GOSTELOW REPORT—”I like being part of Accor, they leave me alone. And the people are fun,” says Christoph Hoffmann, CEO and board member of 25hours Hotels, who admits he had been looking for a partner but AccorHotels had not been on the list.
Why would what is now a 12-property lifestyle brand, based in Hamburg, Germany, with a strong following in German-speaking Europe, wish to lose its independence? “We wanted support before we all ended up as lunatics,” admitted Hoffmann, one of four founding partners of 25hours, named because 24 hours in any day are simply not enough. “In 2015 we made a short list of possible partners, looking at Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts, Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group and The Peninsula as we thought our somewhat quirky concept was closest to the luxury sector. AccorHotels was not even on our list.”
But Accor CEO Sébastien Bazin had heard about 25hours’ Berlin property, 25hours Hotel Bikini Berlin, and he asked Hoffmann to show him around. A year later he invited Hoffmann to Paris for a talk. “I quickly realized that Bazin is a cool guy and we have a lot in common, even though he is a big operator and we are niche. He promised that 25hours’ culture would continue to be led by us and we would not be bound by any Accor-family standardization,” Hoffmann recalled. In November 2016, therefore, Accor bought 30% of 25hours for an undisclosed sum. If all goes well, by 2023 Accor has the option of purchasing additional shares, in pre-set lots, to give it total ownership of 25hours.
The Accor involvement is already beginning to have noticeable bottom-line effect. Hoffmann sees more international business, especially from France, which now ranks as 25hours’ second most important market after German-speaking Europe (before, France ranked sixth). Breaking it into segments, group business seems to be benefiting the most, though Accor’s website and its promotional activities are helping individual traveler growth.
Accor also gives the 25hours team insight into highly professional and internationally established programs and to its technology. But, Hoffmann cautioned, “We do need to evaluate which of the possible synergies Accor has to offer are a good match for us.”
There is also synergy with Accor’s other partners, especially when they have a different geographical focus. Hoffmann cites, for example, Mama Shelter, based in Paris. Mama Shelter also was created by a small group of passionate people, in this case the Trigano family, previously known for Club Med. Mama Shelter is now up to nine destinations, seven in Europe, plus Los Angeles and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The two brands network, share best practices and cooperate in HR, marketing and future strategy (will there be a loyalty program specifically for Accor Lifestyle?). This two-way exchange is already proving useful in preparing for 25hours’ planned Paris property. Still strongly German-centric, 25hours already has presence in Vienna and Zurich, but now London is top of the want list.
“I am also delighted by the potential strong pipeline as a result of Accor’s development teams around the globe who are now on the search for potential 25hours projects,” Hoffmann added. He does admit that one of his worries, however, is growing too fast, though he is happy with the forecast that by 2023 when Accor buys the last tranche, 25hours will, all being well, be a significant portfolio of 20 to 25 properties.