NEW HOTEL TO REVOLUTIONISE BUDGET ACCOMMODATION IN JAPAN

Accor announces first Formule 1 hotel in Japan

Accor, the world's largest hotel and tourism company, is set to introduce its pioneering budget hotel brand, Formule 1, in Japan.

Approval has been granted for Accor to develop a Formule 1 hotel in Isesaki, a commercial and industrial city in Gunma Prefecture north-west of Tokyo. Like most of the Formule 1's worldwide, the site is a highly visible one, on a major highway servicing Tokyo and opposite the large Beisia Hyper Mall and the well-known Isesaki Raceway.

The hotel is being built on land leased to Accor by the Beisia retail group. It is anticipated that construction of the 5-storey, 88 room hotel will start in April, with completion scheduled for December 2001.

The Isesaki project is designed to introduce the Formule 1 concept to the Japanese market. The aim is then to develop the brand in a wide range of strategic locations around Japan.

The Formule 1 concept is one of the world's most successful budget hotel brands. There are some 550 Formule 1 style hotels worldwide, with the brand prominent throughout Europe, as well as in countries such as Australia and South Africa.

Formule 1 will be a unique new entrant into Japanese hotel market, because it will be the first hotel brand to offer a standard room at a rate irrespective of the number of people occupying the room. The general practice in Japan is to charge on a per person basis, but Formule 1 will charge on a per room basis, with up to three people able to occupy the room for the price of a single occupancy.

It is anticipated that the room rate for the Formule 1 Isesaki will be JPY 5, 500 per room, where as competitors in this level of the market often charge up to JPY 12,000 for a double occupancy.

The practice of charging per room, rather than by occupancy, is expected to have a significant impact, because of the hotel's close proximity to the very popular raceway, extremely impressive and successful Beisia hypermall and cinema complex (the third largest in Japan), which attract large numbers of families and groups from neighbouring cities.

The hotel will also be highly convenient for business travellers visiting manufacturing and service industries in the local areas, as well as road travellers on their way to or from Tokyo.

Each room in a Formule 1 is identical, offering a queen size bed, with a single bunk bed, as well as ensuite bathroom. Their worldwide uniformity has led many observers to describe Formule 1 as the "McDonalds of hotel accommodation" - offering highly consistent, comfortable accommodation at very reasonable rates.

Accor has had a long involvement in Japan, with a sales office established in Tokyo over a decade ago, and the launch of its 5-star brand, Sofitel, in Tokyo in March 1999. The Sofitel, located in Ueno, was recently fully upgraded and relaunched.

Commenting on the announcement of the first Formule 1 project, Accor Asia Pacific Chairman, David Baffsky, said: "This is one of the most exciting hotel projects announced in Japan for many years.

"Formule 1 has been a worldwide success, and should be an ideal hotel style for the existing and emerging Japanese travel market. While the cost of land is high in Japan, the revolutionary design concept means that we are able to develop a quality product at a cost which can still offer great value to customers.

"The hotel brand attracts both the business and leisure market and with the hotel's very convenient position, we believe that it will have a particularly strong impact with families and groups. This is a sector of the market that has not been catered for adequately in the past.

"This hotel will be the prototype for the proposed country-wide expansion of the brand. Once travellers experience this Formule 1 we expect that there will be great demand elsewhere for us to introduce the product. We are delighted to be adding to the truly world class development by Beisia Group, who will play an important part in identifying new sites for Accor in other key areas in Japan.

Japan is one of the most important countries for Accor to expand its market awareness and its products over the next decade."

Accor is the world's largest hotel, tourism and services group, operating in a total of 140 countries, employing 130,000 people. The global group has two major international activities:

* hotels: 3,500 hotels (390,000 rooms) in 90 countries, and travel agencies, restaurants and casinos;

* services to corporate clients and public institutions: each day, 12 million people in 31 countries use a broad range of services (Food Vouchers, People's Care, Expenses Management, Social Services, Incentive / Events) developed and managed by Accor.