ACCOR TO LAUNCH COMPREHENSIVE NETWORK OF MERCURE HOTELS IN NEW ZEALAND

Mercure hotels for launch in Auckland, Wellington and Queenstown

One of the world's largest hotel brands - Mercure - is set for rapid expansion in New Zealand with the launch of a network of five hotels in key centres, including a new hotel development in Auckland, over the next three months.

The first Mercure hotel - Mercure Grand Puka Park Resort - was announced last month. It will be officially rebranded Mercure Grand on 15 November, along with Mercure Grand Hotel St Moritz in Queenstown (formerly St Moritz Novotel Suites).

On 1 December, the Novotel Auckland will be rebranded Mercure Hotel Auckland and Novotel Wellington will be rebranded Mercure Hotel Wellington.

The repositioning of the Novotel Auckland to Mercure Hotel Auckland, will be accompanied by a refurbishment that will involve an extensive NZ$2 million upgrade of all guest rooms. The well known property, situated adjacent to the new Britomart Transport project, is popular with both leisure and commercial guests.

The repositioning of the Novotel Wellington to Mercure Hotel Wellington, will be in advance of the launch of the newly built Novotel Capital Wellington due to open in March 2002.

In addition, it was announced today that Accor will manage Auckland's newest hotel, the Mercure Hotel Windsor House, which is currently being developed by Enterprise Properties out of a 1936 building in Queen Street. The boutique 3½ star hotel is scheduled to open on 1 February 2002.

The 10-storey building is in the heart of Auckland's business and retail area. All of the hotel's 66 spacious rooms feature kitchenette-style facilities. The Mercure will target corporate, leisure and conference business, with the hotel offering three function rooms, with a maximum capacity for 80 delegates. There will also be a restaurant and a large bar.

Mercure is Accor's largest brand and one of the fastest growing hotel brands in the world, with some 700 hotels currently in operation in 44 countries, and a further 50 planned by the end of 2002. It is also the largest international brand operating in Australia, with over 40 hotels in the network. Mercure Grand Hotels are 4½ star properties with distinctive accommodation and character. Mercure Hotels are 3½ - 4 star hotels generally located in city or regional locations.

"The launch of the new Auckland hotel and rebranding of others to Mercure gives us a unique opportunity to make a significant impact with the brand in a very concentrated period of time," said Neil Scanlan, Accor General Manager, New Zealand.

"There is vast potential to further develop the Mercure network in New Zealand, with independent hotels able to gain access firstly to a brand that is recognised globally, and, secondly, to the most extensive international sales, marketing and reservations network. In these difficult conditions, this market reach is crucial, especially for hotels seeking international business and leisure guests.

"The launch of Mercure is part of an overall rebranding and repositioning programme to ensure that our brands in New Zealand align with those elsewhere in the world.

"With the openings of purpose-built Novotels in Auckland (Ellerslie), Rotorua, Hamilton and, next year, Wellington, we now have a very homogenous group of quality 4-star Novotels. With the Mercure brand there is greater scope for regional differences, which will work well with the rebranded Mercure Hotels in Wellington and Auckland.

"The flexibility of Mercure is one of the key features of the brand. While we prefer Novotel and Ibis to be very similar in style, Mercure is designed to reflect its location and environment. That is what makes the Puka Park and Queenstown properties so ideal as Mercure Grand Hotels."

Mr Scanlan said that Accor's brands would be clearly differentiated in the marketplace to provide a full range of accommodation options to suit all styles and budgets.

Accor operates a total of 10 properties in New Zealand under the Novotel, Mercure Grand, Mercure Hotels and Ibis brands in Auckland, Wellington, Pauanui, Hamilton, Rotorua, and Queenstown.