At the end of 2015, Accor had only 6% of luxury rooms worldwide and only owned two luxury brands: Sofitel and MGallery. Today, at least 10% of its more than 800,000 rooms are in the luxury segment. The hotel group currently has 380 luxury hotels. It wants to catch up with Marriott and Hilton. The model for Sébastien Bazin, the boss of Accor, is the LVMH group.
Accor launches into ultra-luxury
Sébastien Bazin’s ambition is to launch Orient Express this year as a hotel, train and yacht brand. Orient Express will be Accor’s second brand after Raffles in the ultra-luxury segment.
The group boss said: “I have never understood why the travel industry has moved away from the heyday of luxury tourism, around 100 years ago”. “Those years were exceptional in terms of beauty of uniforms, service, music, gastronomy, baccarat, perfume.”
For professionals who worked in the early 70s remember that travel catalogs did not yet exist. Customers then benefited from individual and high-end packages. Some, like me, worked at the large agency on Boulevard des Capucines in Paris. There was a “tourism counter” where great professionals could make customers dream by talking about what to see in Iran and elsewhere. We then benefit from real geography and history lessons.
In 2026, Accor and LVMH will inaugurate the first two Orient Express night trains whose first routes will crisscross Italy. The brand will also inaugurate the largest sailboat in the world, l’Orient Express Corinthian. The brand has appointed chef Yannick Alléno, who has earned two or three Michelin stars for his restaurants, as executive chef of Orient Express.
New developments for Raffles and Fairmont
-Sébastien Bazin finalized Accor’s acquisition of luxury hotel brands Raffles and Fairmont in 2016.
The head of these brands aims for Fairmont to be “intimately linked to the social fabric of a destination” with accessible luxury and venues that can accommodate large groups. “If it’s a large wedding or conference, it’s most likely going to be at a Fairmont,” he said.
This year, Fairmont will offer expanded services on each hotel’s Gold Floor, a floor reserved for VIPs who enjoy more personalized service from staff in a sort of hotel within a hotel.
Raffles has smaller establishments, aimed at intimate gatherings of families and executives. Recent successful openings in Boston, Jaipur and London, as well as projects in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and Sentosa, Singapore, demonstrate the strength of the brand among developers.
In 2023, Sébastien Bazin appoints Maud Bailly CEO of luxury hotel brands Sofitel, Sofitel Legend, MGallery and Emblems.
Maud Bailly had to face recovery work for the flagship brand Sofitel, which has 124 hotels in operation. The 60-year-old brand fell out of favor with many owners after it was acquired by Accor in 1980. His goal was to revitalize the Sofitel brand by working on renovations, service culture and brand positioning.
And we will tell you about the So Hotel in Bangkok very soon…
