Movenpick hints at opening second brand by 2020

Mövenpick global CEO Olivier Chavy has hinted that Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts will have a second brand.

In an exclusive interview with Hotelier Chavy said: “We are not frustrated we are a mono-brand operator, we are proud of it. That being said we will one day, either look at creating a second brand or acquiring a second brand.

“Intuitively it will be a lower tier brand – a conversion brand – dedicated to maybe serve different kinds of clientele, which could be the millennials.”

Revealing a few more details Chavy said: “I can confirm that it will not be a trendy brand because I have seen in the last four years 27 new lifestyle brands across the globe. While some of them are trendy, many of them are single-unit properties. And many of them will die because by the single definition of a lifestyle brand, its lifecycle tends to be short.             

“If we do a second brand, it will be like Mövenpick – a brand for life. And it will not in any way cannibalise our current brand.”

Chavy also isn’t willing to share a precise moment in time when the second brand will go live. “The timeframe is – we have a 2020 vision, which is to bring our brand to a certain critical mass of hotel which could sustain by itself on several parameters. It will happen along the way of our vision 2020.”

Taking charge late last year, Chavy said he is, “constantly asked why Movenpick does not have more hotel brands.” He added: “Let’s consider Shangri-La, Four Seasons, Kempinski and Movenpick – all these brands operate anywhere between nine properties to 100+ hotels; they all have one brand, none of them have a fidelity programme because of several factors.

“These aforementioned hotel operators have just one brand because the guest knows what they get. We have one brand because we are still working consolidating the strength of the brand on our market, and working to build awareness,” said Chavy.