Accor’s Ennismore lifestyle arm partners with Our Habitas resort brand

Lifestyle hotels continue to be the must-have item in the hospitality industry.

Ennismore, a collection of lifestyle hotel brands of which Accor is a majority owner, is partnering with "cultural-defining" resort brand Our Habitas. The new deal means Ennismore will handle the management and growth of the Our Habitas brand going forward.

Our Habitas currently operates 10 luxury lifestyle resorts in locations like Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Chile and Namibia. Much of the brand's pipeline of future hotels is in Saudia Arabia and Asia, according to the Ennismore-Our Habitas announcement.

"Our Habitas has created a unique niche in luxury hospitality, offering stunning destinations to passionate travelers seeking a lifetime adventure, full of memorable moments and unexpected discoveries," Accor CEO Sébastien Bazin, who is also executive chairman of Ennismore, said in a statement.

"Its crafted positioning will perfectly fit with our Ennismore collective and effortlessly match our lifestyle and tailor-made approach to hospitality," Bazin continued. "We are also thrilled to join forces alongside seasoned investors who are important and long-standing partners for Accor and Ennismore, and eager to accelerate Our Habitas' growth in the coming years."

If you're not familiar with Our Habitas, the brand leans into "experiential luxury" with properties embracing themes like giving back, art, wellness, food, adventure and learning. Oliver Ripley, the co-founder and CEO of Our Habitas, will continue to oversee the creative vision of the brand.

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No longer the only player in lifestyle hotels

The brand expansion comes at an interesting crossroads for Ennismore. The lifestyle hotel collective was arguably a leading force in major brands diving into this segment of the hospitality market. Bazin noted earlier this month at the NYU International Hospitality Industry Investment Conference that lifestyle hotels account for less than 20% of Accor's overall rooms inventory but 45% of growth.

But Accor and Ennismore competitors are diving into this market segment — and appear to be moving at a significantly faster pace.

Ennismore's growth each year is in the tens of hotels while Hilton announced this month it will open 100 lifestyle hotels in 2024 alone in a quest to double its overall lifestyle portfolio to 700 hotels by 2028. Marriott's lifestyle brands — which include W Hotels, Edition and Autograph Collection — are some of the best known in the industry. Ennismore's entire development pipeline is more than 100 hotels, the company reports.

Even smaller brands appear to occasionally take a bite out of Ennismore's portfolio: Virgin Hotels is taking over the Mondrian London Shoreditch later this year — the second time a Mondrian has closed in London in five years.

This appears to be a particular blow, as Accor described this property as a European flagship for the brand when it opened in 2021.

Adding brands like Our Habitas is certainly one way for Ennismore to grow, but maintaining and protecting the existing portfolio from the competition is also vital to continued success and keeping travelers loyal to the company's lifestyle ecosystem.

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