Accor Still Keen to Find Investors for Its Software Business Despite Pandemic Fallout

AccorHotels years ago rolled up tech vendors to create a technology services company for independent hoteliers called D-Edge. But Accor Chairman and CEO Sébastien Bazin told investors on February 20 that he wanted to find external partners to co-own the software provider. Then along came the pandemic and all those plans screeched to a halt. Now D-Edge finds itself struggling along with the rest of the travel industry. And Accor's coveted tech play may stay within the hotel giant's fold for now until the hotel market shakes out from the damage delivered by coronavirus. It's certainly a complete turnaround from when Bazin was touting D-Edge earlier this year. "We're going to give a bowl of fresh air to D-Edge, where you're going to have third-party coming in, likely private equity or industrial operating companies providing funds and acquiring either 40 percent, 35 percent, 60 percent," Bazin said. "I want Accor to remain as the big industrial strategic partner," Bazin said. "But I don't want to be the one putting back more capital into D-Edge because we're not the best partner for them to grow