Accor

Accor S.A.

Type	Société Anonyme (Euronext: AC, LSE: 0H59)
Industry	Travel, tourism
Founded	1967
Headquarters	Courcouronnes, France
Key people	Gilles Pélisson (Chairman and CEO)
Products	Hotels and resorts, hospitality and other services for the public and private sectors
Revenue	€7.065 billion (2009)[1]
Operating income	€594 million (2009)[1]
Profit	(€282 million) (2009)[1]
Employees	78,410 (FTE, 2009)[1]
Website	www.accor.com

Accor is a French multinational corporation, part of the CAC 40 index, operating in nearly 100 countries. Headquartered in Courcouronnes, Essonne, France,^[2] near Évry,^[3] Accor is the European leader in hotels (Accor Hospitality)^[4] and a global leader in corporate services (Accor Services).

Accor Hospitality, the Accor hotels branch, has more than 4,000 hotels worldwide, ranging from economy to luxury.

Through Accor Services, Accor also runs service vouchers to over 430,000 companies and institutions and 30 million users in 40 countries: Ticket Restaurant, Luncheon Vouchers, Ticket Alimentaçao, Clean Way, Ticket Service, Childcare Vouchers, Eyecare Vouchers, Bien-Etre à la Carte, Worklife Benefits, EAR, Accentiv', Académie du Service, Tesorus, Ticket Compliments. The company intends to demerge its Accor Services unit in 2010.^[5]

History

In the 1960s, the travel industry in France was booming, but many new hotels were concentrated only in major urban areas such as Paris. At the time, Paul Dubrule and Gérard Pélisson were both living in the United States, working for major computer firms.^[6] They went into business together, and in 1967, founded the SIEH (Société d'investissement et d'exploitation hôteliers) hotel group. Having seen the success of American lodging properties in suburban areas and along major highways, Dubrule and Pélisson opened their first American-syle Novotel hotel outside of Lille in northern France. In 1974, they launched the Ibis brand with the opening of the Ibis Bordeaux. The following year, SIEH acquired the Courtepaille and Mercure brands, and in 1980 the Sofitel hotel brand, which then consisted of 43 hotels. Two years later, in 1982, the SIEH bought out Jacques Borel International, the then world-leading brand offering restaurant vouchers. In 1983, the Group, which had restaurant tickets and hotels, changed its name to the Accor Group in 1984, Dubrule and Pélisson were elected "Managers of the Year" by France’s Le Nouvel Économiste magazine.

The Group

The Accor Group continued to expand. In 1985, it launched the Formule1 brand, offering simple and functional accommodation at low prices. Five years later, in 1990, it took over the US brand Motel6 in an acquisition that made Accor the world’s leader in hotels. The group continued its expansion, buying Westin Hotels and Red Roof Inns. In the 1990s, it diversified to include Accor Casinos and in 1995, bought a 30 per cent stake in Club Méditerranée. Accor remains Europe’s leading hotel group, and has France’s largest number of hotels in the low-, medium- and high-range price brackets in Paris and across the country.

Management

In 2006, Gilles Pélisson, nephew of Accor co-founder Gerard Pélisson, took over the Group as CEO, replacing former CEO Jean-Marc Espalioux. Accor appointed Serge Weinberg, head of Weinberg Capital Partners, chairman of the supervisory board. In February 2009, CEO Gilles Pélisson was appointed chairman and CEO. Gilles Pélisson had previously been head of Bouygues Telecom, chairman of NOOS, the leading cable network in France, and CEO of Euro Disney. He was co-vice-president of the Novotel brand in 1994.^[7] | In September 2007, Gerard Pélisson and Paul Dubrule published a book called Reaching for the Impossible, recounting the expansion of the group across the world.

