The Ascott Limited, a top international lodging owner-operator in the Middle East, has entered into a global partnership with Chelsea Football Club as the Official Global Hotels Partner of the English Premier League Club, starting from July 2024.

Ascott, which will represent the Chelsea Football Club for the next four English Premier League seasons, has also been appointed as operator of the 232-unit stadium hotels under its lyf brand in Stamford Bridge in London from H2 2024.

The partnership will also include the rebranding of stadium hotels in London as lyf in H2 2025, offering Chelsea fans in the Middle East region and across the world the opportunity to experience The Ascott Limited hospitality flair, while cheering on their favourite football team and players.

Vincent Miccolis, Managing Director for Middle East, Africa, Türkiye and India, said: "We are thrilled to partner with Chelsea Football Club, enhancing our commitment to delivering exclusive hospitality experiences for members of Ascott Star Rewards.

“This partnership strengthens our presence in Europe and the Middle East, aligning with our global vision to expand and innovate in the hospitality sector. Ascott's ongoing expansion, including the debut of The Unlimited Collection and growth of our lyf brand, highlights our dedication to providing dynamic hospitality experiences to our guests from the Middle East region and worldwide.”

This partnership will see collaborative efforts in offering “money can’t buy” experiences for members of the Ascott Star Rewards (ASR) loyalty programme worldwide.

These include exclusive access to matches at Stamford Bridge and VIP visits to The Blues Cobham Training Ground.

The Ascott brand will also be displayed at Stamford Bridge for both Men and Women’s matches, as well as across Chelsea’s social and digital channels with engaging content for fans to enjoy.

In line with Ascott’s commitment to bring Chelsea closer to its overseas fans, Ascott will become the presenting partner of Chelsea’s flagship international fan engagement event, the Famous CFC.

Leveraging the increasing importance that travellers place on exclusive experiences, Ascott is organising a pipeline of global events for its ASR members as part of the Ascott Privilege Signatures programme.

In July 2024, over 80 guests from across its platinum tier of ASR members and esteemed owners were welcomed to a stay at The Cavendish London and had a once in a lifetime experience at The Championships, Wimbledon 2024, where they enjoyed debenture/court access to view the Men’s and Women’s third round of finals.

Ascott also marks another significant milestone in the European market as it accelerates its global expansion strategy. This includes the addition of six new properties to its European portfolio, marking the debut of The Unlimited Collection brand and expansion of the lyf brand in Europe.

Building on a growing demand for Ascott’s suite of brands, these new signings will boost Ascott’s portfolio by 14% to about 8,000 units across six brands and extend Ascott’s presence in the region to 29 cities from 24.

The five new cities are Colmar in France, as well as Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leicester and Manchester in the United Kingdom.

Kevin Goh, Chief Executive Officer for Ascott and CLI Lodging, said: “As a global tourism and business hub, Europe plays a key role in Ascott’s expansion plans.

“The diverse and dynamic nature of its hospitality sector offers plenty of scope for Ascott to drive more successful partnerships with owners.

“We will achieve this by leveraging Ascott’s flex-hybrid hotel-in-residence model, which is designed to meet the varying needs of owners and guests through a wide selection of brands and customised solutions, backed by experienced teams with deep local knowledge.

“With five of the six new signings in Europe being conversion projects, Ascott’s established suite of conversion capabilities has already been proven as effective in gaining the confidence of property owners.

“We expect franchise management to be our next pillar of growth in Europe, where market conditions are conducive for this business segment. For our existing owners, we will continue to deliver sustained value by embarking on asset enhancement initiatives that elevate the stay experiences of guests.” – TradeArabia News Service