Articles tagged “accor”

Has Accor’s partnership with Huazhu worn out its usefulness given the Chinese hotel giant has built a strong positioning in the economy and midscale segments in China? Huazhu now wants to focus on luxury and upper upscale, along with international expansion starting in Europe.

While it focuses on arresting a drop in Chinese arrivals, Thailand should spend equal or more time assessing why European arrivals are declining. It's the higher spending market. The reasons are different, and it's time for Thailand to look internally rather than blame external factors like Brexit, the baht, and a trade war for Europe's shrinkage.

Accor has formed a partnership with online marketplace Alibaba to make it easier for Chinese travelers to book rooms and other services. It's a smart move to appeal to Alibaba's 700 million high-spending consumers who are eager to travel around the world.

A “midscale” hotel brand may have once brought to mind conventional design, amenities, and food and beverage. But Mercure Hotels is making moves to show that midscale hotels can provide the unparalleled uniqueness of a local experience and become a portal to the destination.

The love-hate relationship between chains and owners is boiling over in Asia-Pacific where the trade war and Hong Kong protests are impacting owners in many destinations. Chains can be less hated by showing more meaningful support to struggling owners rather than just paying lip service.

Having more brands when cheap money is chasing real estate is good for Accor, but may not be for its hotel owners. This is especially true in Asia where owners are hoping that in time it won’t be a case of too many Accor hotels chasing too few hotel guests.

Thomas Cook Group may have caved in, but in China and India, the companies that bear the name are profitable. Why?

Greet's nonstandardized approach will help it separate itself from other hotels in the economy segment, but individuality comes at a cost and may mean the rollout takes a little longer than equivalent cookie-cutter brands.

The luxury hotel market continues to evolve. While many of the big hotel companies seem pretty happy with their portfolios, we could see significant changes at Hilton over the coming years.

Marriott took a big leap in launching its own short-term rental business to take on Airbnb. But it's definitely still too early to expect the world's largest hotel chain to challenge on that front.