15 Aug 2014
Words Carla Cook

Drive to open new frontiers in hospitality

The Novotel Sydney on Darling Harbour was where it all began for Accor in Australia. Opening in July 1991, it was central to the transformation of a grim collection of disused railway yards into Sydney’s vibrant tourism, hospitality and entertainment precinct.

During the near quarter century since, Accor has certainly opened new frontiers – in every State and Territory from WA’s Ningaloo Reef to our most easterly town of Byron Bay, from tropical Cairns to cosmopolitan Melbourne, and plenty of points in between.

Along the way, their contribution has extended beyond simple geographic growth. Accor has sought out new frontiers in hotel concepts, customer service, improved sales and marketing, better training, and more inclusive recruitment practices.

‘Largest’ is another word almost always linked to the name Accor. Accor is the largest hotel group in the Asia Pacific region, where it now has over 500 hotels. And it is Australia-New Zealand’s largest operator with more than 200 properties. Worldwide, Accor has 3,500-plus hotels in 92 countries, operated by a staff numbering over 160,000 people.

Their portfolio spans the full market spectrum from 5-star establishments to budget hotels. In the mid-priced segment, Novotel and Mercure are dominant. At the top end are the luxury Sofitel and upscale MGallery Collection and Pullman brands.

These brands have all seen accelerated growth in Australia since Accor’s purchase in 2012 of the Mirvac hotel group, an investment of over $280 million. Pullman is front and centre of their expansion in the upscale segment, and has become Australia’s largest 5-star hotel brand, now with 11 hotels and four more in the pipeline.

“Establishing and expanding Pullman in Australia is one of the group’s priorities, given we have recognised a sweet spot in the upscale market here,” said Chief Operating Officer Accor Pacific, Simon McGrath.

“Australia is seeing rapid increases in travel from a number of Asian destinations where Pullman is already well-established and, with the Australian Pullman network located in key business and resort areas, we believe the brand is well posed to further grow considerable support from both international and domestic travellers.”

Another priority has been innovation at the more budget-conscious end of the market. In 2011, Accor put the Ibis brand at the core of their economy hotel strategy, and implemented what is termed a “megabrand restructure”. Formule 1 hotels were rebranded to Ibis Budget, All Seasons became Ibis Styles, and the existing Ibis brand was retained.

The result is a three-tier Ibis megabrand, which Accor says has already achieved significant revenue growth and improved consumer satisfaction. “The economy hotel sector is the fastest growing market in global travel, and is set to grow even faster with the rapid expansion of low-cost carriers,” Mr McGrath said.

This confidence and heavy investment in the segment will culminate in July when Accor opens its “premium economy” flagship hotel, the new 17-storey, 307-room Ibis Adelaide.

The Mirvac purchase, which added popular brands Sea Temple, Quay West, The Sebel and Citigate to the Accor network, has also been a catalyst for expansion in the premium apartment hotel sector. While many of the hotels have been rebranded to Pullman and MGallery, The Sebel will remain a key brand in Australia.

“Following extensive research into Accor’s apartment hotels, The Sebel Premier Apartments name has been selected to champion and leverage Accor’s upscale apartment product to create a unique proposition in the serviced apartment market,” Mr McGrath said.

“The Sebel Premier Apartments brand will be rolled out during 2014 with 20 current Sebel hotels and apartment properties alongside the majority of existing Grand Mercure Apartment hotels to integrate under the new banner across Australia and New Zealand.”

Another Accor priority in recent years has been to grow its franchise hotel division, through which Accor provides branding, sales, marketing and reservation support to owners who continue to operate their own property. With rapid and substantial changes to distribution channels and the rise of technology and reservations systems, aligning their business with such an internationally recognised brand is an attractive option for many operators.

“We bring an unparalleled range of brand options, an unsurpassed global sales, distribution and marketing team, and our proven record in maximizing returns for franchisees,” Mr McGrath explained.

There are some 70 franchised hotels in the Accor Australia network, including the five hotels in the Ayers Rock Resort complex, which were added in 2012. Most recently, Accor took over management of the iconic Kakadu hotels, now Mercure Kakadu Crocodile Hotel and Kakadu Lodge Cooinda, which are operated by Kakadu Tourism.

Mention of these properties provides the ideal opportunity to recognise Accor’s role as a pioneer in employing and developing the hospitality careers of indigenous Australians. The company, which employs more than 10,000 people in Australia and has its own training academy (Academie Accor), has run its own Indigenous Employment Programme since 2011, introducing over 1000 indigenous Australians to the industry.

It has also just won a major government accolade in the Migration and Settlement Awards, for a self-initiated programme to recruit and train close to 100 refugees. The awards recognise initiatives that promote the inclusion of migrants within the Australian workforce.

“Accor is committed to cultural inclusion and creating programmes that encourage diversity,” Mr McGrath said. “We are proud to have many nationalities represented throughout our network of hotels.”

Simon McGrath has been with Accor for almost a decade now, after joining as General Manager of the Sofitel Reef Casino in Cairns in 2005. He rose through the ranks, working in diverse locations. He was appointed Vice President for Australia in 2006 and, in mid-2012, was promoted to COO for Asia Pacific.

So it must have been a proud moment when, at the 2013 HM Awards for Hotel and Accommodation Excellence, Accor won eight major gongs, including Hotel Brand of the Year (for Pullman) and Accommodation Chain of the Year for the third consecutive year.

“These awards are testament to the massive expansion of the group over the past 18 months,” he said at the time. “We have experienced strong growth for Accor and our brands, it’s been an exciting time, and it cements Accor’s leadership position in the Australian, New Zealand and South Pacific markets.”

For more information, visit www.accor.comwhere you’ll also find links to each of Accor’s individual brands