Beyond Accor

Food Service Management

In 2009, it launched the FOOD Project, an acronym for Fighting Obesity through Offer and Demand in six countries. Nutritionists developed a list of dietary recommendations. While many are common to all countries, others take account of national culinary habits. In France, for example, the FOOD Project recommends seasoning without excessive fat or salt; making desserts with fresh fruit and dairy products; and offering bread, olives or nuts as an aperitif. For Belgians, FOOD recommended salt should not be put on the table, and olive oil should replace the butter to accompany bread. In Spain, it advises serving sauces separately while in the Czech Republic, less meat should be served, with more vegetables and salad.^[8]

Sustainable development

In October 2009, Accor was ranked number one for sustainability among the world’s 10 largest hotel groups. The London-based sustainability consultancy Two Tomorrows, which produced the rating, recognised Accor’s efforts to tackle “key sustainability challenges facing the hotels sector” and for designing “a comprehensive approach to managing them.”^[9]

Some of the measures that Accor has taken in the US include:

• participation in energy and water conservation programmes, including creation of a monthly energy/water consumption report to inform each hotel of its month-to-date progress in regards to consumption savings,
• fluorescent bulb and battery recycling in 690-plus corporate-owned Motel6 and Studio6 properties,
• water-saving shower heads,
• ozone machines on laundry washers, allowing the hotel to wash linen and towels with cold water (all Sofitel hotels with laundry),
• purchase of wind-generated power by all Sofitel hotels in the US,
• technologically advanced heating and cooling systems to reduce power consumption (all brands)
• use of compact fluorescent lighting, which consumes 75 per cent less energy than conventional bulbs (all brands).^[10]

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

The size and profile of the Accor Group mean it is well placed to support social development and humanitarian organisations. As of October 2009, it was involved in CSR programmes across the world:

• In France, since 2002, Accor Services has been running the annual operation “Tickets donnés, repas partagés” (vouchers given, meals shared). By 2008, collections of Tickets Restaurant have allowed more than €600,000 to be collected and transferred mainly to the French Red Cross’ social groceries.
• In the Czech Republic, since 2002, Accor Services has supported the “Pomozte Detem” (Help Children) Foundation, which provides aid and protection to handicapped or abused children. This financial assistance comes from donations, notably of Ticket Restaurant® food vouchers.
• In Hungary, Accor Services participates in a nutrition campaign for children in a poor section of northern Hungary, coordinated by the Foundation for Children, "Aranyág". Accor teams provide healthy food (fruits and vegetables) daily to 300 children living in institutions.
• In Brazil, launched in 2003 by Ticket in Brazil, the “Sonho de Criança” project (Children's Dream) has helped to build an educational centre for children in a poor section of Sao Paolo. Accor teams in Brazil are involved with different programmes that serve more than 240 children and their families.
• In Burkina Faso, Accor, in partnership with Plan International, has helped construct schools and vegetable gardens, using fundraising from Accor Services in Belgium.
• Vietnam-based Accor hotels support an outreach program for Vietnamese children suffering from deformities such as cleft lips and cleft palates. Accor hotels in Japan, Singapore and Malaysia have joined in the partnership.
• In Australia, Fiji and New Zealand, since 2002, Accor has supported Cure Kids, a child health research foundation.^[11]

Brands

Accor Hospitality

Budget brands:

• Motel 6: 968 hotels in USA and Canada.
• Studio 6: 46 hotels in USA and Canada.
• Formule 1: 371 hotels in 14 countries. Rebranded and redesigned as F1 Hotels in France.
• Etap: 369 hotels in 11 countries. Etap Hotel is in: Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Poland, Spain and Switzerland.

Accor sold Red Roof Inns in April 2007.

Accor global locations

Economy brands:

• Ibis: 2 star hotels. There are currently 831 ibis hotels in 42 countries, dated 26 June 2009.^[12]
• All Seasons: 2-3 star hotels. 60 hotels. The first all seasons hotel opened in France in mid-September 2007, and they have 20 hotels in Australia.

Midscale brands:

• Suitehotel: 3-star hotels in Europe. 26 hotels in 6 countries.
• Adagio City: 24 apartment hotels in 3 countries.

