Accor Strategy Officer's Vision for Luxury Growth

28.02.2024 - 21:43 / skift.com / Sean Oneill

Gilda Perez-Alvarado surprised some hotel industry vets when she joined Accor last October, becoming its chief strategy officer. She switched from being the Global CEO of hotel broker JLL.

In her first media interview since taking the job, Perez-Alvarado talked with Skift about strategy at the Paris-based travel titan, her plans to address the U.S. market more effectively, her new role as CEO of the Orient Express brand, and her outlook for hotel dealmaking.

“If we, as hotel companies, fail to take advantage of what’s happening in the market right now, shame on us,” she said.

The interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.

Skift: When you were at JLL, you had one of the industry’s most glamorous jobs — brokering deals for the crème de la crème of hotel investors. Why jump to Accor?

Gilda Perez-Alvarado: It’s a super fair question. It was the perfect time. I had an amazing 19 years at JLL.

Sébastien [Bazin, Accor Chairman & CEO] is really the reason I’m here. If you look at what Accor has been doing over the last 10 years, under his tenure, it has done more innovation than anyone. I like the entrepreneurial mindset here.

Accor deals with the same cadre of investors I was dealing with at JLL. So, it seemed like a natural progression. I am bringing an ‘owner’s mentality’ in hospitality real estate investment that can bring a complementary perspective.

Skift: What was something you suspected was true of hotel groups while you were at JLL that proved true after you joined Accor?

Perez-Alvarado: At JLL, we were always anticipating secular changes in the industry regarding tech and hospitality adjacencies like branded residential, etc.

But it’s one thing to say our industry is going through a very significant transformation and another actually to see it. It’s insane. There’s a tremendous opportunity in the evolution of hospitality above and beyond just hotels.

If we, as hotel companies, fail to take advantage of what’s happening in the market right now, shame on us.

Overall, it’s been a validation of what JLL was forecasting.

Skift: Accor has had a seemingly endless series of reorgs and shifts of emphasis over the past decade. But now it seems like the group’s strategy and talent are in place. The story appears to be about execution now. Last July, Accor announced granular commitments for the next several years. So, why did the company create a chief strategy officer role, and why do they need you?

Perez-Alvarado: Well, it’s one thing to talk about it and another thing to get it done.

But you’re right. It’s about focused, disciplined portfolio management and doing what we’ve said we would do.

Skift: At JLL, you were the global CEO, but you also had a deep familiarity with the U.S. market. Som