Accor reveals plans to fill network ‘gap’ with more Brisbane and Perth hotels

Oasis Fans dance before the Oasis concert at Accor Stadium in early November. Picture: Damian Shaw

French hospitality giant Accor plans to expand further into Brisbane and Perth, saying it is underdone in these key cities.

Accor chief operating officer Adrian Williams says events have contributed to its landmark year but the hotelier, which has more than 400 hotels under management, needs to expand further into Brisbane where it has 22 branded Accor hotels and Perth where it has just 12 properties.

“We have a gap in the network … we are very interested in adding more properties to the network in Brisbane,” Mr Williams said.

Boosted by a rise in the popularity of leisure travel, Accor’s booking pace across Australia has averaged 16 per cent higher year-on-year since the start of this year.

Inbound tourism continues to rebound strongly, with international stays in Accor’s Australian hotels up 9 per cent year-on-year, driven by growth from China, the UK and Singapore.

Adrian Williams, chief operating officer, Accor will open another seven hotels in the last seven weeks of 2025.

Sydney continues to benefit from surging leisure travel and strong meeting and event group activity, with Accor recording an average booking pace increase of 6 per cent since January.

International visitation into Accor’s Sydney hotels is up 13 per cent year-on-year, with growth from Mainland China, Korea and Indonesia.

Mr Williams attributed much of the rise in leisure travellers to the popularity of concert events in the major capitals.

“It really is built around leisure tourism, when good events are on people will travel,” said Mr Williams, adding that there had been really strong hotel demand for the Oasis and Metallica concerts, while the AC/DC concerts were also driving good demand in Sydney and Melbourne.

“These event experiences are what people will travel for. You don’t just turn up for the concert, it’s the whole experience including a hotel stay,” he said, adding that leisure travel remains especially strong with travellers seeking experiences beyond the traditional hotel stay.

He did not think that higher airfares were hurting leisure travel, saying “we always need value, but value can be measured by experience not by price.”

He was also confident about the state of leisure travel in Australia. “I have just spent three days in Queensland, where the government focus is on tourism,” he said, adding that Queensland’s tourism, events and marketing approach was impressive and was being driven by the 2032 Olympics.

“We have signed a lot of hotels in the past year, the pipeline is really strong,” said Mr Williams, with Accor aiming to open seven hotels during the last seven weeks of this year, including The Saint Kilda Beach Hotel in Victoria and the Mantra Hobart Airport in Tasmania.

Oasis Fans Ellie McCann, Chloe Purnell and Millie Ashurst pictured as they arrive at Sydney Olympic Park for the Oasis concert at Accor Stadium on November 7. Picture: Damian Shaw

Hotel performance continues to build momentum compared with last year, particularly in key cities such as Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth.

Although Melbourne has been accused of having too much hotel supply, Mr Williams said Accor has seen record demand in the Victorian city.

“We are anticipating good growth in Melbourne in 2026. Melbourne still offers great value for travellers, that is why we are seeing good growth in demand.

“We will see good numbers for the Australian Open and for the Grand Prix. We will see record numbers.”

He added that this week’s opening of Grill Americano in Sydney by Melbourne restaurateur Chris Lucas “gives encouragement that there’s good investment in the hospitality space in Sydney.”