Accor's Ibis brand named leading hotel brand in Europe
According to a report from hospitality business advisory firm MKG Group, there were nearly 122,000 hotel bedrooms across the continent located within Ibis properties as of 1 January 2013.
The statistics show an increase of 5,769 hotel rooms from a year ago as a result of the consolidation by Accor of its three economy brands - Ibis, Etap and All Seasons - under one so-called mega brand.
The Best Western brand is the second most prevalent in Europe with 90,738 bedrooms in 1,313 hotels while Accor is also number three on the list. Its three and four-star Mercure brand is in growth, particularly within the UK, but is still way behind the top two European brands in terms of numbers of hotels and rooms.
Top ten hotel brands in Europe 2013:
"The complete renewal of our economy supply through the Ibis mega brand project, which concerns more than 1,600 hotels in the world, has been implemented by Accor at an unprecedented speed in history of the hospitality industry," said Denis Hennequin, president and chief executive of Accor Group.
"It is a response to the evolution of consumer needs and supports our accelerated international development. I am very happy that this first place in the European brand ranking rewards the exceptional mobilisation of Accor's staff at every level, as well as of all our franchisees," he added.
Stagnant
Spurred on by the London 2012 Olympic Games, UK brands Premier Inn and Travelodge increased hotel supply with both brands adding between 3,000 and 5,000 hotel rooms.
Premier Inn is the fourth largest hotel brand, while Travelodge jumped two places to eighth in the table - the majority of both brands' hotels are still located only within the UK.
"The rest of the year should remain more or less stagnant throughout much of Europe, said Georges Panayotis, chief executive of the MKG Group.
"Although some new supply will enter the market, particularly in Eastern Europe, whilst some properties will abolish their agreement with a brand, overall rankings should not be overly impacted," he added.
