Last week I brought to you the first part of my fascinating interview with Accor’s CEO for Asia-Pacific, Michael Issenberg, where he and I discussed the strategy behind the company’s recent slew of acquisitions. In part two, we pick up where we left off and address the trend that will define travel in 2018: China. Accor signed a partnership with Ctrip recently which much be a crucial part of the strategy for success in the region.
This deal will enable the Accor to showcase some of their most relevant hotels to more than 300 million registered Ctrip users and to “provide enhanced guest experiences from across the global portfolio”. He also humbly states that this was a strategic move “to work with partners who know the Chinese market better than we do and to learn from them and grow the market together”.
“In 2014 we announced an alliance with Huazhu Hotels Group that was designed to allow us to develop in China at a much faster pace than we could ever have on our own,” Issenberg continues.
At the time of the alliance, they had 140 hotels in China – today they have almost double that and this year they will add another 50 – 60 hotels. “We will continue to look for new ways to capitalise on the power of the Chinese market,” he says.
How things have changed. AccorHotels has now created a China-specific global strategy “to ensure we can fully harness the power of China both domestically and globally”. The initiative, called China ImpAct 2020, focuses on leveraging not just our partnership with Huazhu but on Accor’s own “internal channels and strengths to enhancing our capabilities to serve our Chinese guests better” – both within and outside of China.
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