The iconic Polish hotels disappear from the market. This is the result of the transformation

“The Polish Hotel Company Orbis has changed its name to Essendi after more than 100 years of activity – according to information provided by the company. This change is the result of the owner’s decision, the Accorinvest group, which strives to harmonize its activity,” informs the portal forhandlu.pl.

The information provided by the website shows that this change is part of a broader transformation process initiated in 2020, when Orbis was taken over by Accorinvest.

“Changing the identity is the crowning of our transformation and opening a new chapter in the history of the group. Thanks to the involvement of our teams, we achieved specific results: we fixed our position of the leader in Europe, optimized our portfolio, increased their profitability and stabilized the financial situation” – emphasized the president of the board of Gilles Clavié quoted in the message.

Ambitious plans of “new” Orbis

As we read, the goal of rebranding is to “strengthen the leading position in Europe and strengthen the effectiveness of action,” she said, cited by the website forhandlu.pl. Essendi.

The company informs that since 2020 it has been consistently focusing on the most profitable assets in Europe, primarily in the segment of economic hotels and the average standard. As part of dynamic portfolio management, acquisitions, renovations, sales and changes in real estate are carried out. At the end of 2024, the value of the Essendi group hotel portfolio was estimated at EUR 7.8 billion, and revenues increased to EUR 4 billion, which means an increase of 3.1 percent. year on year. The company also emphasizes that business transformation includes strong involvement in sustainable development. The ESG plan assumes, among others Reduction of CO2 emissions by half by 2030, reaching climate neutrality by 2050 and having only hotel hotels in the portfolio.

Over 100 years of Orbis goes down in history

The history of Orbis dates back to 1920, when the Polish Travel Agency “Orbis” was established in Lviv – an initiative of a group of bankers, politicians and lawyers, aimed at creating a modern travel agency for citizens of the revived Poland. Already in 1928, the company obtained the status of a national travel agency, and in 1933 moved its headquarters to Warsaw, dynamically developing tourist and hotel activities. World War II interrupted the development of Orbis, but after the war the company was reactivated as state -owned and soon gained a monopoly on tourist service from abroad. The 1960s and 70s were a period of intensive expansion of the hotel and transport base – in 1980 Orbis had 60 percent. all hotel rooms in Poland. In 1991, the company was transformed into a sole proprietorship of the Treasury, starting a new stage of its activity on the commercial market. In 2020, the brand was acquired by Accorinvest. Currently, Essendi has 576 hotels in 24 countries. The company includes brands such as Ibis, Novotel or Mercure. Essendi employs about 20 thousand employees.