Being the leader in your own country always leaves room for improvement. Accor demonstrated this in the first half of the year with the opening of more than twenty new hotels in France, for more than 1,700 new rooms. " France continues to offer a wealth of development opportunities for the Group, as demonstrated by this extremely positive first half in terms of openings "said Katell Bourgeois, Vice-President of Premium, Mid-Range and Economy Development for France.
The growth of groups around the world based on conversion of existing hotelsThis overall trend has mainly benefited the greet, ibis styles, Handwritten Collection and Mercure brands as they continue to expand in France. " Thanks to their flexibility, they offer an ideal solution for our current partners and independent hoteliers wishing to join the Accor network. "says Katell Bourgeois.
The 'light' Handwritten Collection brand has set up near Mont-Saint-Michel and Saint-Malo, with the Hôtel de l'abbaye Le Tronchet. Nestled in a former 12th-century abbeye centuryThis 45-room, four-star boutique hotel revisits this heritage site, offering travellers a bistronomic restaurant, a wellness area, a lounge bar and a heated outdoor swimming pool. Located in the heart of the Breton countryside, around thirty minutes' drive from Rennes, the hotel is also ideal for seminars, with a 180 m² seminar room that can accommodate 160 people for conferences or cocktails, and around a hundred participants for meetings. In addition to this space, which can be divided into three meeting rooms, the hotel offers a wide range of team-building activities.
Handwritten Collection has also set up shop in Corsica, opposite the Calvi citadel and just a stone's throw from the beach, with a contemporary design hotel dotted with artistic touches: the Hôtel & Spa Kasano Calvi. Comprising 40 rooms and suites, all with balconies or terraces overlooking the sea, the pool or the citadel, the establishment also has a meeting room that can accommodate up to 60 people for cocktails and 40 in theatre format, with the hotel bar also suitable for organising events. Finally, another hotel with a more leisurely feel is now part of the collection, the Madison Saint Jean de Luz, offering 32 rooms in a renovated historic hotel, the site being listed as a Bâtiments de France building.
However, the collection has seen one of its hotels transferred to another Accor brand to become the Mercure Maintenon. Located less than an hour from Paris, neighbouring Château de Maintenon and its golf course, not far from Chartres, this hotel owned by hotel operator Atypio was renovated in 2024 to provide a new setting, particularly for seminars. With 78 rooms, the hotel has a MICE area with a 220 m² plenary room, which can be divided into three, and three 30 m² sub-commission rooms.
From one château to another: since the end of May, the Mercure brand has been offering a new establishment in the Pyrenees, in the spa town of Ax-les-Thermes. This contemporary take on a former manor house dating from the early 20th century, built for Georges Goubeau, founder of the Talcs de Luzenac, has been restored to house a lounge bar and a bistronomic restaurant, two 100 m² flats and a 140 m² meeting and events space, divided into four independent, modular rooms. At the same time, a new building has been added to house 51 bedrooms, with an atmosphere inspired by the Pyrenean landscapes, as well as a wellness area with a heated outdoor swimming pool, fitness room, sauna and treatment rooms.
Among other new developments for the brand, the first half of the year also saw the opening of the Mercure Aix Beaumanoir, just a few minutes from the historic centre of Aix-en ProvenceThe Mercure Arles Centre Arènes is a renovated establishment with 102 rooms and 10 meeting rooms. Still in the south of France, the Mercure Arles Centre Arènes is located, as its name suggests, a stone's throw from the arenas and the historic centre, and offers just under a hundred rooms and five flexible meeting rooms.
In the mid-range "plus" segment, Accor unveiled in June a fifth address in the Paris region for its contemporary Tribe brand. Located in PantinClose to the Parc de la Villette and the Canal de l'Ourcq, this 131-room lifestyle hotel is ideal for business trips, with a meeting room and lounge for coworking.
Also in Pantin, Accor is proposing a new hotel for its budget and design brand ibis Styles. In addition to another establishment in MarseilleThe ibis Styles Palais des Congrès Vélodrome. Located close to the Velodrome stadium and the Parc Chanot, the city's congress and exhibition centre, this 89-room hotel is also next door to the Marseille Parc Chanot Vélodrome greet, one of the new addresses offered by this sustainable hotel chain.
Accor has also continued to expand this business. a brand focused on "second life", with a mix of second-hand furniture, objects and recycled materials, with three other new establishments: the Trignac Saint-Nazaire, Dijon Sud Longvic and Limoges Nord greet hotels. The ibis budget super-economy brand added two new establishments in the first half of the year: ibis budget Auxerre Centre les Clairions and ibis budget La Rochelle Puilboreau.
Finally, for business travellers, the Novotel brand also has a new hotel at La Défenseat the entrance to the district from Nanterre. A hotel offering 170 rooms, including 84 family rooms and 14 studios, as well as 400m² of flexible seminar space.
