One year after announcing its position shift, midscale hotel world leader Mercure is pushing ahead with its modernization drive at a very steady pace.
The Mercure network is shifting its revamp up a gear and growing at a very healthy pace. This brand has adjusted to its customers’ new wants and needs, and placed innovation at the core of its concept. It has been building new home-away-from-home lobbies and food-service are as in every hotel it has refurbished over this past year.
A full 80% of the network’s hotels have been modernized over the past 4 years, 13 Mercure hotels have been restyled in Francethis year, and another 15 or so will kick off their programs in 2015. To build on this success, Mercure is also planning to take in 25 new hotels in this country by the end of 2015 and is aiming to grow its French network by 30% in 3 years to reach the 300-hotel mark in 2017.
“We are seeing the benefits of modernizing the brand in a very real sense. In France, it has put us in a position to attract new franchise partners, showing that Mercure is enjoying buoyant growth. We will also be leveraging the brand’s robust expansion on international markets to continue to draw foreign customers in the French market. That is a key component in our development strategy,” explains HotelServices France CEO Christophe Alaux.
Mercure is aiming for a 1,000-hotel worldwide network in 4 years’ time and is growing particularly fast, especially in Indonesia (13hotels by 2017), Russia (11 hotels by 2017) and Germany (10 hotels by 2015).
Combining an authentic touch and innovation to enhance quality
This brand’s 758 hotels worldwide treat guests to a friendly experience brimming with the local area’s features, with enthusiastic, genuine hoteliers. “There is strong demand for brands with an authentic edge that provide consistent quality standards throughout at the same time,” expounds Frederic Josenhans, who runs Midscale operations in France.
100% of network hotels in France have adopted the Mercure Quality Pact, only a year after it was introduced. This pact covers 96 points throughout the customer’s experience and ensures every brand hotel meets uncompromising quality standards.
More convenient reception with a human touch
The Mercure experience starts before customers reach the hotel, with the all-new digital hotel reception solution that Accor on-lined last April.
When guests arrive, their “host”–no longer a receptionist– welcomes them and the paperwork is taken care of beforehand. The desks are gradually vanishing and being replaced with dining tables or other sitting areas in the hotel.
Le Club Accorhotels cardholders are entitled to special advantages ranging from fast-track check-in to guaranteed room availability 2 days before they arrive, depending on their status.
Local treats in the spotlight from breakfast to drinks before dinner!
Breakfasts are one of the highlights in a guest’s experience at a hotel and have been rearranged around two fundamentalnotions: uncompromising quality and local roots. In France, 80% of the network is now serving typically local dishes and a selection of organic produce and gluten-free food. This service will be available in every netwo
rk hotel by the end of the year. The choice of wines is also brimming with local specialties.
Mercure’s ties with the world of wine go back 30 years and hotels are now introducing two new central features:
- “Vins Gourmands”, directly inspired by the well-known “cafe gourmand”, i.e. including an assortment of sweet or savory treats combining tastefully with the wine that guests choose.
- The new “Cave et Saveurs” wine list: these wines have been handpicked with Bettane & Dessauve, a wine guide publisher that has become a trendsetter in France.
Mercure will be starting its “Tournee des Vignerons” this October. Hotels will be asking local winegrowers to come and meet customers to present their wares during tasting experiences organized on a regular basis.
The new food-services areas (Cuisine Lounge, Bar Lounge and Restaurant Lounge) are stretching across the network in sync with the renovation work. The Cuisine Lounge concept, for example, is available in 3 hotels(Lille, Nice and Toulouse Wilson) and will reach 7 others by the end of the year. Guests promptly embraced this open kitchen area serving a wide array of traditional local recipes, where everyone is welcome to help themselves, as they would to at “home away from home”. The Bar and Restaurant Lounge are also open-plan and guests enjoy them for a “trendy” snack as much as more formal lunches or dinners.
EasyWORK: a big hit in pilot hotels and expanding to 30 others
Mercure developed EasyWORK, a dedicated and modular working area with small meeting rooms and up-to-the-minute technology, for today’s workers on the road. These areas are available in 4 hotels in and around Paris, and may be rented for half a day for 24 euros per person. An online booking platform will be up and running by the end of the year. EasyWORK will be available in 30 hotels near train stations, airports or large regional business centers 3 years from now.
The Mercure Paris Montmartre Sacre Coeur, an example of Mercure’s renewal in France
This 305-room hotel in an ideal spot at the foot of Montmartre underwent its revamp from April 2013 to May 2014, and now showcases all the concepts and hallmarks that Mercure developed for its new brand project. The Bar Lounge –the 18.75– opens out onto a splendid 190 sq. m rooftop terrace where guests can enjoy the sunny weather any time of day, for breakfast or for a drink after a long day strolling around. This spot nestled in greenery is high up and quiet–and a stone’s throw from the bustling Montmartre quarter. The food services encompass a buffet breakfast including a choice of organic food, room service from 6:30am to 11:00 pm and a 24/7 “Boutique Gourmande” offering a selection of savory and sweet treats any time of day or night.
Vicky is the co-founder of TravelDailyNews Media Network where she is the Editor-in Chief. She is also responsible for the daily operation and the financial policy. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Tourism Business Administration from the Technical University of Athens and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Wales.
She has many years of both academic and industrial experience within the travel industry. She has written/edited numerous articles in various tourism magazines.
