Accor
Accor is a French hotel group, part of the CAC 40 index [2], which operates in over 90 countries. Headquartered in Courcouronnes, Essonne, France,[3] near Évry,[4] France, the group owns, operates and franchises 4,229 hotels ranging from economy to luxury (as of June 2011) on five continents [5].
Previously, the group comprised a hotels branch (Accor Hospitality – whose activities are now the group’s core business) and a corporate services branch (Accor Services). Accor Services sold service vouchers to over 430,000 companies and institutions and 30 million users in 40 countries. The company demerged its Accor Services unit in 2010 under the name Edenred.[6]
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. 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-style 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. In 2010, Accor SA sold 48 hotels for 367 million euros ($465 million) as part of a plan to liquidate some real estate holdings including 31 properties in France, 10 in Belgium, and 7 in Germany. This sale that will occur over the next three years will cut debt by about 282 million euros.[7]
In June 2010, the shareholders of Accor approved the demerger of its hotel and voucher businesses. Accor Services became Edenred. The two entities started trading as separate companies on the Paris stock exchange from 2 July 2011.[8] In September 2011, Accor announced a focus on its brands. Ibis becomes the keystone of the Group’s economy brands (All Seasons becomes Ibis Styles, and Formule 1 and Etap brands become Ibis Budget).[9] In 2011, Accor introduced its new brand positioning with the slogan: “Open new frontiers in hospitality.” [10]
The Accor Group continued to expand. In 1985, it launched Hotel Formule 1 brand, offering low-quality accommodation at low prices. [11]
Five years later, in 1990, it acquired Motel 6 in North America [12]; and thereafter bought the Westin Hotels and Red Roof Inn chains, which it later resold to Starwood and a consortium of Citi’s Global Special Situations Group and Westbridge Hospitality Fund, L.P. [13] respectively.
In the 1990s, it diversified to include Accor Casinos and in 2004, bought a nearly 30 per cent stake in Club Méditerranée [14].
Accor 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. [15] Accor appointed Serge Weinberg, head of Weinberg Capital Partners, chairman of the supervisory board. [16] In February 2009, CEO Gilles Pélisson was appointed chairman and CEO. [17] 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.[18] 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. In 2009, Denis Hennequin joined the Group’s board of directors and replaced Gilles Pélisson as CEO in January 2011. [19]
Board of Directors (January 2011)
Board of Directors' constitution:[20]
- Denis Hennequin, Chairman & CEO
- Jean-Paul Bailly, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the French Post Office (Groupe La Poste)(*)
- Thomas J. Barrack, Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Colony Capital LLC
- Sébastien Bazin, Chief Executive Officer Europe of Colony Capital SAS
- Philippe Citerne, Vice Chairman of the Board of Accor and former Chief Operating Officer of Société Générale (*)
- Mercedes Erra, Executive Co-Chairman of Euro RSCG Worldwide (*)
- Sophie Gasperment, Chief Executive Officer of The Body Shop International (*)
- Bertrand Meheut, Chairman of the management board of Canal+ Group (*)
- Virginie Morgon, Director of investment and executive board member of the Eurazeo Executive Board
- Franck Riboud, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Danone (*)
- Patrick Sayer, Chairman of the executive board of Eurazeo
(*) : Independent Director
Executive Committee (September 2011)
Executive Committee's composition:[21]
- Denis Hennequin, Chairman & CEO
- Yann Caillère, President and Chief Operating Officer
- Grégoire Champetier, Global Chief Marketing Officer
- Dominique Esnault, Global Chief Operations Support
- Sophie Stabile, Global Chief Financial Officer
- Marc Vieilledent, Global Executive Vice President Asset Management
- Antoine Recher, Global Chief Human Resources Officer
- Pascal Quint, Corporate Secretary
Brands
Accor Hospitality
Budget brands:
Accor completed the sale of Red Roof Inns in September 2007 [25]
Economy brands:
- Ibis: 919 hotels in 51 countries [26]
- All Seasons/Ibis Styles: 131 hotels in 13 countries [27]
Midscale brands:
- Suite Novotel: 3-star hotels in Europe. 28 hotels in 8 countries [28]
- Mercure: 681 hotels in 49 countries [29]
- Adagio: 33 apartment hotels in 6 countries [30]
- Grand Mercure: 44 apartment hotels in 6 countries [31]
Upscale brands:
- MGallery: 40 hotels in 20 countries centered on four themes: Vision, Design, History and Location. [32]
- Pullman: 55 hotels in 19 countries (by 2015, it will grow to 250 hotels worldwide and will ultimately include more than 300) [33]
Luxury brand:
- Sofitel Hotels and Resorts, including the new top luxury Sofitel Legend historic properties and palaces. 115 hotels in 37 countries. [34]
Figures as of September 2011
Other activities:
- Thalassa Sea and Spa: 15 destinations, 14 thalassotherapy sites, 1 thermal spa, 3 countries [35]
Famous hotels
References
- ^ a b c d e f "Annual Results 2010". Accor. http://www.accor.com/fileadmin/user_upload/Contenus_Accor/Finance/Documentation/2011/EN/20110223_2010_consolidated_financial_statements.pdf. Retrieved 24 February 2011.
- ^ CAC 40 Retrieved on 13 November 2011, CNN Money
- ^ 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."
