Accor And Ennismore Join Forces To Create Global Lifestyle Hotel Giant

The hotel industry may be struggling in the wake of COVID-19, but a new deal by two major global operators shows there is still lots of life left in the sector.

Upscale French hotel giant Accor SA announced on Tuesday (Nov. 24) that it has agreed to merge its boutique brands with U.K.-based Ennismore to create a new venture that it is already being touted as “the world’s leading lifestyle operator.”

The all-share merger will bring together under one roof a bevy of brands, including: “The Hoxton, Gleneagles, Delano, SLS, Mondrian, SO/, Hyde, Mama Shelter, 25hours, 21c Museum Hotels, TRIBE, Jo&Joe and Working From,” the companies said in a press release.

The new entity will take Ennismore’s name and will be headquartered in London, and will have the United States as one of its prime expansion markets, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Under the deal, Sharan Pasricha, Ennismore’s founder and CEO, and Gaurav Bhushan, CEO of the Accor Lifestyle division, will work together as co-CEOs of the new lifestyle hotel company.

However, Accor will be the majority shareholder of the new lifestyle hotel company, with Pasricha “holding a substantial minority position,” the companies said.

The new lifestyle hotel venture will bring together 12 brands and 73 different hotels, with a “committed pipeline of more than 110 hotels and another c. 70 hotels under active discussion,” as well as “over 150 destination restaurant and bars,” the companies said.

The new venture should achieve EBITDA of nearly $134 million “by midterm,” with cost “synergies” and reductions through the combination of several hotel brands amounting to more than $20 million a year.

Still, homogenization is not part of the plan, with the various brands expected to “retain their unique culture and purpose,” the companies said.

The new hotel venture will also offer the brands in its portfolio an array of specialized support services. These include an “in-house global creative studio, designing award-winning interiors and brand communication; an expert digital and technology team innovating the guest experience; and a team of restaurant and bar specialists crafting unique concepts rooted in their neighborhoods,” the companies noted.