Five years after its acquisition by Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, Le Meridien has emerged with a new and innovative brand direction.
The new brand is part of efforts to provide for “aspirational target guests", the 150 million people that comprise the creative class.
Le Meridien will launch a series of bold initiatives designed to offer its guests inspiring and interactive experiences, such as complimentary access to a local cultural center through one-of-a-kind key cards.
Beginning in 2011, Le Meridien will also re-launch its lobby spaces as creative hubs, already being trialled at some of Le Meridien’s flagship hotels around the world.
“Starwood’s industry leading centralised services plus its expertise in building leading lifestyle brands has turned out to give Le Meridien a new life and a bright future," Starwood’s global brand leader for Le Meridien and W Hotels Eva Ziegler said.
“The result has been unprecedented success and transformation since the Starwood acquisition five years ago.
“With our distinctive positioning and guest initiatives we have started to attract a new audience of creative, world-travelling guests who embrace the brand as part of their lives."
Already represented by 105 properties in 50 countries across five continents, including 20 hotels opened since 2005, Le Meridien plans to unveil 10 new properties in the coming years, including Oran (Algeria), Istanbul (Turkey), Cairo (Egypt), Lagos (Nigeria), Zhengzhou (China), Xian (China), Lonavala (India), Mahabaleshwar (India), Hô Chí Minh-Ville (Vietnam), and Doha (Qatar).
Adding to this, Le Meridien has reported that half of all of its hotels have been renovated or will be renovated by the end of 2012.
In related news, Le Meridien is now boasting its best performance indicators, including its highest ever levels of guest satisfaction, record global average daily rates, its highest ever RevPAR index, double digit year-on-year growth in room nights booked by Starwood Preferred Guest members and a doubling in the past four years of the amount of stays booked online.
