Accor unveils plans to expand into the all inclusive resort sector at GME 2022
ANN RUPPENSTEIN
Members of Accor’s executive team including Markus Keller, Mansi Vagt, Emlyn Brown and Meenaz Diamond.
Joining the 10th edition of Accor’s Global Meeting Exchange 2022 summit held at the Fairmont San Francisco virtually via live stream, group chief commercial officer Patrick Mendes announced details about an ambitious new all inclusive hotel venture across household brand names like Fairmont and Sofitel.
“You could have an all inclusive Fairmont resort, why not in the Caribbean, or in Southeast Asia,” Mendes explained. “The objective is to achieve 100 properties within the next five years.”
The all inclusive properties are set to range from 500 to 1,200 rooms and be in the luxury and premium resort categories.
During a media briefing, Markus Keller, chief sales and distribution officer for Accor, said the group has already been operating in the all inclusive space through a partnership with Rixos, a high end brand stemming from Turkey.
“It began as a friendly partnership and over time we began to learn more and more about the business and how not only lucrative it can be from a business perspective, but also how enjoyable it can be from a customer’s perspective if it’s done right,” he said.
Orient Express La Dolce Vita will welcome its first passengers in 2023
While the term all inclusive can conjure up negative connotations, Keller said the company can distinguish itself by truly making the experience all inclusive across signature restaurants and premium alcohol.
“There can be a negative perception of all inclusive, it’s all inclusive but only at the buffet restaurant and only from 6-8 a.m., and if you want to have a glass of wine, you have to pay extra,” he said. “That is not the case at Rixos. Everything is included. That’s how you drive a premium dollar… There is an all inclusive market that doesn’t require you to compete at the bottom.”
Due to the “jarring nature” of the word all inclusive in North America, Mansi Vagt, global brand leader & vice president, Accor, Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, pointed out that they’re currently in the process of determining key terminology and positioning for the new product to feel authentic and align with what customers have come to expect from the brand.
Jeff Doane, chief commercial officer at Accor, North & Central America; Magdaleena Nikolov, general manager of spa and wellness at Fairmont Century Plaza; and Valerie Gavin, senior vice president of sales at Accor, North & Central America.
Vagt also highlighted that 26 new Fairmont hotels are coming online over the next three to five years.
“I’ve been with the company for 15 years and I’ve never seen this trajectory of growth for the brand, ever,” she said.
New openings are slated for Morocco, Doha, Prague and Tokyo to name but a few.
Starting with the launch of the Fairmont Century Plaza in Los Angeles, Vagt noted that Fairmont has also unveiled new spa branding, which speaks to the authenticity of each destination.
“Fairmont has really always been that brand that’s locally authentic. You’re not getting a cookie cutter experience. That goes all the way from the room experience to our restaurants and F&B offerings, all the way to MICE and our meetings and events business,” she said. “You feel that sense of, I’m really experiencing this destination or this culture. And that’s absolutely critical to us.”
Other US openings in the pipeline include a new Raffles in Boston, marking the brand’s first hotel in the US, and Fairmont hotels in Orlando and Phoenix.
The organization has also partnered with the Orient Express, famed for train travel, to develop and expand a luxury hotel brand under its banner.
“Orient Express is not a product, it’s a feeling, and that’s what makes it so special,” shared Accor CEO Sébastien Bazin, announcing that they’re also in the process of renovating original Orient Express train cars from 1932.
Overall, Bazin reported that Accor is set to launch one new hotel per day over the next year.
