A 103 room - the largest so far in Australia - Formule 1 begins construction today on a highly visible site on the corners of the Hume Highway and the Western Ring Road in Fawkner, in the northern suburbs. These are the main transport arteries of Melbourne.

Completion of the modular-style motel is scheduled for April 1999. When it opens, Melbourne will be the first city in Australia to have each of Accor's major hotels brands - Sofitel, Novotel, Mercure, Ibis and Formule 1.

The Formule 1 concept - which has seen the opening of 470 motels in 11 countries - is based on providing a highly affordable and standardised product in key commercial areas, close to major transport arteries. The brand has been likened to the "McDonalds of motel accommodation", with all rooms identical (offering a queen size bed and overhead bunk bed plus ensuite bathroom) and a uniform tariff ($49 per room per night).

A major innovation in the operation of Formule 1 motels is the computerised access system which enhances guest security and allows convenient after-hours access via an ATM-style terminal.  While Formule 1 motels are staffed 24 hours a day, guests gain entry to their room by entering a pin number in a key-pad next to the door.  The motels do not have a full restaurant, but vending machines operate 24 hours a day and a light self-serve continental breakfast is available for $5.

The motels are largely pre-fabricated off-site, which allows fast and efficient assembly at the sites. Bathrooms for the full Formule 1 network in Australia are constructed in Melbourne.

The first Formule 1 motel in Australia opened in 1994 in Campbelltown in south west Sydney. Over the past 18 months, additional Formule 1 motels have opened at Enfield on the Hume Highway (just south of the Homebush Bay Sydney Olympic venue), St Peters (near Sydney Airport), and Wentworthville (near Parramatta).

The success of the initial Formule 1 motels has prompted Accor to seek additional sites in Sydney and interstate. Sites in Brisbane, Canberra, Newcastle, Wollongong and elsewhere in Sydney and Melbourne are currently being evaluated.

Accor Managing Director for Australia/New Zealand, Michael Issenberg, said the guaranteed consistency of product and prime locations on access routes had enabled the brand to make an instant impact in the economy sector of the accommodation market.

"Motels in Australia are notoriously variable when it comes to standards, where as the Formule 1 concept is based entirely on offering a completely standardised product in highly convenient locations at a uniform price," said Mr Issenberg. "They need to be very visible, in high-density population areas, close to retail, commercial and industrial complexes, with ancilliary facilities like restaurants and other services close by.

"The Fawkner site is absolutely ideal for the brand's debut in Melbourne, with such heavy traffic flows coming down the Hume Highway from NSW, Canberra and regional areas of Victoria. There are also commercial and industrial areas such as Broadmeadows, Preston and Campbellfield close-by.

"We will expect the same sort of cross-section of guests in the Melbourne Formule 1.  Prime users are business and leisure travellers either visiting the particular areas or in-transit, sports and school groups, clubs, country people visiting friends and relatives and people attending private and public functions."

Owners and operators of the Formule 1 chain, Accor, is the world's largest hotel and tourism operator, with over 2,800 hotels, including 60 in Australia. Accor's other brands include Sofitel, Novotel, Mercure and Ibis.