The Accor Group has just announced the creation of the Emblems Collection brand, which will join the 40 or so brands already in the hotel group's portfolio.

This new venture should enable one of the world's leading hospitality companies to bring together more luxury establishments within its already well-stocked portfolio with brands such as Sofitel, Fairmont, McGallery and Raffles. Indeed, Emblems Collection is an international portfolio of boutique hotels and high-end resorts.

With Emblems Collection, Accor is strengthening its position in the field of collection brands, but this brand has a particularity, it is what is commonly called a soft brand. Hotels joining this brand will be able to keep their independent status while enjoying the advantages of belonging to a large group such as Accor with, for example, the ALL loyalty programme. This facilitates the conversion since it is smoother and also allows the hotels to keep their own identity. 

It means keeping its independence, its identity and its heritage while benefiting from a big brother, the Accor Group.

Sébastien Bazin, Président and CEO of Accor 

For owners and developers who have created unique luxury hotels, or are looking to develop a new upmarket offering, we offer a collection brand that can boost their property’s status and profile with limited investment in marketing and branding, along with an easy transition process.

Agnès Roquefort, Development director of Accor

This practice is already widespread in the United States, notably by the Hilton and Marriott groups, and Accor is therefore seeking to catch up with the times by launching itself into this segment. The hotels and resorts that will join this collection will be divided into three categories: 

• Emblems Collection Heritage: hotels that are emblematic of a region and contribute to the character of a city, territory or country, and that celebrate the history and cultural traditions of the places that host them 
• Emblems Collection Retreat: beachfront, bucolic countryside and mountain range resorts that offer spa and wellness experiences and holistic treatments to rejuvenate
• Emblems Signature Collection: design hotels that embody an aesthetic universe with a style unique to the resort's creators or its original residents, helping to shape a unique heretic.

The brand is designed to take into account the needs of independent and boutique hotel owners, as it has been developed specifically for them. With flexible and easy-to-implement hotel standards, owners joining the brand will be able to strengthen their international presence and also bring a more prenium character to their properties. It will be possible to retain the original identity of the hotel while benefiting from a direct return on investment as well as the ability to maximise revenues through immediate access to the power of the Group's sales, distribution and loyalty platform.

With Emblems Collection, a hotelier can optimize their costs and operations right
away by leveraging Accor’s powerful global distribution and supply networks, while expanding their audience reach from the moment they join. We look forward to working collaboratively with more hoteliers and development partners to bring more hotels around the world to this outstanding collection.

Agnès Roquefort, Development director of Accor

The first Emblems Collection hotel is located in China, in the city of Guiyang in central Guizhou province. Known as the "Capital of Summer Resorts", Guiyang is one of the country's fastest growing cities, a tourism hotspot and a popular destination for discerning domestic and international travellers. The Guiyang Art Centre Hotel is an opulent private residence with spacious outdoor areas and a serene atmosphere.

As one of the most important hospitality markets in the world, China is the perfect location for Accor to launch our newest luxury brand, and we are honored to work with our trusted partner, HLC Group on this landmark project. [...] This grand and enigmatic property has long captured the attention of residents and visitors to Guiyang. Emblems Collection will bring a fresh, modern expression of luxury living to this iconic landmark, setting the high standards of hospitality and style that we expect for this brand as it expands to other markets worldwide.

Gary Rosen, CEO Great China d’Accor

Accor's ambition with Emblems Collection is to have 60 locations by 2030, and the Group is actively seeking new properties to incorporate into its new brand in target destinations around the world. Among the many cities targeted are Paris, Prague, Marrakech, Doha, Seoul, Sydney and Havana.