News & Stories

Paris. This week, Paris city hall authorities successfully raided two districts in the French capital searching for illegal touristic rentals. Now the municipal teams are advising the government to increase the fines per property from 10,000 euros minimum to 100,000 euros.

Tokyo. Fit and healthy through the new year: During rush hour this vehicle is definitely faster as the historical Rolls-Royce. The "PenCycle", a mix of a step machine and a bicycle, is the new ideal mobility device through the busy Japanese million metropole and it keeps its users fit at the same time. The three-wheeled stepper now competes with the popular Tuk Tuk, Mini Cooper or the even the more luxurious alternatives helicopter or yacht of the huge Peninsula vehicle fleet.

Munich. 2015 will remain to be engraved in our memory as a year of crises and terrorism. And experiences have likewise piled up within the hospitality industry, as with the headlines that have befallen it. The traditional media, offline and online, as well as the Social Media, is attempting to newly dominate the formation of public opinion every day, every hour, every minute. Everything is commented on, assessed, linked and multiplied … 2015 has clearly demonstrated the change in the world – thanks to the crises. This is why Maria Puetz-Willems has spoken with Eike A. Kraft, Vice President Communications Europe for AccorHotels, regarding how hotel companies are recognising crises today and reacting to them. Above all, Social Media has changed this work behind the scenes: "Everything is being discussed within the online channels: From a hair in the soup up to terrorism." This requires a change in thinking within the company. And within all companies.

Paris. In the aftermath of the announced takeover of FRHI Hotels, some interesting figures emerged from the investors' world, which show which specific synergies AccorHotels is wishing for. In addition, the Kingdom Holding explains its reasons for the merger in a US interview.

Paris. The Carlyle Group and Montefiore Investment, owners of B&B Hotels announced on Tuesday that they have entered into exclusive negotiations with the European private equity firm PAI Partners, for the acquisition by PAI of B&B Hotels alongside B&B's management team.

Hamburg. Smartphone-intensive users even read and click while walking. By now, this is an everyday reality. Still: The vast majority of the Internet users as well as Smartphone owners would find it absolutely pleasant if more people simply left the device in the pocket every once in a while.

Paris. Euro 2016: Since last weekend, all 24 teams qualified for the Football Euro 2016 being hosted by France know when, against whom and where they will be competing next June. Hoteliers also know now how to raise rates.

Augsburg. The stock exchange reacted to the announced merger of AccorHotels and FRHI with a 3 percent loss. Accor has paid too much, brokers in London have stated. Either way, it certainly appears as though the ambitious AccorHotels CEO Sébastien Bazin had bought a ticket into the world of the rich and beautiful for himself for 2.9 billion dollars – after two months of negotiations only. AccorHotels would never have managed this with Sofitel alone. However, with this deal – as with others – it has not been about brands and prestige for quite some time. The two other deals of the week also demonstrate this: Pandox/Lenoardo on European level and Louvre/Nordic Hotels on the German level. Maria Puetz-Willems comments.

Paris. AccorHotels just announced the signing of an agreement with the Qatar Investment Authority, Kingdom Holding Company of Saudi Arabia and Oxford Properties, an Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System company for the acquisition of FRHI Holdings Ltd, parent of Fairmont, Raffles, and Swissôtel.

"This is …a great step forward for AccorHotels. … Through it, we are positioning ourselves as a key player in the current industry consolidation process while maintaining substantial leeway to implement our transformation plan," said Sébastien Bazin, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of AccorHotels.

Sheikh Abdulla Bin Mohammed Bin Saud Al-Thani, CEO of Qatar Investment Authority, said: "… This deal generates the scale needed to drive the next phase of growth in our real estate and hospitality investments. QIA has confidence in AccorHotels and looks forward to becoming a significant shareholder."

FRHI includes three of the most prestigious global luxury hotel brands: Raffles, Fairmont and Swissôtel. It has 155 hotels and resorts, and more than 56,000 rooms. Its portfolio includes such legendary properties as Raffles Singapore, The Savoy in London, Shanghai's Fairmont Peace Hotel, The Plaza Hotel in New York, Le Royal Monceau - Raffles Paris, Fairmont San Francisco, Fairmont Banff Springs and others.

FRHI has more than 45,000 employees under its brands. FRHI's hotels and resorts span 34 countries across five continents, with 42 properties in North America, 2 in South America, 26 in Europe, 17 in Africa/Middle East and 28 in Asia-Pacific.

The integration of Raffles, Fairmont and Swissôtel will enable Accor to optimize its luxury and upscale brands. With nearly 500 luxury and upscale properties, AccorHotels will become one of the key global players in this segment.

AccorHotels aims to generate around €65 million in revenue and cost synergies. Significant improvements will also be made in terms of customer data, thanks to the integration of a customer base including 3 million loyalty members, of which 75% are North Americans. The transaction will be accretive on earnings per share from the second year, with synergies fully effective by the third year.

The agreement with Qatar Investment Authority and Kingdom Holding Company of Saudi Arabia provides for the cash payment of $840 million and the issuance of 46.7 million Accor shares. These shares will be issued via a reserved capital increase, subject to the approval of shareholders at an Extraordinary Shareholders' Meeting. The transaction will leave QIA and KHC respective stakes of 10.5% and 5.8% in Accor's share capital. Two representatives of QIA and one representative of KHC will be appointed to the Accor Board of Directors.

Subscribers will find further details in our Friday issue. / kn

Paris. Maybe four months? Sébastien Bazin thinks it will take a trimester or even longer before Paris tourism in general and the hospitality sector in particular recover from the recent attacks. He accepts higher costs for security. At the same time, IHG is launching "IHG Assist", a tool to give clients a better security feeling.