Accor has launched a new midscale brand, Handwritten Collection, which starts with 12 hotels signed — two of which opened on launch day and five more that will open later this year.
It is the French hotel firm’s 45th brand and joins its luxury and upper-upscale soft-brand collections, Emblems and MGallery.
Nadege Dumont Keryhuel, Accor's global vice president of midscale brands, said behind each of the brand's hotels is a passionate owner who brand leaders have sat down with to discuss touch points that will distinguish the property.
“We brainstorm with owners to understand their passions and work together to get the most relevant touch points. That might be a welcome gesture, books in the library,” she said.
“There will be two, three, four touch points maximum. Conversations with the owners are key,” she added.
Alexander Schellenberger, group chief brand officer, said the collection brand serves owners of independent hotels who wish to join a global hotel company while retaining independence and singularity.
MGallery, Accor’s first collection brand, started in 2008 and has more than 100 hotels. The goal for Handwritten is 250 hotels before 2030, according to Camil Yazbeck, who was promoted Jan. 6 to global chief development officer of premium, midscale and economy brands — which make up approximately 85% of Accor’s portfolio.
At the beginning of 2023, Accor completed its internal reorganization into two divisions, luxury and lifestyle being the other.
“Accor now has the No. 1 position in all markets and segments, save for luxury, where it is No. 2,” Yazbeck said. “[Handwritten] has been one to two years in preparation, and it has a promising pipeline, with approximately 110 hotels and more than 11,500 keys in discussion."
He added the Handwritten model will emphasize flexible franchise contracts that compress cap rates for exits.
“We noticed a gap in the market with a growing number of independent and boutique hotel owners for the midrange segment looking to boost their profile, connect with more audiences and really put themselves back on the map again. Yet they are cautious about the expense of adapting to new brand standards and potentially compromising their own hotel’s unique identity, which they have so carefully curated,” Yazbeck said.
Confirmed openings for 2023 and 2024 include the Hotel Morris in Sydney and Wonil Hotel Perth in Australia; Le Splendid Hotel Lac d’Annecy, Hotel Les Capitouls Toulouse Center, Square Lodge Hotel La Roche-sur-Yon and Hôtel Paris Montmartre Sacré Coeur in France; the Oru Hub Hotel in Tallin, Estonia; and Sunrise Premium Resort in Hoi An, Vietnam.
Le Saint Gervais Hotel & Spa in France and Hotel Shanghai Sheshan Oriental opened today under the new brand.
Additional hotel signings include properties in Poland, Romania and Spain.
“Seventy percent of hotels remain unbranded, and most of the 30% that have become branded in the past two years have been branded with collection brands,” Yazbeck said.
Hotels in the Handwritten Collection brand typically will range between 50 and 150 rooms, he said. The Shanghai hotel is a notable exception, with more than 350 keys.
“They all will have an entrance and lobby with character, 24-hour check-in, a welcome ritual and a bar. There are options on providing a concierge and full-blown restaurant,” Yazbeck said.
The core guest demographic for the hotels is millennials attracted to “unique hotels that are destinations,” he added.
He said hotels in the collection will have both singularity and consistency.
Fifty Brands
Yazbeck said adding brands is not a matter of merely creating flags and numbers. Accor is moving closer to having 50 brands, though.
“Over the past decade, Accor has transformed and expanded its brand portfolio, moving from 16 brands to more than 40 today.
“There is still room for growth and improvement for hospitality. Accor covers everything from entry-level budget to ultra-luxury. Some of the brands in the portfolio are also only regionally positioned. This allows us, if there is demand from customers, to elevate one or the other brand to the global stage,” he said.
Schellenberger said there have been fewer brand launches, by all hotel firms, over the past few years.
“What we’ve learned from the success of Accor collection brands is the power of allowing a hotel to be its authentic self. … In most cases, the hotelier has brought to a life a vision that has proven to be successful, or the owner has acquired a property with a rich history that they want to revive and celebrate.
“Our role is to essentially endorse the hotelier’s vision, bolster it with a few of our own must-haves and share it more broadly with the world,” he said.
Caroline Bernard, Accor's global senior vice president of economy and midscale brands, said travel to this type of hotel is “booming across all segments and price points.”
“It’s a notable behavioral shift, and whilst unique travel experiences used to focus on either luxury price points or alternative low-end accommodations, there is a growing desire for a midscale price point offering a non-standardized collection of interesting, design and personality-led hotels,” she said.
She added that midscale hotels are at the core of Accor, having started more than 50 years ago with the Novotel brand.
“Today, Novotel has more than 500 hotels worldwide. … Mercure, our non-standardized midscale brand, has close to 1,000 hotels worldwide. In total, almost a third of Accor’s global portfolio is in the midscale segment,” she added.
Damien Perrot, Accor's global senior vice president of design and innovation, said the design standards of the new collection have been created to strengthen sustainability at a property level and ensure consistency in corporate social responsibility.
“Accor has outlined 10 mandatory environmental criteria and 12 standards of eco-sensitive design that must be applied in every Handwritten Collection project, product or material choice, and supplier selection,” he said. “Most properties will be conversion projects, with a goal to preserve existing infrastructure and design approaches, rather than undertaking new construction. This allows for a lower carbon footprint.
“With the aim for an 80% conversion rate, Handwritten Collection will be preserving land and resources from new construction activity,” he added.