Louvre Hotels Group Actively Pursues its Development Abroad

The Group sustained its growth in France last year with 28 new openings (2000 rooms). (for further information on France, see press release from 6th January 2012) The international development of Louvre Hotels Group rapidly increased with 34 openings (5,000 rooms) compared to 18 openings in 2010 (3,320 rooms). Therefore, for the first time since the operational merger of Louvre Hôtels and Golden Tulip, more than half of the Group’s openings were abroad: 55% of new hotels and 72% of the Group’s new rooms were opened outside France in 2011.

An accelerated international strategy for the Group on strong growth markets

The majority of the Group’s new hotels abroad were opened in growing markets such as India, China, the Middle East and North Africa.

India As one of the Group’s priority countries in 2011, there are now ten hotels in India, nine of which were opened over the past 12 months. The Group has set itself the target of opening around a dozen hotels per year in India over the next five years.

China Louvre Hotels Group, which currently has three hotels in China, aims to continue to expand on this market by opening between two to five hotels, either mid to high-range, per year. Through the partnership that the Group made with Chinese major player in the hotel industry Jin Jiang in November 2011, it aims to take advantage of the country’s rapidly growing economy. In particular, this partnership is a great opportunity to attract new clients both in France and in China thanks to the strength of the combined reputation of the two brands.

The Middle East and North Africa With 40 hotels already established in Africa and in the Middle East, seven of which were opened in 2011, the Group is actively pursuing its development in the region, mainly through openings in Morocco and Saudi Arabia, but also in Jordan, the UAE and Oman.

Other regions The Group, which is also counting greatly on the growth of Latin American countries, also opened four new hotels in Brazil, where Louvre Hotels Group has moved from 6th to 3rd place in the national hotel rankings in just three years thanks to an exclusive partnership with BHG. Today the Group has around thirty hotels in Brazil.

Golden Tulip: a centrepiece of the international strategy of Louvre Hotels Group

In 2011, all of the international openings were under the Golden Tulip brand. This emblematic brand in the four star hotel segment is contributing to the strong growth of Louvre Hotels Group, particularly in terms of the number of rooms - Golden Tulip hotels have a larger than average capacity compared to the rest of the Group’s hotels.

Since the operational merger between Golden Tulip and Louvre Hôtels in 2009, the number of annual openings for Golden Tulip hotels has doubled. Today, Golden Tulip brands represent 1/3 of the Group’s total rooms and 85% of its rooms abroad.

Beyond its historic market, the Netherlands (48 hotels), Golden Tulip hotels now has a strong presence in Brazil (29 hotels) and the Middle East (45 hotels).

Further development of hotels under management contract

In 2011, 34 franchise hotels were opened and 28 were opened under management contract. At a global level, 54% of the Group’s 1,056 hotels are either subsidiaries or under management contract, and 46% are franchises. In 2012, Louvre Hotels Group plans to open more than half of its new hotels under management contract. This demonstrates the ability of the Group to offer hotel owners and investors a wide range of services and a real depth of understanding, thus allowing them to provide a quality hotel experience and to meet client expectations.

Outlook for 2012 Louvre Hotels Group is aiming to continue its expansion strategy in 2012 and plans to open 76 new hotels this year, 51 of which will be abroad. The Group currently has 170 hotel projects in the pipeline, the equivalent of around 20,000 rooms.

The Group is going to continue to take advantage of its portfolio of strong and complimentary brands which allow it to respond in the best way possible to the individual characteristics of each market, both in France and abroad.

Matthieu EVRARD, Chief Development Officer of Louvre Hotels Group has stated that: “We are planning to accelerate the international development of the Group, and in 2012 almost 60% of our hotel openings will be outside France, particularly in Europe and on strong growth markets such as India, Brazil and the Middle East.”