MADRID, Spain—In the first of what looks to be a wave of new properties across Spain, Accor has opened the latest of its high-end Pullman brand hotels in Madrid, replacing one of the French company’s two Sofitels in the Spanish capital.
“There are many hotels for sale because of the economic crisis, and Accor is always searching out new projects, especially for its Sofitel brand,” said Phillipe Terryn, Accor’s luxury brand manager for Spain, at a ceremony inaugurating the new Pullman.
Spain is one of the company’s priorities for expansion in the European market because it consistently ranks as the second most popular tourist destination in the world, he said.
Terryn said Accor would like to open a Sofitel along the capital’s main north-south artery, the Paseo de la Castellana, where InterContinental, the Villa Magna and other luxury hotels have long been established. However, the high cost of land, difficulty finding large enough sites and strong competition from Spanish chains have so far hindered Accor’s plans to add to its luxury brands in the country.
In Spain, Accor’s high-end hotels currently include the new Pullman, one Sofitel, one Mercure and 12 Novotels; its budget brands include 35 Ibis, five Etap and six Formule 1 hotels.
Renamed the Pullman Madrid Airport & Feria, the recently inaugurated 179-room hotel is aimed at business travelers. It is located within the city’s principal trade fair and convention complex just 15 minutes from downtown and a five-minute drive from Barajas International Airport.
Terryn said the chain was studying opening other Pullman properties in Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Seville and Bilbao.
By the end of this year, Accor plans to have 33 Pullmans in Europe, Asia-Pacific, the Middle East and Latin America; 59 is the goal for the end of 2009 and 300 by 2015, according to Terryn.
A company statement said that Accor was betting on high-end hotels because the growing sector accounts for 40 percent of the hotel market worth US$51.5 billion (outside the United States) in annual turnover.
The Pullman name derives from the opulent Pullman railway carriages that changed the face of overnight railway travel in America – and later in the UK and Europe from the 1860s. Pullman, specifically designed for business travelers, is the upscale portfolio brand of Accor. Typically located in the heart of large regional and international cities and close to major airports, Pullman hotels will provide creative services and excellent meeting facilities that distinguish the hotels from other brands in the market, according to Accor.