Accor has picked Melbourne as the first location in Asia-Pacific to roll out its new-generation Mercure guestrooms. The beneficiary is the Mercure Melbourne Treasury Gardens, located near the Parliament, MCG (Melbourne Cricket Ground), Rod Laver Arena and high-end boutiques.
The reliable four-star tier of the accommodation giant earlier launched refreshed design standards in France at the Mercure Paris Tour Eiffel Grenelle. Henrik Berglind, Accor’s director of sales & distribution, Australia, told Business Traveller that the brand was making a definite play for the smaller meetings segment, enhancing their current onsite venues and guaranteeing “green meetings” as reflected in their commitment to offset carbon emissions on behalf of the customers.
Particular to Australian-based Mercure properties, when a conference or event is held there, the Carbon Reduction Institute steps in to estimate the amount of carbon produced and then, the host hotel – not the company holding the function – pays for the offset. In 2011, the chain reportedly offset 1,953 tonnes of carbon emissions. “Now, that’s really true green meetings,” said Berglind.
The A$4 million (US$4.2 million) makeover to Mercure Melbourne Treasury Garden’s 164 rooms have resulted in a stronger sense of place, with massive black and white images of local architecture and landmarks (such as the Flinders Street Station) adorning the bed heads, colourful striped carpets and a cube lounge seat designed not to take up too much space, but to provide a lively accent to the interiors. Bathrooms have been completely been redone and given smart fixtures, while other contemporary details include digital LCD TVs, glass fronted fridges, clock radios with iPod docks.
The hotel management is now looking forward to future sporting events such as the match between Australia and Sri Lanka at the MCG on March 2 and Melbourne Grand Prix from March 15-18 as a prime opportunity to show off their new rooms to the market. Currently, a rate of A$149 (US$159) per night is available.
For more on the Mercure chain, visit www.accor.com
Margie T Logarta
