Salter Brothers signs major deal with Accor, with industry leading ESG linked agreement

In one of Australia’s largest hotel management portfolio agreement deals for over a decade, Salter Brothers has announced that its portfolio of hotels, acquired as part of the recent Travelodge acquisition, will be joining the global hotel giant Accor at the start of the 2023 financial year.

The management agreement, which includes an industry-leading link to ESG outcomes, will see these hotels (2000+ rooms) rebranded to ibis Styles, Mercure and Novotel hotels when they join the 340+ Accor network of hotels, apartments and resorts across Australia.

Paul Salter, Managing Director of Salter Brothers confirmed that the signing was an exciting milestone for the Group. “We are delighted to be partnering with Accor for the operation of this acquired portfolio, which will include rebranding the hotels to leading ibis Styles, Mercure and Novotel brands, and welcome Accor’s commitment to an Australian first innovative ESG linked management agreement.”

“Both Salter Brothers and Accor are committed to leading the way with ESG hotel benchmarks and our agreement will see us working together to structure performance against targets, which are linked to commercial outcomes. This may include targets such as green energy procurement, waste and energy, water reduction and diversity.”

“This agreement will not only lead to a high quality experience for our customers, who will benefit from Accor’s commitment to operating excellence and focus on the guest, but also our partners, investors and the industry as a whole as it drives value and fuels sustainable outcomes. The domestic travel market is showing very promising signs of recovery, and we believe that with our major refurbishment program in the properties and Accor as our partner under this innovative approach to management, we can take full advantage of this opportunity,” Paul Salter commented.

Accor Pacific Chief Executive Officer, Sarah Derry, said that by partnering with Accor, Salter Brothers would have access to Accor’s powerful distribution engine and realise the benefits of strong customer demand through Accor’s award-winning lifestyle loyalty program,ALL – Accor Live Limitless, along with significant extended benefits created by Accor’s major strategic partnerships with Accor Stadium and Qantas.

“We are delighted to be adding these great hotels to our growing portfolio; it brings new opportunities for our people, partners and guests. Expanding our footprint with these incredible properties will bring more choice for our customers and realise significant commercial benefits for Salter Brothers. Tourism is critical to the economic growth of our region and future job creation,” Ms. Derry said.

The deal is Accor’s largest integration since its $1.2 billion acquisition of Mantra Group in 2018, which brought the Art Series, Peppers, Mantra and BreakFree brands under Accor. Nine of the properties will become Mercure hotels, growing Mercure from 44 properties in Australia to 53, making Mercure the largest and fastest growing global mid-scale brand in Australia with more than 50 hotels.

Ms Derry commented, “The Salter Brothers integration is the latest chapter in Accor’s strong growth story in the Pacific region. These hotels are located in amazing central city locations and the best metropolitan areas and we are working with Salter Brothers to reinvigorate the portfolio, setting them up for success with the next generation of travellers and signalling our confidence in the return of corporate travel.”

From luxury to economy, Accor has more than 340 hotels, resorts and apartments to choose from in Australia, including international brands such as Sofitel, MGallery, Art Series, Pullman, Swissôtel, Mövenpick, Grand Mercure, Peppers, The Sebel, Mantra, Novotel, Mercure, Tribe, BreakFree, ibis, ibis Styles and ibis Budget.