Why Accor Won’t Let Movenpick Swallow Its New Little Sister Swissotel in Asia
Photo Credit: The latest Movenpick in Asia has just opened in the Maldives, bringing to 16 the number of hotels Movenpick has in operation in Asia. Movenpick
Skift Take
A new history is being charted for Movenpick and Swissotel, two Swiss hotel brands that are now under Accor, and much of that action is happening in the Asia-Pacific region. Asian owners and Accor competitors are watching closely.
Here’s the thing for Accor: Movenpick is having a heyday signing up hotels in Asia. Swissotel is not.
Movenpick as a single brand chain has been moving way faster in Asia in the last two years than Swissotel, but now both are under the ownership of Accor.
The French chain completed Swissotel’s acquisition in July 2016. And just as Accor was rolling out a new global flagship hotel in Singapore, Swissotel The Stamford, it has brought a Swiss rival, Movenpick into the family, a purchase completed in early September.
The deals seem to come easy for Accor, one of the most acquisitive hotel companies in the world as of late. What you don't read about as often is how the company must manage all the new brands, sometimes between hotels that were fierce competitors. Accor's unfolding experiences in Asia offer a glimpse into the challenges large hospitality companies face once the deals are done.A bigger chain and soaring beautifully in Asia-Pacific, Movenpick must look like a huge threat to Swissotel — and it does not help that its original founder, Swiss hotelier Ueli Prager, named it Movenpick because he was inspired watching seagulls (Möwe in German) swooping for crumbs (pick) over Lake Zurich.
But Michael Issenberg, the CEO of Accor Asia-Pacific who led the integration of Fairmont, Raffles and Swissotel into Accor, is quick to quash any speculation that Movenpick will swallow Swissotel one day. He points out both share the same Swiss DNA, values, and upper upscale positioning.
“We want both brands to grow,” Issenberg said. “People thought we would rebrand Swissotel to Pullman when we acquired it, because there were only 32 Swissotel’s and we
