Three MGalleries for Poland?

Yohan Amiot, director of brand management, MGallery by Sofitel, AccorHotels: We have a collection of 90 boutique hotels across the world and the idea is that each of them is different, with each one having its own name – here it’s called ‘The Bridge’. What’s important for the brand is the story telling. The Wrocław project is a perfect example of this. We have a real story here with the neighbourhood and the cathedral as well as the modernity.

Whose idea was it for there to be a hotel of your brand in Tacit Investment’s project?

The investor was looking for the right hotel brand for its development. MGallery enhances the uniqueness of the project and is part of the Accor family.

The interior design by Medusa Group had been designed before you entered the project. How did you like it? Did you have to change anything?

Since the brand is a collection, all our hotels are selected. If a hotel wants to be a part of the brand, we have to approve the architecture, the design, as well as the concept and story behind it. I think this is a very nice property. It’s a mixture of modernity and heritage. The exterior is modern but fits in with the history and the neighbourhood. I also liked the interior, the bar, and the rooms. When I saw the project, I thought it was great. I didn’t feel I had to change anything. The designer had already had it in mind to create a boutique hotel in this project.

What about other projects in Poland?

I know that we’re going to have other projects in Poland for the brand. Apart from The Bridge Wrocław, we’ve just announced an MGallery project in Jurata, near the Baltic sea. There will be one or two more projects. The idea isn’t to have thousands of hotels across the world. We develop projects only in key cities, and not only capitals, but cities that have spirit.

So three is enough for Poland?

More or less, yes.

What about other countries in the CEE region?

We have one hotel in Prague. The building is connected to Franz Kafka, as it’s one of the places where he worked. So there the story’s based around the writer. We will open one hotel very soon near Sarajevo in Tarčin, which is similar to a resort in the mountains with a spa in the middle of a forest.

What about eastern European countries?

Ukraine – no. Russia – not yet, but we hope to have a project in St Petersburg, which would be a perfect city for our brand. But we want to have one in Moscow too. We also have one hotel in Hungary – and that’s it for Eastern Europe.

And no more in the planning stage?

Actually, we do have more plans in this part of Europe, but nothing has been signed yet. This part of Europe has a lot of nice, beautiful cities such as Wrocław, Warsaw, Prague, and there are a lot of nice boutique hotels that could join the MGallery collection.

Who represents the direct competition for the brand?

Our direct competitors are the boutique collections of the main groups, with the main one being Autograph Collection by Marriott, and the next largest being the Design Hotels chain. Design Hotels is not part of any group but they have an agreement with Starwood for their booking system, so it is also a major competitor.