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GLOBAL HOTEL GROUPS<br />
IHG'S ATWELL SUITES<br />
In addition to hotels, this wide array of<br />
companies includes restaurant reservation<br />
and table management platform ResDiary,<br />
catering platform Adoria, hotel booking<br />
software Availpro and concièrge service<br />
John Paul.<br />
“In the past four years, Accor has<br />
acquired a number of businesses in areas<br />
that don’t fit straight into the heart of<br />
hospitality, and we are working very closely<br />
with all those businesses to support the<br />
disruption of hotels,” says Senior Vice<br />
President Commercial, Northern Europe<br />
for Accor, Karelle Lamouche.<br />
Be clear about<br />
expectations, not just<br />
the budget, and be clear about<br />
the brief when placing a piece<br />
of business: give as much info<br />
as you can to hotels so they<br />
can match your needs”<br />
“We are diversifying the business. <strong>The</strong>y<br />
are not rooms but contribute to the whole<br />
hospitality experience. Accor is a relatively<br />
large connectivity player and we use and<br />
work with these groups to enable us to<br />
connect with a variety of markets.<br />
“We will be using Availpro for connectivity,<br />
the announcement of a hotel website or any<br />
e-commerce activity,” she says. “It also<br />
enables us to bring additional knowledge<br />
and skills to the market. We have merged<br />
Availpro with Fastbooking to create D-Edge,<br />
providing technology that helps hoteliers<br />
maximise distribution revenues.”<br />
And it does not stop there. With co-working<br />
now a hot topic, Accor has launched Wojo<br />
co-working space in a joint venture with<br />
Nextdoor in all Ibis properties where public<br />
areas are being revamped.<br />
“We don’t need hundreds of square<br />
metres to check someone in, so what are<br />
we going to do with that space instead?”<br />
says Lamouche.<br />
“Consumers have become more social,<br />
which adds to the appeal of those spaces,<br />
and from an owner’s perspective they are<br />
more profitable. We have also introduced<br />
some food and beverage services.<br />
“All those additional companies and<br />
brands complement the hospitality<br />
experience and attract more people from<br />
outside, making the lobby more lively. We<br />
are reinventing and transforming traditional<br />
hospitality,” Lamouche explains.<br />
HILTON'S SIGNIA<br />
44 THEBUSINESSTRAVELMAG.com
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