Louvre Hotels Group, a key player in the global hotel market, pursued its offensive development strategy in the first half of 2012 with the opening of 39 new hotels in France and abroad since January (representing an additional 5,200 rooms). The number of new hotels has increased constantly, twice as much as the year-earlier period. The Group should exceed its initial expansion target of 76 new hotels in 2012 (7,416 rooms), including 51 outside of France. The emerging countries are a key growth engine and the Golden Tulip brand spearheads the Group’s international expansion.

An active first half in countries with strong growth potential
Since January, the Group has pursued its international development, concentrating primarily on hotel projects and openings in fast-growing countries.
Over the past six months, the Group has expanded its international footprint to include five new countries: Russia, Algeria, Lithuania, Austria and Georgia.1 The projects in these new regions will open between 2012 and 2013 and will operate mainly under the Golden Tulip brand. This will bring to 45 the number of countries in which Louvre Hotels Group operates.
India also remains one of the Group’s top priorities. The Group already operates twelve hotels in India under the Golden Tulip trade name and plans to open five to ten new hotels a year over the next five years. Last month, the Group signed contracts for four new hotels and plans to open its first Royal Tulip in Mumbai in summer 2012.
Louvre Hotels Group is also organising its financial and operational resources to develop budget hotels in India, notably under the Campanile brand.
Campanile is also active in China where the Group signed a partnership with Jin Jiang Inn Co., one of the leaders in the Chinese tourist market. This partnership involves fifteen of the brand’s hotels in major Chinese cities, and includes the sharing of best practices and expertise between the two groups via an exchange programme.

Strong development in Europe
Louvre Hotels Group is preparing to expand its Première Classe brand in Germany with plans to open 35 hotels in the country’s main cities, including Berlin, Munich and Frankfort, over the next five years. European financial and real estate partners are leading this development. Located near the main tourist attractions or business districts, these hotels will either be new constructions or the conversion of existing buildings.
The Première Classe economy hotel brand offers attractive development potential in European markets with its positioning “L’Essentiel pour une bonne nuit” (“The essentials for a good stay”,
which corresponds to changing consumer trends in this segment.
The Group continues to support independent hotels by offering franchise services in the mid to high end segments and announces the upcoming opening of a Royal Tulip hotel in the Netherlands, the brand’s original market. A total of seven franchise hotels have joined the Group in Europe since January.

New hotels open at a dynamic pace in France, notably under the Golden Tulip brand, while the Campanile brand continues its repositioning
The Group continues to accelerate its hotel projects and openings for all its brands in France. Following the opening of Golden Tulip hotels in Paris and Lyon in 2011, the Group currently has about ten projects underway in the main cities of France, and the next openings are scheduled for Troyes and Mulhouse in the second half of 2012. Projects are also underway in Marseille and Montpellier and active searches are being conducted in Lille, Nantes and Toulouse.
The successful repositioning of the Campanile brand in France continues to be confirmed, and about fifteen projects are underway. The growing importance of the Group’s historical brand enables it to respond better to the expectations of partners and customers, especially with the development of “Nouvelle Génération” (“New Generation”) hotels, which now focus on downtown areas. This strategy was confirmed by two recent openings in the centre of Amiens and Lyon Oullins.

At the same time, the Group continues to renovate hotels in France through the CAP 50 project. The Group has raised €50 million in investment and work began on two new hotels in May 2012
(Première Classe Boissy Saint Léger and Lyon Ouest Tassin). The pace will accelerate in the second half as the Group strives to fully renovate about fifty Campanile and Première Classe hotels by year-end 2013.

Outlook:
Matthieu Evrard, Chief Development Officer, comments: “Despite a sluggish economic environment in Europe, Louvre Hotels Group confirms its robust business model by continuing to
develop a large number of projects and investing in substantial renovation work to meet customer expectations as closely as possible.
The Group is also pursuing its international growth strategy: the number of hotels operated outside of France has increased from 7% of its portfolio in 2007 to 25% today.”