Accor has appointed Jonathan Sheard as senior vice president, development at AccorHotels UK & Ireland – pushing franchise growth for the Mercure and ibis Styles brands.
Sheard, who has been appointed to the newly created job, has worked for AccorHotels since 1992, most recently as senior vice president for luxury, upscale and midscale brands, UK&I, responsible for the rapid growth of the Mercure brand.
Thomas Dubaere, managing director AccorHotels UK&I said: "The UK is a growing market and we have ambitious expansion plans to reach 40,000 rooms in the coming years. Jonathan’s skillset alongside the experienced team will be invaluable."
Franchising will continue to be the most popular source of growth for hotel brands in 2016, according to the latest European Hotel Market Survey by law firm, Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP).
It also named London as the strongest performer in Europe, ahead of Berlin, Barcelona and Madrid in 2015.
The survey said that global investors are keeping their sights on Western Europe with popular cities being seen as a ‘safe haven’.
89% of investors increasingly value the benefits of hotels as an attractive real estate asset class, due to steady returns and low interest rates.
