Sébastien Bazin travel tips

Net room growth is a key metric for any hotel group, but one which Accor assures it is growing with caution. Its CEO Sebastien Bazin said that developing new hotels comes with environmental consequences the industry cannot ignore, but that in the end, new hotels are often good news for any destination.

Wyndham Hotels and Resorts is introducing its Microtel by Wyndham Brand to India – its eighth brand in the country – through a development agreement with NILE Hospitality.

Good morning from Skift. It’s Friday, October 4, 2024 and here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today. 

In an industry often criticized for sluggishness, Sébastien Bazin is known for moving fast. Bazin spent much of his early career as a financier at investment banks and private equity firms rather than rising through the ranks of a hotel company.

Branded hotel room signings in India during the April to June quarter surged by nearly 40% from the same period in 2023, according to data by real estate services company JLL. During the quarter, over 9,700 new keys across 82 branded hotels were signed, while another 50 hotels opened during this period. 

Good morning from Skift. It’s Tuesday, August 13, and now here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.

The hotel industry in India is estimated to reach around $247 billion in 2024, and projected to hit $475 billion by 2029, according to market research firm Mordor Intelligence. That’s an annual growth rate of nearly 14%. 

Accor reported strong results for the first half of the year Thursday, and pointed to promising bookings trends for the second half.

While athletes from around the world will flock to Paris later this month to go for gold at the Summer Olympics, this doesn't mean travelers are following suit and heading to the City of Light.

Accor’s preparation for the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games includes certifying over 380 hotels for accessibility, enhancing digital solutions, and specialized training to improve service for disabled travelers.

The Indian hotels industry signed a total of 146 branded hotels between January and May this year. This was up from 110 branded hotels signed during the same period last year. More than 14,000 keys are now under development, a monthly report by hospitality advisory services firm HVS Anarock showed.

Lifestyle hotels continue to be the must-have item in the hospitality industry.

Ennismore, the fast-growing lifestyle hospitality company that’s an Accor joint venture, said Thursday it had entered into a strategic partnership to run and market as part of its family of brands the experiential luxury hotel brand Our Habitas.

Accor and LVMH have announced a strategic partnership aimed at revitalizing Orient Express, an iconic brand renowned for its luxurious travel experiences dating back to 1883. Originally known for its opulent train journeys, Orient Express is expanding its portfolio to include new ventures in trains, hotels, and sailing ships under Accor’s ownership since 2022.

Accor's Orient Express brand — which is perhaps best known for trains but has expanded its sights to hotels and superyachts in recent years — now has a new, ultraluxury partner.

“India is a country we’re very interested in,” Sebastien Bazin, the group chairman and CEO of Accor, said during the company’s earnings call Friday.

The Qatar Economic Forum commenced its 4th edition on May 14 under the theme ‘A World Remade: Navigating the Year of Uncertainty’. During the session titled ‘From the Gulf to the World: The Future of Tourism’, His Excellency Mr. Saad bin Ali Al Kharji, Chairman of Qatar Tourism, discussed the future of tourism in the Gulf region. The panel speakers included H.E. Ahmed Al-Khateeb, Minister of Tourism of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and Mr. Sébastien Bazin, Group Chairman & CEO of Accor.

“Ninety percent of the success of hotel companies is linked to two things – demography and emerging middle class,” Accor chairman and CEO Sébastien Bazin said at the recent hospitality conference, HICSA 2024. This is especially true for India, he said, which has accounted for 25% of the emerging middle class in the past 10 years.

French hospitality company Accor signed a record 11 hotels in India last year and opened six properties, it said in a statement released on Thursday. 

These organizational changes will be effective as of 1 January 2024.

Accor said on Thursday it would appoint Gilda Perez-Alvarado as CEO of Orient Express, its luxury hotel brand, effective January 1.