Pierre & Vacances Center Parcs is a French operator of extended stay hotels. Founded in 1967, the group's growth was built on real estate development and, following its IPO, strategic acquisitions. Today, the group is relying on partnerships to accelerate its development in new markets.
Key figures
Pierre & Vacances is a French group operating extended stay hotels & holiday villages created by Gérard Brémond in 1967. That year, the group's first tourist residence opened its doors in the Avoriaz ski resort, while in the Netherlands, Piet Derksen, founder of Center Parcs, created its "Villa in the Forest" concept.
Pierre & Vacances opened its first seaside resort on the French coast in 1979, in Juan-les-Pins. In the following decades, the group continued to develop new villages. Introduced on the stock exchange in 1999, Pierre & Vacances bought Orion Vacances, then Gran Dorado (2000), Maeva (2001) and the French MGM residences (2003). After rising to 50% of the capital of Center Parcs in 2001, Pierre & Vacances finalized the acquisition of the Dutch company in 2003.
While Pierre & Vacances opened its first residence in Spain in 2005, the Center Parcs brand continued its European development with new villages. In 2007, the group acquired Sunparks and the real estate developer Les Senioriales, and created the Adagio urban residences brand in a 50/50 partnership with the Accor group. It continued its expansion in this urban segment with the acquisition of Citéa in 2011. Meanwhile, the group launched developments in Germany, Morocco and Brazil.
It is accelerating its international development through partnerships, including that with Morgan Stanley Real Estate Investing for Spain, sealed in 2014. In 2015/2016, the Chinese giant HNA took over 10% of the group's capital and launched several development projects in China. Pierre & Vacances Center Parcs also acquired la France du Nord au Sud, an online distributor, and in 2017 opened Village Nature, a new unit near Disneyland Paris.
With its Pierre & Vacances, Pierre & Vacances premium, Center Parcs, Sunparks, Meavea and Adagio brands, the group operates a portfolio of nearly 50,000 keys worldwide. It is the 27th largest hotel group in the world.
