Guaranteeing the professional touch

Business travellers represent 60% of turnover for the Accor group. For certain brand names, such as Pullman and Novotel, the rate reaches as high as 70%. “Compared with other hotel chains, our group is very well positioned in the business clientele bracket,” points out Patrick Mendès, Global Sales Director.
With over 4,000 hotels, Accor is present on every continent. The company has captured considerable market shares in Europe, but also the Middle East, Asia-
Pacific and Latin American countries… “We capitalise primarily on the business clientele, thus explaining our strong presence in city centres and near airports. One of the group’s essential strategic axes is to respond to all required categories. We offer 5-star hotels with the Sofitel brand in all large international cities, specialised establishments for the business clientele with the Pullman brand name, and mid-range establishments with Suite Hotel, Novotel or Mercure, for example,” illustrates the Director. The group not only offers convention hotels capable of welcoming hundreds of guests, but also establishments aimed at hosting incentive trips, in Morocco, Egypt or the Caribbean. Plus a vast offer of economy category hotels with Ibis and All Seasons, particularly attractive options in the midst of the current economic situation.
Adapting to tighter budgets
Catherine Agier, Corporate Sales Director, explains the importance of the group’s new strategic priorities: “In the past, we were mainly concerned with the price of rooms. Now, we are focusing attention and effort on developing other services to stand out further from rivals. We are instead opting for packaged offers, such as free WiFi connection offered by our Pullman brand for corporate clients.” These days, buyers are examining details such as the rates for telecommunications, breakfast and other annex services, more and more carefully, as a result of increasingly evident internal cost-cutting policies. “Travel managers in companies now call on consultants to help them negotiate. We find ourselves dealing with real purchasing  professionals, which was not the case just five years ago. Expectations are higher, this is why we are developing a more segmented offer, to better meet client expectations,” confides Patrick Mendès. The economy brand All Seasons has thus positioned itself on an all-inclusive offer that has met with great success amongst SMEs.
Generally speaking, the hotel group has worked for several years towards making its various brand names more distinct. “We have, for example, repositioned Sofitel hotels on the luxury segment by playing the French experience card,” illustrates the Director.
To win client loyalty, Accor has also put in place the A|Club programme, allowing points to be accumulated with every visit to one of the group’s hotels, whatever the brand name. These points can then be exchanged for free stays that can be used on weekends or holidays, for example. “Within a single year, this programme has drawn an extra 3 million clients. This is a precious plus that we do not hesitate to draw attention to during negotiations,” specifies Patrick Mendès.
Another sign of this innovation targets conference organisers. Whenever an assistant, secretary or business person organises an event, fidelity points opening access to privileged offers can be accumulated.
Diversifying distribution channels
To optimise its mode of distribution, Accor is going “multi-channel”. The group collaborates with a growing number of intermediaries, placing an emphasis on the development of Web sales, through different platforms for hotel chains, but also through online distributors. “An important strategy was put in place two years ago to improve our visibility on Internet. It has borne fruit, for the Web now represents almost 20 % of our sales,” points out Catherine Agier.
To go even further in this development, the group has developed online services for companies, allowing them to make direct bookings for rooms and conference spaces while benefiting from preferential offers. Booking systems for mobile phones or smartphones such as the iPhone have also been launched recently.
Pursuing targeted development
Accor wishes to pursue its development on the world scale, notably on new emerging markets. But beyond these rapidly expanding markets, “we would like to continue to professionalise the hotel industry on all continents,” explains Patrick Mendès. “Taking off in global regions with strong potential, such as Asia or Eastern Europe, is important, but let’s not forget certain developed countries where the hotel industry, at times barely structured, is still in its early days.”
He notably cites the example of Italy, where integrated hotel chains such as
Accor only represent 7% of offers. Com-pany heads need hotels guaranteeing business people dedicated spaces, optimal security, adapted services and a recognised brands. “It is often difficult to obtain consistency in quality in independent establishments without a tangible reference, thus the necessity to professionalise this sector,” concludes the Director.