AccorHotels has unveiled a new brand that it claims will break down the boundaries of traditional hospitality by combining “the best of private rental, hostel and hotel formats”.
Designed to cater to the millennial market, Jo & Joe properties will be based in city centre locations. Aiming to become part of the local community – a desire often cited by those booking private rental accommodation – these properties all feature social bar areas that are open to local residents as well as guests, plus communal bathrooms and recreation areas, and rooms that can accommodate either single travellers or groups of up to six people.
Each Jo & Joe property will feature an original accommodate concept, such as yurts, hammocks and caravans, to further individualise the stay.
AccorHotels’ chairman & CEO, Sebastien Bazin, revealed that his brief for the new concept was to “break with tradition, forget old habits, be surprising, authentic, unexpected, [and] bring a breath of fresh air to AccorHotels”.
“It wasn’t an easy brief to put into practice, particularly when you’re primarily targeting millennials, who can be very difficult to win over,” Bazin admitted. “But with the launch of… Jo & Joe, we have now more than met that challenge.
“Jo & Joe represents the very essence of hospitality: welcoming, exciting and beyond our guests’ expectations,” he added.
And it’s not only the facilities that are different; Jo & Joe will offer a series of different rates for people travelling alone, in groups or as a family, starting from EUR25 (US$28) per night. Rooms – in whatever format they take – will feature “spacious beds”, private lockers, reading lights and USB ports.
AccorHotels is targeting 50 Jo & Joe properties by 2020, with firm plans for locations in Paris, Bordeaux, Warsaw, Budapest, Rio de Janiero and Sao Paolo.
The launch of Jo & Joe marks AccorHotels’ latest, and perhaps most significant attempt to diversify from traditional hotel sector. The company previously acquired all or part of several of “new” hospitality concepts, including Onefinestay, the high-end home rental site, Squarebreak, the resort company, and Oasis Collection, which operates a “home meets hotel” concept.
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