An Interview with Accor

Philip Lassman, Vice President, Head of Development – Northern Europe, Accor

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Accor is Europe's largest hotel company, operating more than 4,800 hotels across 100 countries. As hotel operators around the world prepare to reopen, we speak to Philip about how Accor is preparing to make the most of the pent-up demand, his priorities at Accor, and which current trends could be here to stay.

1. Philip, the hotel industry has struggled through many difficult months. With the vaccination rollout and the roadmap out of lockdown now in place, how are you preparing to reopen at Accor, and what do you see happening over the next year?

The pandemic has had an undeniable impact on the entire hospitality industry, and as such, Accor has taken every measure to ensure that we are able to operate effectively and safely in these circumstances. The health and safety of our guests and colleagues has and always will be our top priority. With that in mind, very early in the pandemic we introduced a cleanliness and prevention programme to UK hotels as part of our ‘ALLSAFE’ initiative. In the face of the pandemic, ‘ALLSAFE’ was introduced in partnership with Bureau Veritas to enhance our already high cleaning standards, and ensure compliance and maintenance of its rigorous standards. We see the programme as testament to our commitment to ensuring our guests are provided with the very best hygiene, cleanliness and safety measures in the industry as well as ensuring that our hotels can continue to run smoothly once re-opened.

We also recognise that the way in which people travel will have evolved as a result of the pandemic, and in order to ensure we maximise business opportunities for all our Accor brands, our offer will move with it. For example, one area we have been looking at closely is business travel. We appreciate there will be a shift in how often and why people will be travelling in the future, which is why we have adapted our approach to broaden our revenue streams, including plans to offer co-working spaces on a subscription basis to corporate customers.

With initiatives such as these, we feel that we are putting ourselves in a strong position to return to pre-pandemic levels of business as quickly as possible. While the past year has taught us not to be surprised by anything, we believe that the actions we have taken and continue to take will put us in a good position to reopen.

2. As we come out of lockdown, will you be approaching different hotel segments (ie budget, mid-market, and luxury) in different ways, and what will be your priorities for each?

We recognise that our hotels are connected to the life experience of all guests, as such our priority is to maintain our high standards across the Accor brands. We are proud to offer the largest range of brands in the hotel industry, comprised of internationally acclaimed luxury and premium as well as popular midscale and economy brands, in-demand lifestyle smart concepts, and awe-inspiring resorts.

One way we have strived to maintain these high standards and continue to provide a premium service across our brands is through the introduction of our Astore Shop service in the UK. The platform provides comprehensive offers and services for procurement in the hotel and hospitality industry. Our franchises and boutique brands are therefore easily able to manage their entire procurement and operational needs via a central platform.

We only need to look to the summer and the impact of ‘staycations’ to see how quickly individual hotels and even brands can bounce back. That is why our priority continues to be making sure that every element of the Accor family is able to maintain our high standards, and in doing so we will be in a strong position when we are able to reopen.

3. During the pandemic, we’ve seen the development of new trends such as remote working. Many hoteliers are now taking the opportunity to harness these trends, for example by creating new technologies or repurposing hotel space. In your opinion, what are the key trends hotels should be capitalising on as we move out of lockdown?

The impact the pandemic has had on businesses such as Accor is that we have had to  adapt to these unique operating circumstances, conceiving innovative solutions for how our hotels can play a role to help in this pandemic. The emergence of remote working as the new normal has brought about challenges for those looking to work in a quiet and professional space.

In answer to this, Accor launched the initiative ‘Hotel Office’, offering a solution by enabling people to book their own hotel room for an uninterrupted, premium remote working experience. Once the hotel industry is able to operate again, the ‘Hotel Office’ will once again become available in 250 hotels in the UK and a further 70 hotels across Northern Europe.

Accor has also engaged in new technologies in an effort to adapt and find solutions during the pandemic. One such technology the Accor brand has introduce is the ‘Accor Key’ – a keyless door entry solution where customers will receive their room key virtually upon downloading Accor’s digital key app. The solution will help protect our guests and make sure that our hotels continue to be safe environments.

4. Accor recently announced a new hybrid meeting platform called ‘All Connect’ in collaboration with Microsoft. Tell us more about this creation, and do you expect virtual meetings to become the ‘new normal’?

We are extremely proud and excited to introduce the ‘All Connect’ hybrid meeting platform. This new concept will enable guests around the world to adapt to the new ways of working that are expected to be an enduring legacy of the COVID-19 pandemic.

A key element of our hotels in the past has been the meeting rooms we offer. 55% of Accor hotels with meeting rooms are already providing hybrid meetings solutions to their clients. Looking forward our target is for 100% of our hotels with meeting rooms to comply with the new hybrid meetings standard by 2022 across all brands. The ‘All Connect’ concept, launching in April this year, will enable corporate customers and meeting planners to combine physical in-hotel meetings with virtual interactions across multiple locations simultaneously.

While we are enthusiastic to be able to offer the ‘All Connect’ experience, we recognise that the situation for which we have brought about this concept is far from ideal. Nonetheless, we strongly believe that, while there is a value to face to face meetings that can never be replaced, virtual meetings will continue to play a role post-pandemic, and the capacity for our meeting rooms to offer this service will continue to be beneficial to our guests in years to come.

5. Which customer demographics will be the key targets for hotels post-lockdown, in a world where vaccine passports are being debated and where some remain anxious about travel?

The picture for global travel continues to look unclear, with governmental travel policies changing on a daily basis. However, looking to the future we must be optimistic, and one area where we might see travel return in the near future is business travel. At Accor we realise that face to face interactions with clients and business partners are vital in many industries, and we know there is significant demand from businesses wanting to get their executives back engaging directly with key contacts.

Therefore, it is encouraging to see that recent research from Accor reveals that a third of corporate travel managers across Northern Europe believe their business travel programmes will recover within six months, driven primarily by domestic travel with a longer return to travel anticipated from international travellers.

Nevertheless, it is crucial to remain aware of safety concerns when reintroducing guests into hotels. We will be able to provide reassurance to business travellers through programmes such as the previously discussed ‘ALLSAFE’ measures. Furthermore, guests across the 5,000 Accor hotels worldwide can now access free telemedicine consultations, via the expert medical solutions of AXA Partners.

6. UK hotel, restaurant, leisure and entertainment businesses employ over 400,000 EU nationals, and the average five-star hotel in London is made up of staff from as many as 50 different countries. With this in mind, how will the post-Brexit deal impact staffing, and do you think apprenticeship schemes will become more prevalent?

We do not view staffing in a post-Brexit landscape as a major concern for Accor hotels in the UK. This is because we see many people in the UK looking for the jobs offered at our hotels. Apprenticeship schemes are key to our business so we don’t see Brexit as a large concern in terms of staffing.

We take pride in taking on young people with little or no post school education, hiring them into roles such doormen, waiters, etc and training them. With four or five years’ experience under their belts at the hotel they are trained professionals.

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