By DestinAsian - February 22, 2021
The hospitality giantâs COO for South East Asia, Japan and South Korea highlights a few notable projects in the pipeline and explains how Accor has adapted to the new normal.
All photos courtesy of Accor
Accor previously embraced a strategy of accelerating hotel development through organic growth and acquisition. Has the current crisis changed that approach?
We have been pleasantly surprised by the number of signings that have continued through the pandemic and at the quality of projects we have in the pipeline, including a large percentage of lifestyle and luxury hotels and resorts. While acquisitions have slowed over this period, there is definitely a big appetite for smaller, unbranded hotels to join Accor, knowing our expert sales teams, globally recognized brands, worldwide distribution platforms, ALLSAFE cleaning protocols and hygiene standards and the comfort and security that comes from being part of a large group provides. Our approach remains largely what it was before the crisis â we are definitely focused on quality over quantity and on enriching and expanding our presence in countries where we are already the leader or in highly sought-after destinations that we know people will want to travel to in the future. There is still a lot of confidence in the long-term future of travel.