Hotel operator Accor is set to realise its ambition to increase the UK network to 300 hotels by 2015 with the signing of a franchise agreement with Jupiter Hotels Ltd, the new owners of the former Jarvis hotels. This is a landmark deal for the UK hotel industry in 2011.

In what is the biggest franchise deal for Accor this year, 24 hotels - or 2,664 rooms - will open under the Mercure hotel brand across the UK, bringing the total number of Mercure hotels in the UK to 68. The deal is the latest in a series of franchise agreements which has seen the Mercure brand expand rapidly in the UK in recent months, making Mercure a major player in the local mid-scale market.

The new hotels are located in a range of locations across the UK, including popular tourist destinations like Brighton, York, Edinburgh and Inverness, and key towns such as London, Leeds, Bradford, Manchester, Bristol, Gloucester and Leicester. The partnership with Mercure will allow the hotels to retain their individuality and style whilst joining an established network of over 700 midscale hotels operating in more than 50 countries across the world.

Jean-Jacques Dessors, Chief Operating Officer of Accor UK and Ireland said, “This major franchise agreement is a significant milestone for Accor in the realisation of our ambitious growth targets. This expansion further demonstrates our commitment to building the Mercure hotel brand in the UK, which is such an important market for Accor. We will continue to pursue further franchise growth opportunities this year and beyond.”

The new Mercure hotels will include:

Mercure Ayr Hotel
Mercure Bolton West Hotel
Mercure Bradford North Hotel
Mercure Brighton Seafront Hotel
Mercure Bristol North The Grange Hotel
Mercure Burton Upon Trent Newton Park
Mercure Chester East Hotel
Mercure Edinburgh Mount Royal Hotel
Mercure Glasgow City Hotel
Mercure Gloucester, Bowden Hall Hotel
Mercure Hull North Humberside Hotel
Mercure Inverness Hotel
Mercure Kidderminster Hotel
Mercure Leeds Parkway Hotel
Mercure Leicester City Hotel
Mercure London Watford Hotel
Mercure Maidstone Hotel
Mercure Manchester Piccadilly Hotel
Mercure Newbury Elcot Park Hotel
Mercure Norwich Hotel
Mercure Swansea Hotel
Mercure Tunbridge Wells Hotel
Mercure Wetherby Hotel
Mercure York Fairfield Manor Hotel

City.Mobi

Also in Europe today, City.Mobi is celebrating the success of its new guide to London.

City.Mobi offers the most comprehensive mobile travel guides available, with over 800 cities in 200 countries listed. Each is developed by the City.Mobi team to combine into a single global travel directory.

However, each city retains its own mobile identity via a dedicated domain. Already on offer are Brussels.Mobi, Paris.Mobi, Sanfrancisco.Mobi and Sydney.Mobi.

London.mobi is the latest in this illustrious line up, offering click to call functionality – which means no scribbling down telephone numbers.

Most entries are also linked to websites where users can quickly access more detailed information if needed.

Other key features include information on accommodation, restaurants, attractions, entertainment, nightlife, shopping, and transport.

City.Mobi guides include user reviews and traveller utilities such as a translation guide, currency converter, news and local weather guide.