Mercure hotels celebrate 50 years

To celebrate five decades in the hotel business, Mercure has launched a bucket list of 50 worldwide food and drink experiences.

The idea, part of its Discover Local initiative, aims to encourage guests to explore diverse culinary offerings while staying at Mercure properties.

With its name inspired by Mercury, the Roman god of travellers, each Mercure hotel is rooted in its surroundings, be it Rio, Paris, Bangkok or any other of its global destinations, and is designed to be a springboard for explorations.

Over its 50-year lifespan, Mercure has grown to become the second largest mid-scale hotel chain outside North America. But its journey began with a single property, which opened in Saintwitz, just north of Paris, in 1973.

Two years later, it was acquired by Accor, a brand set up by two friends, Paul Dubrule and Gerard Pelisson, who had opened the first Novotel in 1967.

The pair had previously established Ibis in 1974, and they went on to purchase Sofitel in 1980, launching Formule 1 hotels in 1985, then acquiring the Motel 6 chain in the US.

The Mercure brand now boasts 949 hotels with a total of 126,074 rooms, spread across 58 countries. It also currently has 212 hotels in the pipeline including 23 Grand Mercure and Mercure properties in Japan, which will open simultaneously in April, as part of a conversion of hotels from Daiwa Resorts to Accor.

Mercure is one of more than 40 hotel brands in the Accor portfolio, which has 5,487 properties in 110 countries, as well as 10,000 food and beverage venues, wellness facilities and flexible workspaces.

James Wheatcroft, Global SVP Midscale Brands at Accor, said: “We believe food and beverages are universal symbols of welcome and are at the heart of how we experience new cultures.

“In honour of our 50th anniversary, Mercure invites travellers to Discover Local everywhere. For many of us, that means sampling the best food and drink that each unique corner of the world has to offer.” mercure.accor.com