Accor has brought its Novotel flag to Medellín, Colombia, rebranding the former Atton hotel as the Novotel Medellín El Tesoro.
Franck Pruvost, Accor’s manager of midscale and economy brands for South America, told local business site Finance Colombia the company has been in South America for more than 40 years and has more than 350 hotels across the region. A full 300 of these are in Brazil, but Colombia is the second most important South American market for Accor, Pruvost said. The company already has an Ibis in Medellín and will be opening a Swissôtel within the next two years.
Accor has attributed the decision to rebrand the former Atton to Medellín’s location within Colombia and the city's position as one of the main financial, industrial, commercial and service centers in the country. The city has become a top destination for events and conventions and is home to several important national and international companies, making Medellín an axis of the country’s development.
It's been almost a year since Accor signed an agreement with the shareholders of Chile's Atton Hoteles to acquire the company. According to the agreement, Accor purchased the management company that operates 11 Atton hotels across Chile, Peru, Colombia and Florida. The former Atton hotel in Medellín's El Tesoro shopping center has 278 guestrooms and has emerged from a $73-million renovation to bring it under the Novotel flag.