a hotel. While this brand architecture will be effective on the website from December, new signage will be rolled out progressively.
On the strength of this development, the Group has set itself an integration target of 1,000 hotels within five years, including 50 % top-of-the-range hotels and 50 % economy hotels. "While the majority of our establishments are positioned in the mid-range, we want to expand the Access and Collection segments to create a more homogenous offering.explains Philippe Marguet. Today, we have 450 hotels in France and 150 abroad. While there are always opportunities to strengthen our position in France, a large part of this development will be international."
