Shanghai: European hotel chain Accor has officially introduced its new upscale brand, Pullman, in Chins, aimed at the business traveller.

Five new Pullman hotels will be launched between 2008 to 2010 in China, of which Pullman Dongguan Forum has become the first one in China after its opening in mid- March.

This announcement follows the launch of the Pullman brand in Europe last December, which saw 10 Pullman hotels debut in France, Germany and Belgium. In Asia, the brand was introduced at the beginning of 2008 with the opening of Pullman Bangkok King Power as the first Pullman hotel in Asia.
Accor, European leader and a major global hotels group associated with 3,871 properties, operates in 90 countries and reported a a net income of €883 million on consolidated earnings of €8,121 million in 2007, through its two core businesses:

• Hotels, with the Sofitel, Pullman, Novotel, Mercure, Suitehotel, Ibis, All Seasons, Etap Hotel, Formule 1 and Motel 6 brands, with nearly 500,000 rooms in 90 countries, as well as strategically related activities, such as Lenôtre.
• Services, in human resources, marketing and expense management.

The Pullman name is derived from the Pullman railway carriages that changed the face of overnight railway travel in America, and later in the UK and Europe from the 1860s.
 
Typically located in the heart of large regional and international cities and close to major airports, Pullman hotels will provide creative services and excellent meeting facilities that distinguish the hotels from other brands in the market. The new brand's main ambition is to provide an offer that creates a balance between convivial hospitality, tranquillity and connectivity for men and women travelling on business and whose expectations are not entirely met by the market's current offer.

By the end of 2008, the Pullman network will consist of 56 hotels and over 13,000 rooms in 23 countries in Europe, Asia-Pacific, the Middle East and South America. In the medium to longer term, Accor's ambition is to develop a worldwide chain of 300 hotels by 2015, with 100 hotels in Asia-Pacific, growing at a rate of 25 new hotels a year.

Announcing the entry of the Pullman brand into the Chinese market, Accor Asia Pacific chairman and COO, Michael Issenberg, said that Pullman would be one of Accor's fastest growing brands in the Asia Pacific region.

"There is great scope for both new-build and re-branded Pullman hotels in Asia," he said. "With economies throughout Asia continuing to grow strongly, and with the corporate and meetings sectors being particularly fast growing markets, the Pullman hotel brand is being launched to meet a clear market demand," he said.

Issenberg also said, "In the Asia Pacific region, the Pullman brand will expand rapidly in the next 12 months, particularly in China. Further extensive development is planned throughout the region over the coming years, with an estimate of at least 18 hotels in operation by 2009 and a longer term aim of 100 hotels in Asia Pacific."

With the latest opening of Pullman Dongguan Forum and another four hotels announced in China today, Pullman hasmade its way into the Chinese market with efficiency.

According to Robert Murray, Accor's senior vice president, Greater China, the introduction of Pullman into the China market reflects Accor's intention to consolidate the group's brand portfolio and to improve its range by strengthening its position in the business travel segment. "The entry of this highly regarded brand will provide an even greater diversity of hotel choice for China's rapidly growing commercial and leisure markets" he said.