AccorHotels was established in 1967 when the founders, Paul Dubrule and Gerard Pelisson, opened their first hotel, Novotel, in Lille Lesquin, France. They soon formed the Société d’investissement et d’exploitation hôteliers (SIEH) group and grew the company by opening and acquiring new hotels across the globe. In 1983, SIEH owned 400 hotels and 1,500 restaurants and renamed the company Accor Group.

Starting in 2010, Accor began shifting its operating strategy from owning to franchising and managing hotel properties.

This strategy, called “asset-light,” allowed the company to focus on investing and expanding its numerous brands instead of spending capital on purchasing real estate. Accor was made up of two businesses: Hotel Invest, a real estate business that focused on owning and leasing hotels, and Hotel Services, which focused on running Accor hotel operations. Becoming asset-light helped Accor open 2,018 new hotels in 2014, many of which were in new markets. By 2019, Accor managed 26 in-house brands targeting different segments of the hotel market. Its luxury brands include Raffles, Fairmont, and Sofitel. Its midrange brands include Swissotel and Mercure, while ibis and Formula 1 are its two main budget brands........

1. What was the key to Accor’s market success?

2. What role did Accor’s online strategy play in its ability to gain and retain loyal customers?

3. How should Accor balance its resources across traditional, online, and mobile communications?