Upscale brands:

• Novotel Hotels: 3 - 4 star hotels in 57 countries (405 hotels).
• Mercure: 3 - 4 star hotels. 720 hotels in 49 countries (3rd largest hotel network in Europe).
• Grand Mercure: 3 - 4 star hotels. 39 hotels in 5 countries (in Asia ).
• Orbis Hotels: 3-4 star hotels. 15 hotels in Poland.
• MGallery: new collection of 4-star hotels. There will be 40 in 21 different countries by the end of 2010, and are categorised according to four themes: Vision, Design, History and Panorama.

Luxury brand:

• Sofitel Hotels and Resorts, including the new top luxury Sofitel Legend. 131 hotels in 40 countries.
• Pullman (Hotels): new 5-star brand relaunched in 2007. 40 hotels in 14 countries (by 2015, it will grow to 250 hotels worldwide and will ultimately include more than 300).

Figures at 30 Jun 2009

Other activities:

• BASE Backpacker Hostels: 14 hostels in New Zealand and Australia.
• Groupe Lucien Barrière: casinos and luxury hotels and resorts in France, such as the new Fouquet's Barrière on Paris Champs Elysées.
• Accor Thalassa: 14 seawater spas, 3 hot spring spas, 3 countries.
• Lenôtre: luxury catering and more than 42 gastronomy boutiques in 10 countries.
• Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits: on-board catering in six countries in Europe (Austria, France, Italy, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom) and on-board catering services for high speed trains.

Accor hotels Pullman (left) and Novotel (right) located at Sydney Olympic Park

Famous hotels

• Dorint Hotel Tower
• Novotel Barossa Valley Resort, South Australia
• Old Winter Palace in Luxor
• Pullman Orient Express
• Mercure Hotel Sevilla
• Sofitel Metropole in Hanoi
• The Grand in Amsterdam
• Sofitel Grand Sopot

References

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3} "Annual Results 2009". Accor. http://www.accor.com/fileadmin/user_upload/Contenus_Accor/Finance/Documentation/EN/20100224_Plaquette_Web_EN.pdf. Retrieved 2010-03-12. 
2. ↑ Auguy, Stéphanie. "Fin de la fronde chez les gérants de Formule 1." Le Parisien. 28 June 2002. Retrieved on 24 September 2009. "maison mère, dont le siège est installé à Courcouronnes."
3. ↑ "Legal information." Accor. Retrieved on 24 September 2009.
4. ↑ 2010 European Hotel Group Ranking Retrieved on March 2010, eHotelier
5. ↑ Vidalon, Dominique; Regan, James (24 February 2010). "Accor speeds up asset split, plans disposals". Reuters. http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSLDE61M1GF20100224. Retrieved 12 March 2010. 
6. ↑ "Paul Dubrule and Gérard Pélisson Profile;". University of Houston. http://www.hrm.uh.edu/cnhc/ShowContent.asp?c=8638/. Retrieved 2009-12-02. 
7. ↑ "Accor Timeline". Caterer Search. http://www.caterersearch.com/Companies/33846/accor-hotels.html. 
8. ↑ "Le programme européen Food invite les restaurateurs à cuisiner plus sainement; Le Monde". Le Monde. http://www.lemonde.fr/aujourd-hui/article/2009/10/31/le-programme-europeen-food-invite-les-restaurateurs-a-cuisiner-plus-sainement_1261134_3238.html. Retrieved 2009-05-11. 
9. ↑ "Two Tomorrows Towards Sustainable Business Awards;". Two Tomorrows. http://www.twotomorrows.com/news/accor-tops-first-tomorrows-value-rating/. Retrieved 2009-10-02. 
10. ↑ "Accor Ranks Number One in Tomorrow’s Value Rating;". Hotel News Now.com. http://www.hotelnewsnow.com/Articles.aspx?ArticleId=2081&ArticleType=35&PageType=News/. Retrieved 2009-10-22. 
11. ↑ "Accor Corporate Social Responsibility Scheme;". Accor Services. http://www.accorservices.hu/EN/Rolunk/Pages/Tarsadalmiszerepvallalas.aspx/. Retrieved 2009-12-02. 
12. ↑ Razafindramiadana, L. "Ibis, un nouveau joyau dans la ville". L'Express de Madagascar. 19 March 2009

External links

• Official website
• Accorhotels.com: on-line booking.