French hotel chain to open Westlands outlet in Q4

What you need to know:

Global hospitality group Accor, the largest hotel chain outside the US, has slated the opening of its Pullman Hotel in Westlands, Nairobi for the last quarter of 2019.
The 334-room property was first announced in 2015, with its opening slated for mid-2018, but this has been delayed to the end of this year.
Pullman is the only Accor brand hotel in the pipeline for Kenya.
The highest number of hotels to be opened under the brand are concentrated in Egypt, Nigeria and Ethiopia.

Global hospitality group Accor, the largest hotel chain outside the US, has slated the opening of its Pullman Hotel in Westlands, Nairobi for the last quarter of 2019.

The 334-room property was first announced in 2015, with its opening slated for mid-2018, but this has been delayed to the end of this year.

“Pullman delayed from last year to this year due to uplifting of the hotel. The finishing of the design of the property is expected in quarter four this year,” said Accor Chief Executive for Middle East and Africa, Mark Willis.

The building that will house the hotel is owned by Mombasa businessman Amjad Rahim, a serial investor in the local real estate and hospitality segment.

The French multinational has been accelerating its footprint in Africa with its brands following the rebrand of Tune to ibis Styles, its global acquisition of Mövenpick Hotels and Resorts and the Fairmont Group. This saw the new Mövenpick Hotel and Residences Nairobi Hotel fall under the AccorHotels umbrella alongside Fairmont the Norfolk, Fairmont Mara Safari Club and Fairmount Mount Kenya Safari Club. This brings the number of properties managed by the French conglomerate to five in Kenya, with Pullman expected to be the sixth brand.

Accor has been shifting its focus from its traditional North and West Africa markets to include East and South Africa.

“We needed to be global in Africa and this means being in key hubs including Johannesburg and Nairobi,” said Marc Descrozaille, Chief Operating Officer, the Middle East and Africa for Accor.

Pullman is the only Accor brand hotel in the pipeline for Kenya. The highest number of hotels to be opened under the brand are concentrated in Egypt, Nigeria and Ethiopia.