AccorHotels is all about locations

Attended by over 1200 delegates, AccorHotels Showcase 2018 was recently held in Mumbai and Delhi. The event was packed with networking sessions where attendees discovered the group’s newest offerings, discovered accommodation trends and met with hotel representatives from across the region.

Anupriya Bishnoi

AccorHotels Showcase 2018 witnessed participation from 35 hotels and resorts from the global network along with 22 hotels a India. The delegates, representing India’s top-most travel agents, wholesalers, corporate clients, tourism partners and MiCE organisers, made the event the largest-ever showcase of AccorHotels in Asia Pacific.

Kerry Healy, Vice President of Sales—Asia Pacific, AccorHotels, said, “AccorHotels Showcase 2018 has doubled in size which I think is a testament to how important the Indian market is to us. We are back with about 50 per cent more attendees. The event saw representation from the marquee hotels, namely Raffles Dubai and Saudi Arabia, RIXOS Turkey, Fairmont Ajman, SO Sofitel Bangkok and Singapore, Novotel Amsterdam City and Novotel Amsterdam Schiphol Airport, Pullman Paris Eiffel Tower, Swissôtel The Bosphorus Istanbul, Fairmont Dubai and more.”

“We have deployed extra people in the India market. We have a team of 40 people focused on forming partnerships with our B2B customers” – Kerry Healy

Elaborating on the importance of the Indian market, she said, “We have deployed extra people in the India market. We used to have a team of six people trying to service the whole of India. We now have a team of 40 people focused on forming deep partnerships with our B2B customers.”

The Indian market has its own set of challenges. Reiterating this fact, she said, “It’s about finding the right brand and the right budget to go along with the customer’s requests and demands. The Indian market is a mass market. For us, it’s still about building brand knowledge because we have acquired a lot of other hotel brands as well. It’s also about the Indian customers knowing these brands and feeling confident while booking us when travelling overseas.”

Arif Patel, Vice President—Sales, Marketing, Distribution & Loyalty, AccorHotels India, was also pleased with the response the showcase received. He said, “It is overwhelming to see how AccorHotels’ brands have been accepted positively, especially our luxury brands Raffles, Fairmont and RIXOS overall, and Fairmont and RIXOS for weddings.”

“With a very organic growth, we started with one hotel 10 years ago. We will now be opening our 50th hotel and the 20th Novotel this year” – Arif Patel

AccorHotels has various brands under its umbrella. On the brand that is doing the best in the Indian market, Patel said, “Each brand is positioned uniquely. It’s not really about revenue, it’s about flow-through. Most of our hotels are very profitable for our owners. You can’t really say which hotel is doing the best because the cost of construction is different for each brand. With a very organic growth, we started with one hotel 10 years ago. We will be opening our 50th hotel and the 20th Novotel this year. AccorHotels is all about locations. We are at the right places. In Gurugram, we are on Golf Course Road; we have three hotels at Delhi Airport; we are at the Mumbai Airport and Bengaluru City Centre as well. Also, our presence in Goa is increasing. We have four hotels in Goa- three in North Goa and one in the South.”