B&B hotel group launches in Switzerland in 2018
Groupe B&B Hôtels' first hotels in Switzerland will open in September 2018. They are located in Rümlang and Wallisellen.
After the hotel group had recently announced ambitious expansion targets for 2020, the opening of two new hotels in the Zurich region will follow in the fall of 2018. This will be the first time the French chain has set foot on Swiss soil. Groupe B&B Hôtels is already represented in the neighboring countries of Germany, France and Italy. In and around the major cities of Zurich, Bern and Geneva are "important and strongly developing areas," the hotel group writes in its media release.
Switzerland is characterized by many hotels in the four- and five-star segment. However, affordable offers have been lacking so far, the report continues. With its concept, Groupe B&B Hôtels offers "high quality with a transparent price structure and uncomplicated booking channels. The hotels are suitable for trade fair visitors and business people as well as for leisure travelers and families. Among other things, the newly opened hotels offer guests free Wi-Fi, a separate bathroom, air conditioning and parking facilities.
"The Swiss market opens up great development opportunities for us, as customers are looking for accommodation with more affordable prices. We aim to create a budget and economy hotel chain network in the area. Our first step is to open 15 hotels in the medium term," explains Fabrice Collet, COO of Groupe B&B Hôtels. The plan is to establish a total of two hotels per year, he said. "Switzerland is the heart of Europe and is very important for our growth strategy in Europe," Collet said.
In Rümlang, the French hotel group has signed a lease agreement with Nestor Immobilien AG. The B&B Hotel under construction there will have a total of 170 rooms. In Wallisellen, meanwhile, a new building with a total of 142 rooms is being constructed on the Serliana site. Currently, Groupe B&B Hôtels has more than 400 hotels throughout Europe. In Germany, the 100th hotel will open this year. Over the next few years, the company is planning and implementing 15 to 20 hotel openings per year at various locations in Germany - and from 2018 also in Austria.
