Accor Hotels now operates more than 100,000 rooms in the Asia Pacific region, with the opening of ibis Hong Kong Central and Sheung Wan. Chairman and Chief Operating Officer Michael Issenberg announced the milestone at the 2012 Economy Hotels World Asia conference in Singapore, reaffirming the group’s growth strategy for Asia-Pacific.

Issenberg also revealed the findings of Accor’s Asia Economy Hotels Research 2012, which seeks to better understand attitudinal differences between travelers staying at economy hotels. “Today, Accor operates 536 hotels in 16 countries in Asia Pacific and is the market leader in Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, Indonesia, South Korea and Vietnam,” Issenberg said.

The growing demand for international-standard, value-for-money economy hotels led Accor to commission the Asia Economy Hotels Research 2012. The study surveyed business and leisure travelers from eight key markets in Asia to gather insights into the differing attitudes towards economy hotels.

According to the research, six in 10 travelers in Asia prefer international economy hotel brands to domestic brands and assign different “personalities” to them. International brands were considered “stylish, high-class, reliable, attractive and energetic” compared to domestic brands, which tended to be viewed as “down-to-earth, practical, approachable and considerate.”

“The Asia Economy Hotels Research will help us better understand what our guests expect of our economy hotel brands. For example, we learned that guests are willing to spend more per night to stay at an international over a domestic brand economy hotel -- in some markets nearly 90 percent more,” said Issenberg. “However, we also learned that they trust our brands to deliver more value for money -- in terms of professionalism, comfort and amenities. We are now analyzing the findings to see how we can better live up to the expectations of travelers in each of our different markets, but early indications suggest we are on the right track with our ibis family of brands.”

The ibis brand family covers Accor’s economy and budget offering and consists of three complementary brands -- ibis, ibis Styles (formerly all Seasons) and ibis budget (formerly Formule 1) -- each with its own personality. The ibis hotel offer is characterized by service and the best level of comfort in the economy segment, providing well-being at the best price. Ibis Styles assures comfort and unique designs at an all-inclusive price. Ibis budget offers travelers essential comfort at budget prices. Today, Accor operates 179 ibis brand family hotels in Asia Pacific, including 113 ibis, 42 ibis Styles and 24 ibis budget properties.

The 550-room ibis Hong Kong Central and Sheung Wan is a short walk from Sheung Wan MTR station and Macau Ferry terminal, and boasts convenient links to Hong Kong International Airport, via the Airport Express and airport buses. The hotel is one of the first properties in Asia to feature the new ibis brand identity, which is being rolled out globally.

The hotel offers a full eight hours of breakfast service, beginning at 4:30 a.m., a 24-hour bar and complimentary Wi-Fi Internet throughout the property. In addition, a 15-minute satisfaction promise is given to all customers for requests they make through the front desk.