This month and early next, Accor begins its largest-ever expansion in China in a run-up to the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. The company will open five hotels in the span of just more than a month, and has 30 hotels in development and scheduled to open in time for the August 2008 start of the Olympics. The Novotel Citygate Hong Kong opened earlier this month; next up are two Sofitel properties in Nanjing, a Sofitel in Hangzhou and an Ibis in Qingdao. Accor added two hotels to its development list this week, a Grand Mercure resort on Hainan Island and a Mercure in the Suzhou industrial area. Accor currently operates more than 30 hotels in China.
