Accor has launched a new Apartments and Villas portfolio, bringing together its extended-stay hotel brands, branded private residences and Onefinestay brand.
The site includes more than 50,000 apartments, villas and chalets, in over 350 destinations.
The group said: “The Covid-19 crisis has transformed the way we live, work and travel. Branded Residences, which typically combine private home ownership with luxury branding and a comprehensive menu of hotel and residential services, have proven to be very resilient, with an increasingly diverse pipeline and record growth. In 10 years the sector has grown by 170% and despite a difficult context, 2020 should be another record year with the opening of more than 100 additional projects, according to the Savills 2020 Spotlight on Branded Residences.
”We see increasing demand for residentially designed short term rental accommodations, as consumers seek out accommodations which enable more privacy and self-sufficiency and include features like extra living space and generous outdoor space", said Riyan Itani, head of Savills International Development Consultancy.
According to Savills International Development Consultancy, a third of global markets have reported increased interest from buyers looking to expand their primary residence. This growing desire for space, coupled with the increase in working from home, could give a boost to resort projects.
Accor currently operates 30 branded residence projects globally, with another 70 under development. This growth has been particularly pronounced in the emerging lifestyle branded segment. Accor currently operates six lifestyle branded projects with another 18 under development.
In many instances, purchasers of branded residences elect to make their homes available through a managed rental programme. Participating homeowners will now see their homes distributed through the new Apartments & Villas website
Jeff Tisdall, SVP, development, residential and extended stay, Accor, said: “The launch of the website demonstrates our ambition to develop offers and solutions tailored to the extended stay hotel segment," said"The launch of apartmentsandvillas.accor.com is an important milestone for our investment partners, guests and private residence owners, and further reinforces Accor's leadership position in extended stay hotel and branded residence segments".
Yassine Hachem, VP, guest digital product, added: “Apartments & Villas site reflects our ongoing commitment to innovation as consumer travel needs evolve, and allows all of our clients to discover an incredible collection of accommodations around the world on one digital platform, as well as to live an exceptional travel experience: the space, comfort and privacy of a home for a weekend, a vacation or working in a new setting, allied to the convenience of hotel services from Accor brands and to the best of loyalty advantages.”
Insight: Accor has fiddled and wiggled around with Onefinestay since buying it, cutting listings so that it could both make money and offer service without the logistical apocalypse that comes with using other people’s homes to make money.
It was never going to be a scale operation and the brand makes much of being a luxury offering. But then one looks at Airbnb with its six million listings and one can’t help but wonder whether there are more properties to be had down the back of the sofa. And ta da! There they were all along.
Accor CEO Sébastien Bazin has had plenty to say about Airbnb in the past - regrets at not buying it, accusations that the platform had lost its soul - but, along with his hotel CEO colleagues, has never been able to deny its influence. He is now starting, just a bit, to get some of the scale which could make the hotel version work.