PARIS—Mercure was going through a "midlife crisis." Launched 40 years ago, the upscale brand was being pinched—stuck between the increasingly stylish offerings from the budget and midscale sectors, and the proliferation of niche brands in the upper-upscale segment.
“Mercure is in the middle,” said Frédéric Fontaine, “and it really needs to change.”
That’s why parent company Accor announced a comprehensive repositioning of the brand last month that touches on nearly every point of its design and expansion strategy, said the senior VP of global brand marketing for Mercure and MGallery.
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Frederic Fontaine Accor |
The project stems around four key “legs,” as Fontaine calls them:
- a modernized product;
- accelerated expansion;
- global quality guarantee; and
- a revamped logo.
Of them, the first leg is perhaps the most pronounced. The new Mercure lobby features several host tables in place of a traditional front desk that allows for a more seamless interplay between associates and guests. Instead of using bulky desktop computers to check guests in, staff now navigates the space—which also includes more casual lounge areas to encourage interaction—with tablets.
“We look at the lobby a bit now like a global space where you can check in, where you can drink, where you can read and have breakfast,” Fontaine said. “The issue with the midscale industry is the brands are very functional. ‘This part of the hotel is to do this function, like checking in or checking out. This part of the lobby is for breakfast, but when it’s not breakfast this space is empty.’”
The design was rolled out in April at the Mercure London Bridge as a pilot and has since been implemented at a handful of other hotels. The concept, as well as other design changes such as upgrades in the room designs, will be mandatory in all new openings or renovations, he said. It will likely take three to four years before project “Dedicaces” is rolled out throughout the entire system.
The cost of the lobby redesign varies, but Accor was mindful to keep it near the industry average for such renovations, which is approximately €1,500 ($1,990) per square meter, Fontaine said.
Additional enhancements to the brand include a new food-and-beverage package that stresses local flavors in an easily accessible, kitchen-type setting and EasyWork, a “cyber cocoon” not unlike Marriott International’s WorkSpace on Demand in which guests and local businesspeople can book working space in the hotel lobby to hold casual meetings or independent work sessions.
The bespoke brand
Though Mercure’s repositioning is brand wide in scope, not all 732 properties will see each of the new elements.
“We do not aim at developing the same services in absolutely every hotel,” Fontaine said. “We believe the hotels that have meeting space should have a meetings offer. We believe that hotels located in an airport or railway can have the EasyWork. We adapt our different concepts to the clientele and the owner’s ability to invest.”
That flexibility has long been a defining characteristic of the brand—and one that’s been reinforced by recent outreach with guests.
“We’ve done a number of studies with our guests identifying what the expectations of the guest were in a globalized world,” he said. “On one side they liked to see the same brands when they travel because it gives them assurance for quality and consistency.”
But on the other hand, Fontaine said, they wanted something unique and different.
Mercure fits those needs because the brand offers a promise of consistent quality but is not shackled down by restrictive mandates, he said.
“You can do basically whatever you want as far as the look and the feel of the hotel. We have two main points of requirement. One is all about guest comfort and the level of quality,” Fontaine said. “The second is we want the hotel to reflect the country or city that you’re operating in. If the guest closes the curtain he needs to know if he’s in Singapore, Bali, Budapest or not.”
Owners have responded favorably to such freedom.
“Our owners actually sometimes tell us they prefer to work with Mercure because you’re giving me the guidelines, you’re giving me the frame, but you give me more flexibility in what I want to do,” he said.
1,000 strong
Flexibility also plays a crucial role in expansion, especially with the brand’s aggressive growth target of 1,000 hotels within five years, Fontaine said.
In some areas of the world, including more developed regions like Europe, most expansion comes by the way of conversion. But in less-established markets like Latin America and Asia, new builds are the way forward.
The structure of contracts varies as well.
“The reality of the brand and the markets are that in Europe at least contracts are more franchise,” he said. “In countries like Latin America and Asia, contracts are normally more managed.”
Future expansion likely will skew more toward franchise than management in line with Accor’s asset-light aspirations. The company has an ownership interest in approximately 25% of its existing portfolio, which will fade slightly in the push for 1,000 Mercures, Fontaine said.
“We have nevertheless the ability and will in key locations to invest. We’re not ruling out completely owned hotels,” he added.
Key locations include major metropolitans in Latin America, Asia and Europe. “But at the same time we’re open potentially for secondary destinations.”
The goal is to “densify.” Instead of sprinkling openings in the far-flung corners of the earth, executives have adopted a more strategic, clustered approach. In Russia, for instance, the group has three hotels open but another 15 or so on the way.
“It’s really about densification,” Fontaine said.
Ambitious Accor
Mercure’s repositioning comes at a busy time for Accor, which has announced similar efforts for its Pullman Hotels and Resorts brand.
Fontaine dispelled the notion that Accor’s executive team is spreading itself too thin.
“It’s part of the roadmap that our shareholders have given us to reinforce the brands,” he said. “Strong brands not only attract customers but also attract owners.
“As you know, development is important for a hotel brand. We are facing tough competition from many market and many brands, so we need to develop. … If you don’t move on your brands, you’ll be faced with tougher competition. It is a vital element.”