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one umbrella . Fortuitously , Mendes has the right skills to make this structure successful . He joined Accor in 2005 as svp global sales and distribution , moved to São Paulo , Brazil , in 2011 to become COO , luxury and midscale brands Latin America , before transitioning to CEO , Latin America in 2015 . Last October , he returned to Paris for his current role with eight geographic regions under his purview .
“ I ’ m a mix of an operations and corporate guy ,” Mendes says . “ It ’ s rare to have someone who spent half his career in operations leading hotels , developing hotel owners , and working with managing directors and general managers to manage properties , and yet [ also ] has corporate-level experience defining strategy on loyalty , marketing , branding and sales incentives . I like the balance , because you decide things differently when you see both sides of the coin .”
That perspective has shaped Accor ’ s strategy to acquire luxury brands with consumer awareness and extend them everywhere . The January 2021 joint venture with Argentinian brand Faena sparked plans to expand into Dubai , Singapore and Paris , while the Miami , Florida , brand Delano is coming to Paris and to Sardinia ’ s Costa Smeralda .
Mendes says Accor isn ’ t pivoting into luxury , but rather completing its multi-segmented ecosystem . “ In six to seven years , we ’ ve moved from a midscale European economy brand to becoming global with less than 50 % of our properties in Europe and more than 40 % of our business in luxury lifestyle ,” he says . “ It ’ s a big change , but we haven ’ t forgotten our key brands of the past ; 40 % of development is for historic brands with 150 Ibis and 50 to 60 Novotels and Mercures opened each year . Now 25 % of new development is lifestyle properties .”
“ My dream would be to have a mix of business , city and leisure hotels like Delano , Faena , Jo & Joe and Mama Shelter in all key destinations such as Cannes , London , Marrakech and Dubai ,” Mendes says . “ However , there are no plans to merge these brands , because the more we have , the better we capture different kinds of needs .” Luxury is all about diversification for different personality types and experiences , so a wider range of brands lets Accor achieve greater market share . For toptier guests , the 5 % of the 66 million in the Accor Live Limitless loyalty program , the group focuses
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on status recognition , upgrades and hyper personalization through diamond- and elite-level experiences shaped by each destination ’ s qualities .
INNOVATION FORWARD With motivations for travel and hotel visits changing , Accor is moving into “ augmented ” lifestyle hospitality to attract new kinds of business . The group ’ s Innovation Lab looks at market and consumer trends to develop alternative solutions . One outcome was the partnership with designer Ora- Ïto to create Flying Nest — shipping containers repurposed as hotel rooms that can be relocated for temporary accommodation . Another creation was Greet , Accor ’ s new brand for independent , 50- to 150-room hotels looking for a distribution platform . Conceived to be local , sustainable and socially responsible , owners work with Accor ’ s designers who reuse each hotel ’ s furniture and commission neighborhood artisans . Mendes says the lab is currently looking at healthy , mindfulness-oriented trends and will carry out pilot experiences to develop brands in this arena .
A long-lasting trend the lab identified is “ workspitality ,” which led to the prescient launch of Wojo two years ago . Created for people without proper office setups at home , portions of hotels across different Accor brands are transformed into remote workspaces . But Wojo isn ’ t simply monetizing something guests were already doing ; there are free co-working areas and a 20 % food and beverage discount . In Paris , the company is trialing
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Accor partnered with Ora-Ïto to create Flying Nest |
Photo : Sebastien Dupic |