Accor seeks room on two-star market

French hotel chain Accor, one of the world”s largest, intends to introduce a new brand on the Romanian market, this time aiming for the two-star segment, Bruno Vinette, general manager of the four-star Sofitel Hotel told ZIARUL FINANCIAR. The Bucharest-based Sofitel is part of the Accor chain and is run under a management contract. Accor wants to enter with the Etap brand on the domestic market and have at least one hotel affiliated by the end of the year. “We will have an Etap in Romania by 2007,” Vinette says. He adds that Accor is currently scouting for locations in Bucharest or in the country to affiliate in the upcoming period. “This is a product that will blend very well with the Romanian market,” Vinette explains. The client profile for such a hotel is a person with medium to low income, as prices range from 25 to 30 euros a night. The two-star hotel market is thought to have a great development potential over the next few years, with more and more international and local chains expressing interest in entering this segment. Accor, which has been in Romania since 1994, is president on the hotel market in the capital city with the four-star Sofitel, and with the three-star Ibis. It is also entering with its first direct hotel investment on this market this year, the four-star Novotel on Calea Victoriei in Bucharest, a 33 million-euro investment. It also has a partnership in place with the domestic Continental chain that will see a number of hotels opened over the coming period. ZF