Interview: Accor CEO Shares Why Hotels React Slowly to Industry Revolutions
Photo Credit: Accor CEO Sébastien Bazin. Accor S.A.
Skift Take
It sometimes take an outsider to identify the mistakes of the past, challenges of the present and game plan for the future. Bazin succinctly describes his perspective on the industry and how he plans to take a multi-national, multi-brand corporation into the future.
Editor’s Note: This interview is part of Skift's CEO interview series. This particular series is with hospitality CEOs talking about the Future of the Guest Experience and the evolving expectations and demands of hotel guests. Check out all the interviews as they come out here. Also, enjoy the previous series on the Future of Travel Booking, with online travel CEOs.
Accor Hotels is one of the largest hospitality organizations on the globe and unlike many of its competitors owns and operates more properties than it franchises. The group recently announced a five-year, €225-million digital transformation strategy, which includes a mobile-first customer portal, a new platform for personalizing customer follow-up and service, easier payment and check-in services, and online booking tools for businesses and meeting planners.
Accor reported its first-half profits for 2014 rose 15 percent due to cost cuts and strong demand from the Mediterranean region, Africa and the Americas. T
