Accor

Accor was founded in 1960 by Paul Dubrule and Gérard Pélisson in Paris, France. In 1967, they founded the hospitality group Société d'investissement et d'exploitation hôteliers (SIEH) and opened the first Novotel hotel outside Lille in northern France. Novotel, inspired by American motels, was a new concept in France, between high-end palaces and independently operated hotels, offering comfortable rooms, a restaurant and a parking, with an industrialization model for rapid growth.[5][6]

In 1974, the first ibis hotel was launched in Bordeaux, France. Ibis was then considered a light version of Novotel.[7] In 1975, Novotel-SIEH acquired the restaurant brand Courtepaille and the Mercure hotels. In 1980, Accor acquired the Sofitel hotels (43 hotels).[8] In 1981, Novotel-SIEH entered the Asian market with the opening of a Novotel in Singapore.[9]

In 1983, Novotel-SIEH acquired and merged with the group Jacques Borel International to create the Accor group, which was introduced to the Paris stock exchange the same year.[5] "Accord" means "agreement" in French.[10]

In 1984, Accor bought the Quiberon thalassotherapy center, which became the first of the Thalasso Sea & Spa brand,[11] and acquired the fine catering company Lenôtre the following year.[12] In 1985, Accor launched Formule 1, a brand of super-economy hotels conceived to fit between the uncomfortable no-star hotels and the reasonable standing of 2-star hotels. To achieve this, automated tellers were set up, rooms were shrunken, and only the bare minimum was included in terms of accessories. The hotels themselves were modular blocks manufactured in factories and assembled onsite to optimize costs.[13]

In 1990, Accor acquired the economy lodging company Motel 6 (536 motels in the United States).[10] In 1991, Accor acquired the Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits, which owned Pullman Hotels and Resorts, Altea, and Europcar.[14] Accor also launched its new economy brand Etap hotel.[15] In 1994, Accor merged the Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits with Carlson Travel Network to create Carlson Wagonlit Travel (now CWT).[16][17]

In the mid-90s, Accor shifted its interest towards managing more luxury and premium brands, and moved towards an asset-light model to focus more on brand and product management, and less on property management. Internal business units were rationalized to create large-scale savings on global operations. Economy and midscale brands remained the group's cash cow and enabled it to invest in less profitable but strategic upscale and luxury brands.[18]

In 1997, Accor acquired the casino company SPIC, which became Accor Casino.[15] In 1999, Accor acquired the US-based economy lodging company Red Roof Inn (322 hotels), and announced the creation of Accor Economy Lodging to bring Motel 6 and Red Roof Inn under one roof.[19] In a consortium with Colony Capital and Blackstone, Accor acquired the hotel brands Libertel and Demeure (40 properties in Europe).[20] Accor settled in the United Kingdom with the opening of a Sofitel in the previous Cox & Co bank in Central London.[21]

In 2000, Accor took full control of Century International Hotels and Zenith Hotels International in Asia, bringing its number of hotels to 200 in the Asia-Pacific zone.[22] The Sofitel Philadelphia (former Philadelphia Stock Exchange Building) was inaugurated, the first Sofitel to open in the US in a decade.[23] Accor bought 20% of the Polish hotel company Orbis.[24] In 2002, Accor settled in Mexico.[25] In 2004, Accor bought a 28.9% stake in the French all-inclusive holidays company Club Méditerranée.[26]

In 2005, Gilles Pélisson, nephew of Accor's co-founder Gérard Pélisson, became Chairman and CEO of Accor.[27] In 2006, Accor sold its shares of Club Med,[28] and Red Roof Inn in 2007.[29]

In 2007, Accor launched the serviced-apartments brand Adagio in a 50/50 venture with Pierre & Vacances,[30] relaunched Pullman as a premium hotel brand,[31] and the Australian All Seasons as a global midscale hotel brand. In 2008, Accor launched the MGallery collection of upscale "personality" hotels.[32] In 2010, reviews from TripAdvisor were embedded on some of Accor's property websites, a first in the industry.[33] In 2010, Accor split its hotel activities from its voucher activities, Accor Services (which became Edenred).[34]

In November 2010, Gilles Pélisson was replaced by Denis Hennequin at the head of Accor.[27]

