Accor Deputy CEO Eyes Middle East, AI, and Live Events for Hotel Growth
Photo Credit: Accor Group Deputy CEO Jean-Jacques Morin speaking at Skift Global Forum East on October 30, 2025 in Abu Dhabi. Skift
Skift Take
Accor’s Group Deputy CEO Jean-Jacques Morin credits the Middle East’s decisive leadership for fueling hotel development. Morin says AI, loyalty, and live events will help define the company's next phase.
Accor Group Deputy CEO Jean-Jacques Morin said the Middle East was the first region to recover from the pandemic, and he credited speed and leadership as the difference makers.
“The first place in the world where we recovered from Covid was here in the Middle East,” he said on stage at Skift Global Forum East 2025. “The openings and the best numbers we got, it was not the US, it was not Europe. We knew Asia was late, but the place that really took over was the Middle East.”
Morin linked that outperformance to how things get done. He pointed to a three-minute airport arrival and was blunt about what he sees elsewhere: “What is missing in many places in the Western world today is pure
