The first Novotel was opened at Lille Lesquin in 1967 by Paul Dubrule and Gérard Pelisson, the co-founders of Accor. Since its first beginnings, Novotel has never stopped growing: with a network of 336 hotels and 53,637 rooms in 56 countries, Novotel is now the world's largest hotel chain outside North America.

In every major capital city, close to business and cultural centres, at the heart of communication networks, by the sea and in the mountains, Novotel offers a unique choice of destinations.
The combination of history and experience has enabled Novotel to develop qualifications unique to the hospitality industry in accordance with a philosophy, that is a business will succeed only if it exceeds the expectations of its guests.