- ^ "Legal information." Accor. Retrieved on 24 September 2009. "ACCOR, a company governed by French law, with capital of 680,381,847 euros, having its registered office at 2 rue de la Mare Neuve, 91000 Evry, France,"
- ^ Accor in Brief Retrieved on 13 November 2011, Accor.com
- ^ Accor demerger approved by shareholders Retrieved on 13 November 2011, Breaking Travel News
- ^ ehotelier.com. "eHotelier". eHotelier. http://ehotelier.com/hospitality-news/item.php?id=19262_0_11_0_C/. Retrieved 17 April 2011.
- ^ "Accor demerger approved by shareholders". Breakingtravelnews.com. http://www.breakingtravelnews.com/news/article/accor-demerger-approved-by-shareholders/. Retrieved 17 April 2011.
- ^ Accor Says a Farewell Etap Hotels and All Seasons Retrieved on 25 November 2011, eturbonews.com
- ^ Accor Launches New Operational Strategy with Major Changes Focused on Brands Retrieved on 25 November 2011, Hotel-Online.com
- ^ Hotel F1 Retrieved on 13 November 2011, Accor.com
- ^ French firm to acquire Motel 6 Retrieved on 13 November 2011, Los Angeles Times
- ^ Accor sells Red Roof Inn unit for $1.32 bln Retrieved on 13 November 2011, Reuters.com
- ^ Accor buys stake in Club Med Retrieved on 13 November 2011, The New York Times
- ^ "All in the family". Economist.com. http://www.economist.com/node/5033852. Retrieved 16 November 2011.
- ^ "Accor: Supervisory Board Release". HotelExecutive.com. http://www.hotelexecutive.com/newswire/16260/accor-supervisory-board-release. Retrieved 16 November 2011.
- ^ "ACCOR : Gilles Pélisson, Chief executive Officer, Appointed Chairman of the Board". 4-traders.com. http://www.4-traders.com/ACCOR-4602/news/ACCOR-Gilles-Pelisson-Chief-executive-Officer-Appointed-Chairman-of-the-Board-13133845/. Retrieved 16 November 2011.
- ^ "Accor Timeline". Caterer Search. http://www.caterersearch.com/Companies/33846/accor-hotels.html.
- ^ "NewsLog". BusinessTravelNews. http://www.businesstravelnews.com/Business-Globalization/McDonald-s-Europe-chairman-and-CEO-Denis-Hennequin-next-year-will-assume-the-chief-executive-position-at-European-hotel-operator-Accor/?a=trans. Retrieved 16 November 2011.
- ^ "Board of Directors". Accor.com. http://www.accor.com/en/group/organization/board-of-directors.html. Retrieved 17 April 2011.
- ^ Executive Committee
- ^ "Etap / Formule1 / ibis budget". Accor.com. http://www.accor.com/en/brands/brand-portfolio/etap-formule1-ibis-budget.html. Retrieved 25 November 2011.
- ^ "Motel 6". Accor.com. http://www.accor.com/en/brands/brand-portfolio/motel6.html. Retrieved 25 November 2011.
- ^ "Studio 6". Accor.com. http://www.accor.com/en/brands/brand-portfolio/studio6.html. Retrieved 25 November 2011.
- ^ "Accor sells Red Roof Inn unit for $1.32 bln". Reuters.com. http://www.reuters.com/article/2007/04/23/accor-redroof-idUSN2332959820070423. Retrieved 25 November 2011.
- ^ "ibis". Accor.com. http://www.accor.com/en/brands/brand-portfolio/ibis.html. Retrieved 11 November 2011.
- ^ "ibis Styles". Accor.com. http://www.accor.com/en/brands/brand-portfolio/all-seasons-ibis-styles.html. Retrieved 11 November 2011.
- ^ "Suite Novotel". Accor.com. http://www.accor.com/en/brands/brand-portfolio/suite-novotel.html. Retrieved 11 November 2011.
- ^ "Mercure". Accor.com. http://www.accor.com/en/brands/brand-portfolio/mercure.html. Retrieved 11 November 2011.
- ^ "Adagio". Accor.com. http://www.accor.com/en/brands/brand-portfolio/adagio.html. Retrieved 11 November 2011.
- ^ "Grand Mercure". Accor.com. http://www.accor.com/en/brands/brand-portfolio/grand-mercure.html. Retrieved 21 November 2011.
- ^ "MGallery". Accor.com. http://www.accor.com/en/brands/brand-portfolio/mgallery.html. Retrieved 21 November 2011.
- ^ "Pullman". Accor.com. http://www.accor.com/en/brands/brand-portfolio/pullman.html. Retrieved 21 November 2011.
- ^ "Sofitel". Accor.com. http://www.accor.com/en/brands/brand-portfolio/sofitel.html. Retrieved 21 November 2011.
- ^ "Thalassa Sea and Spa". Accor.com. http://www.accor.com/en/brands/brand-portfolio/thalassa-sea-spa.html. Retrieved 21 November 2011.
- ^ "Sofitel Winter Palace Luxor". Sofitel.com. http://www.sofitel.com/gb/hotel-1661-sofitel-winter-palace-luxor/index.shtml. Retrieved 11 November 2011.
- ^ "Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi". Sofitel.com. http://www.sofitel.com/gb/hotel-1555-sofitel-legend-metropole-hanoi/index.shtml. Retrieved 11 November 2011.
External links