GENERAL: AIA: Auckland Airport announces Formule 1 hotel development

26 Feb 2010 8:53 am

AIA 26/02/2010 GENERAL

REL: 0853 HRS Auckland International Airport Limited

GENERAL: AIA: Auckland Airport announces Formule 1 hotel development

Auckland Airport today continued its recent move into the accommodation sector with the announcement it intends to develop and own a 125 room Formule 1 Hotel.

The Formule 1 Hotel, to be operated by Accor Hospitality, will be completed in time for the Rugby World Cup 2011. Accor, one of the leading global hotel operators, will also be operating the Novotel Auckland Airport, and the Formule 1 brand offers the most affordable accommodation offering from the extensive Accor range of hotels.

Auckland Airport general manager Peter Alexander said, "We are extremely pleased to be able to announce this new development. This new Formule 1 hotel will offer budget conscious travellers simple and functional comfort at Auckland Airport. And it will beautifully complement our 4-star plus Novotel Auckland Airport, which is already well underway to also be ready in time for the world cup."

Renowned architectural firm Jasmax has been selected to design the Formule 1, and the development will be project managed by RCP.

Mr Alexander added, "This 2-star budget Formule 1 Hotel will be a fantastic addition to Auckland Airport. With a Formule 1 and a Novotel in our Auckland Airport accommodation portfolio, both run by a world-class operator in Accor, we will soon be able to meet two very different market segment needs, and we are determined to ensure that in time we can serve all other travellers' short-stay accommodation requirements. If the demand is there we intend to meet it, right here in the airport grounds."

Ends

For further information, please contact:

Richard Llewellyn Senior communications manager +64 9 255 9089 +64 27 477 6120

About Accor Hospitality

Accor, a major global group and the European leader in hotels, as well as the global leader in services to corporate clients and public institutions, operates in nearly 100 countries with 150,000 employees. It offers to its clients over 40 years of expertise in two core businesses:

- Hotels, with the Sofitel, Pullman, MGallery, Novotel, Mercure, Suitehotel, Ibis, all seasons, Etap Hotel, Formule 1 and Motel 6 brands, representing 4,000 hotels and nearly 500,000 rooms in 90 countries, as well as strategically related activities, such as Leno?tre; - Services, with 30 million people in 40 countries benefiting from Accor Services products in employee and public benefits, rewards and loyalty, and expense management.

About Auckland Airport

Auckland Airport - World Airport Award Winner 2009

Auckland Airport has been voted the 10th best in the world and the best airport in the Australia Pacific region, in the 2009 independent Skytrax World Airport awards. The World Airport Survey is conducted by UK-based aviation research organisation, Skytrax. The survey is completed by approximately 8.2 million travellers from more than 190 airports around the world. The questionnaire asks travellers to evaluate their experiences across 39 different airport service and product factors - from check- in, arrivals, transfer through to departure at the gate. End CA:00191755 For:AIA Type:GENERAL Time:2010-02-26:08:53:35

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