Novotel is a French midscale hotel brand owned by Accor. Created in 1967 in France, the company grew into what became the Accor group in 1983, and Novotel remained a pillar brand of Accor's multi-brand strategy. Novotel manages 559 hotels in 65 countries (2021).

History

From Novotel to Accor

The first Novotel was launched in

Lille Lille ( , ; nl, Rijsel ; pcd, Lile; vls, Rysel) is a city in the northern part of France, in French Flanders. On the river Deûle, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France region, the prefecture of the No ...

, France, in 1967. It was inspired by American motels with comfortable rooms, a restaurant and parking. By 1970, seven Novotel hotels were in operation, and the group raised the funds to develop internationally. By 1975, Novotel opened 60 hotels in France and 13 in Europe. Novotel bought Mercure in 1975, and Sofitel in 1980. In 1981, Novotel entered the Asian market with the opening of a hotel in

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

. Novotel reached the top 10 of hotel groups worldwide with 319 hotels. It turned into the Accor group in 1983, and was introduced to the

Paris stock exchange Euronext Paris is France's securities market, formerly known as the Paris Bourse, which merged with the Amsterdam, Lisbon, and Brussels exchanges in September 2000 to form Euronext NV. As of 2022, the 795 companies listed had a combined marke ...

index the same year. Novotel survived as Accor's strong midscale brand alongside Mercure. In 1984, Novotel bought the New York

Times Square Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment hub, and neighborhood in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is formed by the junction of Broadway, Seventh Avenue, and 42nd Street. Together with adjacent ...

building, a city where the company already operated the Roosevelt Hotel on Madison Avenue. In 1986, Novotel introduced full breakfast buffets. In 1995, Novotel launched an international competition to award the best chefs of its hotels, which became the ''Victoires internationales de la cuisine'' in 2001 and stretched its scope to ibis and Mercure chefs.

Since 2000s: Modernization

By the end of the 1990s, ibis hotels took the leadership on cities' peripheries, leading Novotel to redefine a strategy towards city centers, and to launch a global refurbishment program based on design and modularity, bringing Novotel closer to Accor's upscale brand Sofitel. In 2004, Novotel introduced more ergonomic and elegant rooms (Novation) rooms. In 2008, Novotel introduced new organic bath products branded "N". In November 2011, Novotel and

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washi ...

prototyped a futuristic room showcased at the Paris Vaugirard location and dubbed "Room 3120". In 2013, the

Xbox Xbox is a video gaming brand created and owned by Microsoft. The brand consists of five video game consoles, as well as applications (games), streaming services, an online service by the name of Xbox network, and the development arm by the ...

became available to customers, and successfully tested a virtual concierge (Monscierge) within its hotels. In 2014, Novotel introduced a multimedia table, PLAY, to provide digital guest services. In 2012, Novotel sold its New York

location in a €160m sale and management-back deal. In 2013, Novotel opened its 100th hotel in Asia Pacific. In 2016, Novotel opened its largest hotel worldwide, in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

, and a new flagship hotel in London's

Canary Wharf Canary Wharf is an area of London, England, located near the Isle of Dogs in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. Canary Wharf is defined by the Greater London Authority as being part of London's central business district, alongside Central Lon ...

the following year. In 2017, the "N" rooms were launched, another step towards design customization. In July 2018, Novotel opened in

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the Capital city, capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the North Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea ...

its 500th hotel worldwide. In May 2019, Accor opened the Novotel Miami Brickell, the brand's second hotel in the USA. NoVoTel Liverpool

Description

Novotel caters to business and leisure travelers, with hotels located in the heart of major international cities, business districts and tourist destinations. Novotel manages 559 hotels in 65 countries (2021).

Development

Novotel Suites

Since 2010, Novotel also includes the

apartment hotel An apartment hotel or aparthotel (also residential hotel, or extended-stay hotel) is a serviced apartment complex that uses a hotel-style booking system. It is similar to renting an apartment, but with no fixed contracts and occupants can "chec ...

brand Novotel Suites, with 34 hotels worldwide (2018).

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control Hotels established in 1967