The 150 room 4-star Novotel and 100 room 3-star Ibis will be the first international-chain hotels to be built outside Auckland�s central business district. The hotel complex is scheduled for completion in mid-2000.

In another statement today, Accor announced the acquisition of a site in central Wellington, which will be developed into an Ibis hotel. With these three new hotels, and the opening of Novotel Tainui in Hamilton in May, Accor�s network of hotels in New Zealand will grow to a total of nine, establishing it as the largest global hotel operator in the country.

The Ellerslie area is Auckland�s principal medical area, with the Greenlane Hospital, the National Women�s Hospital and the nearly-completed Ascot private hospital all located close to the hotel site. 

The hotels will be located adjacent to the Ellerslie Racecourse and Convention Centre, regarded as Auckland�s leading large-scale conference venue. Within 1km of the hotel is the New Zealand Expo Centre and Logan Campbell Centre, a venue where major exhibitions and trade shows are staged.

The Ellerslie/Penrose/Mt Wellington precinct is also growing rapidly as a base for Auckland�s largest corporate and multi-national companies, whose visitors have had to stay either in local motels or commute from Auckland city hotels - a journey of up to 30 minutes in heavy traffic.

Accor is highly experienced at developing such integrated complexes. In Sydney, a Novotel/Ibis hotel complex is being constructed at the Olympic Village, Homebush Bay, and in Melbourne, the opening last year of the Novotel Glen Waverley in a similarly underserviced commercial and residential area, has changed travelling patterns for interstate and international corporate travellers.

�The hotel complex will be designed specifically to meet the various � and quite differing needs � of travellers visiting the area,� says Michael Issenberg, Accor�s Managing Director for Australia/New Zealand.

�We will develop facilities so that we can work closely with the new Ascot private hospital, which will make the hotel complex unique in New Zealand. Equally, our hotels will cater for the needs of business travellers, conference and exhibition attendees and those coming to Ellerslie for race meetings. With 3 and 4-star accommodation we can cater for the large majority of people who visit the area and require international quality, value-priced accommodation.

�Our experience in Australia has proven that travellers want accommodation close to where they are working or where they have to visit. The success of the Novotel Glen Waverley in Melbourne�s eastern suburbs business corridor proved that conclusively, and all indications from the Novotel/Ibis hotel complex at Sydney�s Olympic Village suggest similarly strong demand. Like Ellerslie, the Homebush Bay area is surrounded by industry and the hotels have extensive conference and exhibition venues in close proximity to the hotel.

�New Zealand has been targeted for considerable growth by Accor. The opening of the two Ibis hotels in Auckland and Wellington will complement the network of Novotels that are now well-established throughout the country.�

The hotel complex will have a brasserie restaurant, bar, meeting rooms, and parking.

The hotels will join worldwide networks of Novotel (330 hotels and resorts) and Ibis (450 hotels). In total Accor operates 2,800 hotels under brands including Sofitel, Novotel, Mercure, Ibis and Formule 1 hotels. Accor is also a leader in car rental, travel agency, restaurant, conference and other tourism services.