Accor S.A., using the brand name AccorHotels, is a French multinational hospitality company that owns, manages and franchises hotels, resorts, and vacation properties. It is a constituent part of the CAC 40 index on the Paris Bourse. Accor is the largest hotel group in the world outside of the United States.
The group is headquartered in Paris, Issy-les-Moulineaux, Évry and Courcouronnes. It operates in 95 countries, with more than 4,000 hotels and 250,000 employees worlwide. Its total capacity approximates 570 000 rooms, including some 25% in France.
Accor has a wide portfolio of 26 marques covering different segments of the hotel market. It includes luxury brands such as Raffles, Fairmont, Sofitel, Novotel and Pullman. In the budget range, Ibis and Formule 1 are its major subsidiaries, while its midrange offer includes Swissôtel, Mercure and Adagio.
Video AccorHotels
History
In 1967, Paul Dubrule and Gérard Pélisson founded the Société d'investissement et d'exploitation hôteliers (SIEH) hotel group and opened the first Novotel hotel outside Lille in northern France.
In 1974, they launched the Ibis brand with the opening of the Ibis Bordeaux. The following year, SIEH acquired the Courtepaille and Mercure brands, and in 1980 the Sofitel hotel brand, which then consisted of 43 hotels. In 1982, the SIEH bought Jacques Borel International, the then world-leading brand offering restaurant vouchers.
In 1983, the group, which had restaurant tickets and hotels, changed its name to the Accor Group. In 1985, it launched Hotel Formule 1 brand, offering basic accommodation at low prices.
In 1990, it entered the North American market by acquiring Motel 6, and later the Red Roof Inn chain, which it later sold to The Blackstone Group and a consortium of Citi's Global Special Situations Group and Westbridge Hospitality Fund, L.P., respectively.
In the 1990s, it diversified to include Accor Casinos and in 2004, bought a nearly 30 per cent stake in Club Méditerranée.
In June 2010, the shareholders of Accor approved the demerger of its hotel and voucher businesses. Accor Services became Edenred. The two entities started trading as separate companies on the Paris stock exchange from 2 July 2011. In 2011, Accor introduced its new brand positioning with the slogan "Open new frontiers in hospitality".
In November 2013, the firm redefined its group business model on two core competencies: hotel operator and brand franchisor (HotelServices), and hotel owner and investor (HotelInvest).
In October 2014, Accor transferred management of its Central European operations to Orbis. In December 2014, it announced an alliance with Huazhu (China Lodging) to accelerate expansion in China.
In June 2015, Accor became AccorHotels and adopted the new slogan "Feel Welcome".
In December 2015, Accor announced the purchase for US$2.9 billion in cash and shares of FRHI Hotels & Resorts, the owner of the Fairmont, Raffles, and Swissôtel chains. The transaction adds landmark properties such as the Savoy Hotel in London, Raffles Hotel in Singapore and the Plaza Hotel in New York to Accor's luxury and high-end hotel portfolio.
In 2016, AccorHotels acquired John Paul, a concierge services.
In April 2018, AccorHotels signed an agreement with Mövenpick Holding and Kingdom Holding to acquire Mövenpick Hotels and Resorts for 560 million swiss francs (£411m). Mövenpick Hotels and Resorts is present in 27 countries with a footprint of 84 hotels. It also plans to open 42 additional hotels by 2021, representing around 11,000 rooms. In May 2018, AccorHotels completed the acquisition of Mantra Group, adding 134 properties under the Mantra, Peppers, Breakfree and Art Series brands. The deal will make AccorHotels the largest hotel operator in Australia. . AccorHotels and Chilean group Algeciras agreed to acquire Atton Hoteles for $105 million.
Maps AccorHotels
Management
In 2006, Gilles Pélisson, nephew of Accor co-founder Gerard Pélisson, took over the group as CEO, replacing former CEO Jean-Marc Espalioux. Accor appointed Serge Weinberg, head of Weinberg Capital Partners, chairman of the supervisory board. In February 2009, Pélisson was appointed chairman and CEO. Pélisson was co-vice-president of the Novotel brand in 1994.
In 2009, Denis Hennequin joined the group's board of directors and replaced Pélisson as CEO in January 2011. Hennequin stepped down in April 2013, and Yann Caillère was appointed CEO for a transitional period. In August 2013, Sebastien Bazin was named Chairman and CEO, replacing Caillère, who left the group.
The current CIO is Gilles de Richemond.
Offices/Contact Centres
The company's head office, which houses the company's executive management, is located in the Immeuble Odyssey in the 13th arrondissement of Paris, France, the company's registered office. The seven storey, 14,000-square-metre (150,000 sq ft) building was designed by British architect Norman Foster and features glass plates in its façade. Géraldine Doutriaux of Le Parisien called it "[u]n bel immeuble lumineux" ("a beautiful, bright building").
The company's other major office facility, and former registered office, is located in Courcouronnes, Essonne, near Évry, France.
The Tour Maine-Montparnasse in Paris' 15th arrondissement once housed the executive management of Accor.
After AccorHotels merged with FRHI Hotels & Resorts in 2016, the FRHI Global Reservation Centre in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada, is now known as AccorHotels Global Reservation Centre. They are the primary AccorHotels Contact Centre Operations for room reservations for all AccorHotels brands.
Sustainability initiatives
In 2018, AccorHotels announced several new environmentally-friendly policies, including banning plastic straws and reducing food waste by 30% by 2020.
Economy and budget brands
- Ibis Budget
- Ibis Styles
- Hotel Ibis
- Hotel F1
Former economy and budget hotels
- Red Roof Inn: Accor acquired Red Roof Inn in 1999 for $1.115 billion, increasing its presence in North America. In April 2007, the firm sold the majority of its interests in Red Roof Inn to Citigroup Global Special Situations Group and Westbridge Hospitality Fund LP for $1.3 billion. Accor retained some hotels for rebranding into its Motel 6 brand.
- Motel 6 and Studio 6: Accor purchased Motel 6 in 1990. In October 2012, Accor finalized the sale of its 1,102 US Motel 6 and Studio 6 hotels to Blackstone.
Midscale brands
- Mercure Hotels (3 to 4 star hotels) is the largest of Accor's midscale brands, found internationally with 732 hotels and resorts in 55 countries.
- Adagio
Upscale brands
- Grand Mercure (4 to 5 star hotels)
- Grand Mercure Apartments
- The Sebel
- Mama Shelter
- Novotel (also known as Hotel Novotel)
- Pullman Hotels and Resorts
- MGallery
- Swissôtel Hotels and Resorts
- Mantra
Luxury brands
- onefinestay
- Sofitel
- SO Sofitel
- Sofitel Legend
- Raffles Hotels & Resorts
- Fairmont Hotels and Resorts
Thalassa sea and spa
Thalassa sea and spa: prestige seaside destinations with 15 destinations, 14 thalassotherapy sites, 19 hotels, 4 countries.
Lenôtre: in July 2011, Accor sold its stake in Lenôtre.
Controversy
In May 2013, the online investigations company KwikChex identified Peter Hook, Accor's Australia-based director of communications for its Asia-Pacific region, as having posted more than 100 reviews of both Accor-operated hotels and competing properties on TripAdvisor.
See also
- Paris portal
- Companies portal
References
External links
- Official website
Source of the article : Wikipedia