Le Club Accorhotels - Motel 6 sold to Blackstone for 1.9 billion USD

Headline says it all. Completion expected in October. Accor press release here. (http://www.accor.com/fileadmin/user_upload/Contenus_Accor/Finance/Pressreleases/2012/EN/pr_accor___motel_6_20120522.pdf)

Should help pay for quite a few new MGallery and Sofitel openings. :)

Headline says it all. Completion expected in October. Accor press release here. (http://www.accor.com/fileadmin/user_upload/Contenus_Accor/Finance/Pressreleases/2012/EN/pr_accor___motel_6_20120522.pdf)

Should help pay for quite a few new MGallery and Sofitel openings. :)

Hope they [ACCOR] find something a notch or two nicer to replace with for the US market. Hard to compete with Holiday Inn Express I'm guessing.

Hope they [ACCOR] find something a notch or two nicer to replace with for the US market.

I don't think we're about to see Mercures in the USA or indeed anything below Novotel. From the press release:

in North America [...] we will remain present with luxury and upscale flagships under the Sofitel and Novotel brands [...]
This deal will provide Accor with additional resources to address the tremendous growth potential in the Asia Pacific region, in Latin America and in Europe

Hmm, Blackstone already owns Hilton and perhaps could position Motel 6 as a low end Hilton brand. Hampton Inns are no longer such, more mid-scale these days (especially on price).

Blackstone already owns Hilton and perhaps could position Motel 6 as a low end Hilton brand.

They do indeed own Hilton (as well as La Quinta) but for the moment at least, according to their spokesperson as quoted in the press release, they are not planning to link the brands: "Motel 6 will be operated on a stand-alone basis".

Most importantly, will Blackstone "leave the light on" for Tom Bodett?

Most importantly, will Blackstone "leave the light on" for Tom Bodett?

^

It would be a huge mistake to try and link low-end properties like Motel 6 with any serious hotel brand.

Headline says it all. Completion expected in October. Accor press release here. (http://www.accor.com/fileadmin/user_upload/Contenus_Accor/Finance/Pressreleases/2012/EN/pr_accor___motel_6_20120522.pdf)

Should help pay for quite a few new MGallery and Sofitel openings. :)

... In Asia and South America, which are Accor's first strategic priorities.

... In Asia and South America, which are Accor's first strategic priorities.

Yes: growth in Asia is clearly a very high priority -- and in Latin America (which Accor always talks about rather than just South America), so we should see more properties outside Brazil than has been the case up to now. More growth in Europe was also specifically mentioned in the press release. All-round good news!

Motel 6 sale completed as planned, according to today's press release (http://www.accor.com/fileadmin/user_upload/Contenus_Accor/Finance/Pressreleases/2012/EN/pr_closing_motel_6.pdf).