Accor expands the ibis Styles hotel network

Accor, the world’s leading hotel operator and market leader in Europe, is pleased to announce the opening of the ibis Styles Birmingham centre hotel.

The 120-room hotel, which will be operated under a franchise agreement with Mitchells & Butlers Retail Ltd, is located in the heart of Birmingham city centre and previously operated as the Holiday Inn Express Birmingham.

This franchise deal is consistent with Accor’s asset light strategy and the move towards a 40:40:20 split between franchised, managed and owned hotels. The flexible and non-standardised characteristics of the ibis Styles brand make it a strong franchise asset.

Since September 2011 when Accor launched the ibis megabrand project, the ibis, ibis styles (all seasons) and ibis budget (Etap Hotel) brands have been united within one single ibis family. The newly repositioned ibis Styles has expanded across key locations and has opened hotels in London ExCel, London Southwark Rose and London Leyton to name a few.

Thomas Dubaere, managing director of Accor UK & Ireland said: “This new franchise deal reflects not only the strength of the ibis Styles brand, but also demonstrates our attractiveness as a franchise partner. We are well on track to achieving our target of 10,000 new rooms by 2015.”