The launch of the Mercure London Bridge just last week was a clear indication of the importance of the Mercure portfolio to Accor, the world’s leading hotel operator with over 3,500 hotels in 92 countries.
Mercure is the second largest hotel chain in midscale, with 732 hotels in 50 countries – and is rapidly expanding with an average of one opening per week and over 15,000 new rooms between 2011 and 2012. It is aiming for 1,000 hotels within 5 years, mostly through franchises. This represents a major challenge to Mercure: not only to install its new brand identity but to implement all the design and facilities changes to be seen at flagship Mercures will take time and support from franchisees.
And according to Mercure’s figures, one third of hotels worldwide are midscale and, of those, only 30% are branded – the remaining 70% representing a major business opportunity.
The new brand
Mercure recognises that such a major brand has to appeal to rational criteria:
- Business and meetings facilities
- Online recommendations
- Downtown, central locations
- High quality overall design and atmosphere
- Standardised high quality facilities
- Quality guarantee
But also to more ‘emotional’ expectations:
- Experiencing the destination/location – culture
- Reflect the locality – food, decor, style
- The ‘cocoon’ effect: comfort and service
- Standardised facilities – but locally inspired design and ambience
- Interaction with staff
Guest expectations
As indicated above, midscale hotels must meet the expectations of sophisticated, experienced guests: nomadic (travelling widely on business and/or leisure), workaholic (they need seemless WiFi, even on holiday, for laptop, tablet, mobile – quality of connection is becoming important), and with high expectations of all customer ‘touchpoints’.
In addition to the physical changes to Mercure hotels, therefore, Mercure is also focussing on
- Human relations: the outward manifestation of change is that the check-in and check-out process that guests dislike for its inconvenience is being removed. Reception desks are going, with teams being trained to welcome guests, using tablets. Technology can be used to send invoices before departure to the guest’s smartphone. In total, 45,000 team members across Mercure worldwide are receiving training to change how Mercure interacts with guests at every touchpoint.
- Digital tools: already, 1 booking per minute is made online, with over 19 million visits in 2012 (up 19%). Clearly, the customer experience online must be immaculate – from finding locations and facilities, to rates, to booking. There are already 26 geo-localised websites using 9 languages, with a mobile application to be launched late in 2013.
Let’s not forget food and drink
Depending on the location and the guest demographics involved, Mercure recognises the importance of food and drink in midscale hotels:
- Breakfast locally adapted to guest requirements -not everyone wants a ‘full English’!
- Depending on location, a ‘classic; restaurant, and/or a more ‘trendy’ eating place, ranging from ‘kitchen lounge’ to ‘restaurant lounge’ or to ‘bar lounge’, in each case enabling the guest to choose what they want.
- Local wine selection – ‘flavours from the cellar’ – by the glass or bottle.
The dynamic, challenging hotel market
Mercure operates in a very large and competitive segment of the hotel market, and has laid down its own blueprint for the coming years. It’s one that its competitors – whether major chains or small independents – will need to consider carefully for the implications for their businesses. Social media today ensures that guests are rapidly aware of the services and standards offered by hotel operators, but share them: those who fall too far behind will struggle to catch up again.
See H & C News coverage of the ‘new’ Mercure London Bridge Hotel