In 2011, Accor revamped the ibis brand by creating ibis Styles (formerly All Seasons) and ibis budget (formerly Etap Hotel).[35] The group sold the fine catering group Lenôtre,[36] and the Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits. In 2012, the group launched the regional premium brand Grand Mercure in China (MeiJue),[37] and sold Motel 6.[38] In 2013, Accor redefined its group business model on two core competencies: hotel operator and brand franchisor (HotelServices), and hotel owner and investor (HotelInvest).[39] The group acquired the premier apartment hotel brand The Sebel.[40]

In August 2013, Sébastien Bazin became Chairman and CEO of Accor.[41]

In 2014, Accor bought a 35% share in Mama Shelter (5 hotels) whose chief designer is Philippe Starck,[30] and the group signed a strategic alliance with the China Lodging Group (Huazhu Hotels Group - 1900 hotels) to develop its hotel brands in China.[42] The group started to roll out the digital check-in process in all of its hotels.[43]

In June 2015, Accor changed its name to AccorHotels and announced the rollout of a new digital strategy to federate its brands.[44]

AccorHotels acquired FRHI Hotels & Resorts in 2015, owner of the Fairmont, Raffles, and Swissôtel luxury hotels.[45] In 2016, AccorHotels acquired the concierge and loyalty service John Paul,[46] the London-based short-term vacation rental company onefinestay,[47] 30% of the German 25hours Hotels, and 30% of the Miami-based accommodations provider Oasis.[48] AccorHotels also launched Jo&Joe in 2016, a new hotel brand custom-made for the millennials,[49] and the group signed a strategic alliance with Singapore's Banyan Tree.[50] HotelInvest was spun off.[51] In 2017, AccorHotels acquired the B2B hotel service provider Gekko,[52] the private sales website for hotel deals VeryChic,[53] and merged Squarebreak and Travel Keys into onefinestay,[54] and launched the MoodMatch app on its website through a partnership with Travelsify.[55] In 2017, AccorHotels also acquired 50% of the Orient Express brand in a move to relaunch it as a luxury hotel brand.[56]

In 2017, the group announced its strategic intention (dubbed Accor Local) to broaden its marketing segmentation to locals, instead of targeting only visitors and travelers.[57] It also diversified its portfolio of assets with the acquisition of the fine catering company Potel & Chabot,[58] and the event and entertainment organization company Noctis (renamed Paris Society).[59]

In 2018, AccorHotels sold 55% of HotelInvest for €4.4 billion[60] and launched a tender offer to take full control of Orbis.[61] AccorHotels acquired the Mantra Group (134 hotels under the brands Mantra, Peppers, Breakfree, Art Series),[62] the Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts (84 hotels in 27 countries),[63] and the restaurant reservation and table management company ResDiary.[64] AccorHotels partnered with Katara Hospitality to set up a $1-billion Africa-focused investment fund.[65]

In 2019, AccorHotels changed its name back to Accor.[66] The 21c Museum Hotels acquired the previous year were added to the MGallery collection, giving Accor 8 new properties in the US.[67] Accor merged its previously acquired digital marketing companies for hotels Availpro and Fastbooking to create D-Edge Hospitality Solutions,[68] and took full control of Orbis.[69] Accor launched the new midscale hotel brand Tribe.[70] After buying 50% of the SBE Entertainment Group (owner of Mondrian Hotels) in October 2018, Accor and SBE jointly launched the luxury hotel brand The House of Originals,[71] and the premium hotel brand Hyde in Australia.[72] On 3 December 2019, Accor repositioned its brand as ALL - Accor Live Limitless. The update merged AccorHotels and its loyalty offering Le Club into one unified brand, ALL.

Accor is a French multinational hospitality company that owns, manages and franchises hotels, resorts, and vacation properties. It is the single largest hospitality company in Europe, and the sixth largest worldwide.[4]

Accor operates in 100 countries, with more than 4,800 hotels and 280,000 employees worldwide. Its total capacity is approximately 704,000 rooms. Luxury (Raffles, Fairmont, Sofitel,...), premium (MGallery, Pullman, Swissôtel,...), midscale (Novotel, Mercure, Adagio,...) and economy (ibis, hotelF1,...). Company and event organization (onefinestay, D-Edge, ResDiary, John Paul, Potel & Chabot,...).[4]

Accor S.A. is headquartered in Issy-les-Moulineaux, France, and is a constituent of the CAC 40 index in the Paris stock exchange.