Accor CEO Says Hotel Giant Won't Wait for Business Travel to Return

One of the most financially battered hotel companies from the pandemic made a sharp U-turn to profitability last year.

Accor reported Thursday morning a roughly $95 million profit for all of 2021. While the profitability figure may be less than what was seen by most of Accor’s U.S.-based competitors, it is a seismic improvement over the Paris-based hotel company’s more than $2 billion loss seen in 2020. 

Company leaders noted the financial turnaround began last April and that they hope to capitalize on the recovery underway by continuing to expand their focus on higher-performing luxury and lifestyle hotels catering to more local traffic. CEO Sebastien Bazin made it clear the chain isn't waiting around for a full recovery of business travel, predicting at least a quarter of that business is gone forever.

He noted some systemic changes that are taking place.

“[There is] an enormous change in behavior from guests at Accor ... We have to get much better at local stays,” Bazin said during an investor call Tuesday. “There is a clear need for all of us