Hotel & Tourism SMARTreport #39
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ASIA / PACIFIC INBOUND<br />
TRENDING HOTELS<br />
ACCORHOTELS AND<br />
AMBASSADOR GROUP BUILD ON<br />
PARTNERSHIP IN KOREA<br />
Vincent Lelay, Vice President Operations at Accor<strong>Hotel</strong>s Korea, says<br />
business is expanding very fast in the luxury to upscale hotel categories<br />
Accor Ambassador Korea<br />
<strong>Hotel</strong> Management Co.,<br />
Ltd, established in 2006, is<br />
a joint venture built in partnership<br />
between the Accor<strong>Hotel</strong>s and the<br />
Ambassador Group. Vincent Lelay,<br />
is Vice President Operations at<br />
Accor<strong>Hotel</strong>s Korea. We asked him to<br />
tell us more about the partnership…<br />
We offer propitious partnerships by<br />
integrating hotel owners’ needs, market<br />
analysis, and regional expertise through<br />
management, franchise or lease contract.<br />
Accor Ambassador Korea, which is a joint<br />
venture company, represents both hotel<br />
groups in Korea. Ambassador Group has<br />
grown into becoming the leading local<br />
hotel group and has the most extensive<br />
knowledge on the local market. With<br />
Accor<strong>Hotel</strong>s’ global network, extensive<br />
brand portfolio, strong sales distribution<br />
platform and management know-how,<br />
we have the best partnership to operate<br />
successfully in South Korea. Together, we<br />
will maintain our leading position in the<br />
hotel industry and further develop hotels<br />
especially in the luxury and upscale hotel<br />
categories.<br />
What does the portfolio consist of?<br />
The company currently operates 24 hotels<br />
in six cities (Seoul, Suwon, Incheon, Daegu,<br />
Changwon, and Busan). Our portfolio<br />
of brands encompasses from luxury to<br />
economy, including currently Pullman,<br />
Grand Mercure, Novotel Suites, Novotel,<br />
Mercure, ibis Styles, ibis, and ibis Budget.<br />
Accor Ambassador Korea is the largest hotel<br />
operator in Korea with more than 7,000<br />
rooms, 2,000 employees and is also the only<br />
international hotel operator with a regional<br />
operational headquarters located in Seoul.<br />
How could you best describe your<br />
current offering in this market?<br />
Currently, we have a very strong positioning<br />
in the market specifically within midscale<br />
to economy hotel categories. We were the<br />
first international hotel brand to pioneer the<br />
economy hotel sector and to successfully<br />
become the leading hotel economy brand<br />
with ibis family brands. Novotel also has a<br />
strong presence in Korea with two new<br />
flagships recently opened in Seoul. We are<br />
also now expanding very fast in luxury to<br />
upscale hotel categories with the opening<br />
of our most recent project, Seoul Dragon<br />
City. This magnificent “hotel-plex” opened<br />
its door in October 2017, with 1,700 rooms<br />
and four distinct Accor<strong>Hotel</strong>s brands.<br />
What is your roadmap – especially for<br />
luxury properties — in this region?<br />
This July, we are opening the Novotel<br />
Ambassador Seoul Dongdaemun (523<br />
rooms), our first Novotel mixing hotel and<br />
residence hospitality. With an exclusive<br />
rooftop outdoor and indoor pool and stateof-the-art<br />
bar, we will again showcase an<br />
attractive product for our guests. Fairmont<br />
hotel, which will be located in Yeouido,<br />
Seoul will open mid 2020. Although we<br />
cannot disclose much more at this point,<br />
we have many more exciting projects in the<br />
pipeline for luxury hotel properties<br />
Vincent<br />
Lelay<br />
Vice President Operations,<br />
Accor<strong>Hotel</strong>s Korea<br />
OUR<br />
PORTFOLIO<br />
OF BRANDS<br />
ENCOMPASSES<br />
FROM LUXURY TO<br />
ECONOMY<br />
<strong>SMARTreport</strong> Commercial Content
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