Oceania Hotels, another hotel success story from Brittany!
- Eric ALAUZEN
- May 11
- 4 min read
We are delighted to present the second part of our new series of articles on success stories in tourism and the hotel industry in our region, Brittany and Pays de la Loire.
We started with the Brit Hotels group (see our article) and are now turning our attention to the Oceania Hotels Group, founded in 1975 by the Branellec family. It's always a pleasure for us to highlight such successes, which showcase our regions and their talents!
When the early history of Oceania Hotels merged with that of the future Accor Hotels Group
François Branellec, the group's founder, began his career in the food industry. Having sold one of his companies, he found himself in possession of a sum of money that enabled him to make other plans. It was then that he was recommended to meet two partners who, according to those around him, seemed to have some interesting ideas: Paul Dubrule and Gérard Pélisson (who died in 2023), the founders of the Accor group, which in 1972 was still Novotel with just ten hotels in France.
The meeting between the three entrepreneurs went off without a hitch. Novotel, which was already well organised and managed, was already offering a turnkey package, and so François Branellec built the Novotel in Brest, which opened in 1974, followed by three other Novotels until 1984.
At that time, the Accor group was evolving in an exceptional way, but François Branellec above all wanted to stand on his own two feet, happy to have acquired all this experience and expertise with Novotel and its founders.
Sofibra becomes Oceania Hotels, marking its Breton identity
Oceania Hotels, another hotel success story from Brittany!
The Oceania brand first appeared in 1980, after being called Sofibra. The very first Oceania in Brest is a strong symbol of the Breton identity and family spirit of the group, where the managers have always remained very close to their employees.
Since its creation in 1975 and fifty years later, the Oceania Hotels group is still in the hands of the Branellec family, proudly displaying its independence. In the space of half a century, the group has easily expanded beyond its Breton borders to establish itself throughout France.
A true pioneer of the budget hotel sector, François Branellec opened the first two B&B hotels in Saint-Malo and Brest in 1990, before selling the group in 2003.
Oceania Hotels: Chi va piano va sano!
Oceania Hotels is a national hotel brand, known and recognised for its quality, originality and the care it lavishes on its customers:
Avoid hotel chain standards,
Design tailor-made spaces,
Transforming comfort into conviviality
Offering a memorable and unique interlude
At the end of 2024, the Oceania Hotels group had 31 establishments in 21 destinations in France, with a total of almost 3,000 rooms. Three of these hotels are operated under the eco-responsible Nomad Hotels brand (which will be the subject of another article), located in Dijon, Le Havre and Roissy CDG.
In 2024, the Oceania Hotels Group posted sales of €82.5 million, representing an increase of 10.5% on 2023. Its latest acquisition is the Hôtel d’Anjou in Angers, the jewel in the crown of the Angers hotel industry.
In 2025/2026, Oceania Hotels plans to open three new hotels in Lille (in the historic former headquarters of the Scalbert-Dupont bank, 88 rooms and suites in four-star category), Paris (in the walls of the former Médian hotel, in the 17th arrondissement, in three-star category) and Lyon, (also in a former Médian hotel, 70 rooms in three-star category), often in prestigious and historic locations. Bordeaux and Toulouse are also two other cities being considered by the group for future locations, while the hotels at Nantes Airport and Brest will undergo major transformations.
'Oceania remains a family business, close to its employees, and our developments are made a little bit by feel’ says Gurvan Branellec, Oceania Hotels Chairman.
Gurvan Branellec, Chairman and son of the founder, explains his vision of Oceania Hotels very well: ‘Our father, François Branellec, created this company, which will soon be celebrating its 50th anniversary. It's a Breton group, 100% pure butter in origin, whose development initially took place in the region, then expanded through developments and acquisitions. We're keen to keep our growth under control, and not take the plunge and have 50 or 100 hotels all at once. Oceania remains a family business, close to its employees, and our developments are made on the spur of the moment. Location remains at the heart of our choices, but so does the history of the place. When you look at our latest hotels, the one in Lille and Le Conti in Brest, you can see our expertise in renovating buildings with character, and our ability to give new life to old offices or hotels by weaving a story around a remarkable heritage".
With a 50-year history and now 31 hotels in France, the Oceania Hotels group embodies the success of a Breton family business that has become a national benchmark. By combining authenticity, innovation and strong local roots, Oceania continues to evolve without ever abandoning its roots.
With its new openings, the group is affirming its ambitions for the years to come: to offer an independent, friendly hotel business that is increasingly committed to a responsible approach.
Oceania Hotels is charting a course for sustainable growth, true to the spirit instilled by its founder François Branellec.
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