In brief
- Treasure Island in Las Vegas becomes the largest hotel in Accor’s global network with 2,884 rooms.
- The property joins the Handwritten Collection brand while remaining owned by billionaire Phil Ruffin.
This franchise agreement marks the French group’s strategic entry onto the Las Vegas Strip, facing American giants
The agreement concluded between the French group Accor and the American owner of Treasure Island represents a major milestone in the North American hospitality landscape. By signing this franchise agreement, Accor achieves a spectacular breakthrough in the very heart of the world capital of gaming and entertainment. This establishment allows the French giant to position its brand in a market historically dominated by large American groups, whilst providing a bespoke solution for an iconic property on Las Vegas Boulevard.
- This franchise agreement marks the French group’s strategic entry onto the Las Vegas Strip, facing American giants.
- The resort retains its major assets, including the casino, the Cirque du Soleil show, and free parking.
The French group Accor formalised the integration of Las Vegas’s Treasure Island this week
The formalisation of this alliance seals a major international negotiation. By linking this imposing resort to its platform, Accor gains unprecedented visibility in the United States, a highly competitive market where direct establishment opportunities in prime locations are extremely rare. For the Las Vegas property, this change of affiliation marks a new step in its commercial history, allowing it to connect directly with millions of international travellers.
A Strip giant under a French flag
The French group Accor formalised the integration of Las Vegas’s Treasure Island into its global portfolio this week, making this 2,884-room resort the largest property in its network. Previously under the Radisson brand, this Strip landmark transitions to the “soft brand” Handwritten Collection. This strategic move allows Accor to finally establish itself in the heart of the world’s entertainment capital, whilst offering the asset’s owner, billionaire Phil Ruffin, access to a global distribution platform.
This rebranding illustrates the relevance of so-called collection brands in the contemporary hospitality sector. Unlike traditional brands that impose strict architectural and decorative uniformity, the soft brand concept allows the reputation of a historic site to be combined with the management tools of a multinational. For Treasure Island, the challenge was to preserve the unique identity that made it successful with American clientele, whilst opening its doors wide to international visitor flows.
A flagship on the Strip
The arrival of the French flag in Las Vegas has not gone unnoticed. With its 2,884 rooms, Treasure Island now surpasses all of the group’s European and Asian properties. The choice of the Handwritten Collection brand, launched in 2023 to bring together hotels with strong personalities, seems particularly suited to this property, which has left its mark on the city’s history. Accor brings its commercial strength and its ALL loyalty programme, whose members are particularly numerous in Europe and Asia.
The property’s phenomenal capacity instantly transforms the structure of Accor’s North American portfolio. By integrating nearly three thousand additional keys at once, the French operator alters the geographical distribution of its accommodation capacity. This partnership strengthens the appeal of the ALL (Accor Live Limitless) loyalty programme, now offering members a must-visit destination on the West Coast of the United States, capable of absorbing large volumes of individual and group bookings.
The heritage of Phil Ruffin
The recent history of Treasure Island is inseparable from the figure of its owner, businessman Phil Ruffin. A major player in the property and gaming sector, this astute investor has maintained the resort’s competitiveness in the face of the rise of neighbouring mega-resorts. His approach to hotel management favours great operational pragmatism, focused on direct profitability and building loyalty among a clientele attached to the traditional values of Las Vegas.
Phil Ruffin bets on Accor for his empire
The hotel’s owner, billionaire Phil Ruffin, remains the direct operator of the asset, which he bought from MGM Mirage for $775 million in 2009. True to his strategy, he retains management of the casino, food and beverage, and staff. A major selling point remains: parking is still free, an exception that has become extremely rare on a Strip where paid parking has become widespread since 2016. This balance between management independence and affiliation with a global network defines this new franchise agreement.
This operational autonomy is at the heart of the agreement. By retaining full control over gaming operations and food and beverage outlets, Phil Ruffin preserves his property’s most lucrative margins. For hotel staff, the transition is seamless as the direct employer remains unchanged. This contractual formula demonstrates the flexibility of modern franchise agreements, designed to reassure owners of strategic assets whilst injecting them with the technological and marketing power of major global groups.
Maintaining free parking represents a very strong marketing positioning in the local context. While all the surrounding major resorts have progressively introduced high pricing structures for parking access since 2016, Treasure Island uses free parking as a direct draw for regional visitors and drivers from neighbouring states. This aggressive pricing policy helps maintain a steady flow of visitors to the resort’s gaming and entertainment areas.
A strategic offensive in the United States
For the Accor group, establishing a lasting presence in North America requires major commercial moves capable of shaking up a highly consolidated market. The American giants of the sector have historically enjoyed a dominant presence in their home territory. By adding a prime Strip property to its network, the French operator demonstrates that it can compete directly with these local players by offering owners a highly competitive global distribution alternative.
Las Vegas, Accor’s new playground
For Accor, this deal is highly symbolic in an American market where competition with Hilton, Marriott, and Hyatt is fierce. While overall visitor numbers in Las Vegas saw a slight decline in 2025, the convention sector surged by 25.8% in early 2026, offering a major opportunity for hotel groups with strong business networks. The integration of Treasure Island allows the French group to capture a share of this lucrative market, targeting in particular the international travellers that the Strip is seeking to win back.
The economic dynamics of Las Vegas traditionally rely on the duality between leisure tourism and the business meetings market. The strong recovery observed in the trade show and convention segment in early 2026 confirms the city’s transformation into a global business hub. International companies seeking large volumes of rooms for their employees find an ideal hosting capacity in properties like Treasure Island, now supported by Accor’s centralised reservation systems.
The legacy of a legendary Las Vegas
Opened in October 1993 by Steve Wynn, Treasure Island originally embodied a family-friendly vision of Las Vegas, inspired by Robert Louis Stevenson’s novel. Although the hotel has taken on a more adult character over the decades, with its 8,400 square metres of casino space, it has retained its spectacular soul. The Cirque du Soleil show Mystère, the troupe’s first permanent residency in the city, is still running. This rich heritage, combined with Accor’s new distribution standards, shapes the future of this Nevada giant under a French flag.
The architectural and thematic evolution of the resort reflects the major changes in Las Vegas since the 1990s. Initially designed to attract families with its spectacular outdoor entertainment based on the world of piracy, the property has successfully evolved its offering to appeal to an adult and sophisticated clientele. The continuous presence of Cirque du Soleil with its founding show Mystère testifies to the preserved artistic quality of the venue, guaranteeing a permanent attraction that goes far beyond just gaming.
The strategy of collection brands in modern hospitality
The integration of Treasure Island into the Handwritten Collection highlights the rapid rise of ‘soft brands’ in the strategy of major global hotel groups. These flexible brands allow owners to retain the DNA, historic name, and spirit of their property whilst immediately accessing the marketing power of the industry giants. By avoiding the heavy architectural compliance work often required by traditional brands, owners optimise their investments whilst gaining international visibility.
For global giants like Accor, these collection brands represent the fastest way to expand their network in key destinations where land is scarce. By partnering with existing resorts of this scale, the group enriches its offering without assuming the financial risks associated with constructing new buildings. This synergy of interests creates a virtuous business model where the strength of digital marketing and the power of the loyalty programme bring a continuous flow of guests to iconic properties that retain all their authenticity.
