Accor Announces More Hotel Plans for Greece

Accor CEO Sébastien Bazin during the inauguration of the Athens Capital Hotel-MGallery Collection in the Greek capital.

French hospitality giant Accor is planning to expand its presence in Greece with the opening of new hotels, the group’s president and CEO, Sébastien Bazin, said recently.

The country’s national recovery plan Greece 2.0 is set to change the hospitality market securing significant investments, said Bazin in an interview to Greek newspaper Kathimerini. He added that Greece was a “top destination with unique assets” that has taken a turn towards “higher quality tourism”.

“Greece stands to emerge stronger from the Covid-19 crisis with hopeful signs of a return to pre-pandemic levels,” he said, noting that revenue from Accor rooms in Greece doubled this summer compared to 2020.

In Athens to inaugurate the Athens Capital Hotel-MGallery Collection, the first MGallery Collection hotel in Greece, Bazin said he expects the Hellinikon project, once completed, to establish the Greek capital as a leading city break destination.

The French company operates hotels in 5,199 locations in over 110 countries across a range of hospitality segments including luxury brands Raffles, Fairmont, Sofitel, premium MGallery, Pullman, Swissôtel, midscale Novotel, Mercure, Adagio, and economy ibis and hotelF1.

“Currently we operate or cooperate on a franchise level with six hotels and a total of 1,046 rooms in Greece. In addition, we are expanding with five new units which correspond to another 586 rooms and we have the potential for many additional and different range hotels including luxury units,” he said.

Accor hotels are slated to open on Crete, Mykonos, and in Western Greece in Aitoloakarnania.

Niko Seaside Resort is the new Accor hotel expected to open on Crete in 2022. Photo source: luxesaleshub-eur.com/

On his visit, Bazin also met with Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, ministers and local tourism stakeholders, and expressed Accor’s interested in creating a tourism academy in Greece.

Accor “can play a central role as well as become a strategic partner, working closely with both the government and the private sector to determine the future state of travel and Greece’s position as a global tourism force,” he said.