After a nearly €2 billion net loss in 2020, the Accor Group recovered
for an €85 million net profit for 2021. “We never showed fear,” said chairman and
CEO Sebastien Bazin, “but we were in a very challenging environment.”
Business travel was an important part of this challenge.
Bazin details the dramatic decline with data from Oxford Tourism
Economics. It was both international and domestic business travel that were analyzed.
Accor’s 2019 business was 60% based on this figure. The remaining 25% were approximately 25
respective 75 and 50 percent of pre-pandemic volume in 2021. And
while Oxford projected domestic business travel to rebound—and surpass—2019
Levels by 2023, the firm projected that international business travel would continue to be a major part of their operations
Nearly 40 percent reduction in pre-pandemic volume 2023, and 20% less even
By 2024
Bazin stated, “That could possibly last forever.”
We are able to connect because of the capacity we have via Zoom, WebEx, and Teams
“You can be yourself, without embarking on an extremely long journey.” Compare with Bazin
“The anguish of crossing borders with all your paperwork.”
“Have to Do” domestic business travellers, who were previously affected by the pandemic
40 percent of company’s overall business mix. Will have to make up more
Volume in the Accor System to Fill the Gap
Group events were clearly smaller in both volume and size than they used to be during this time.
Bazin foresaw a decrease in the number of groups that would be affected by the pandemic.
Covid-19 is a recovery program for travelers who are still experiencing travel difficulties and face increasing challenges.
Technology is enabling decentralized hybrid meetings to be created.
“We’ve seen many different large companies doing, [in] 10
Different cities and groups of 50 for the same organisation, rather than
Bazin explained that it is possible to bring everyone together in one city. You see?
Many hybrid meetings combine with 1,500 physical meetings to create a variety of meetings.
Different satellite offices can be connected digitally to connect people with different individuals
same event.”
Bazin talked about a future of bleisure especially in the
The domestic travel market for business travelers. He’s betting it will make up the difference.
International travel volume overall
“Bleisure will outpace by far in terms of volume, maybe not
in pricing, but in terms of RevPAR, what you stand to miss on international travelers,”
He stated. He also said that in cities with Accor properties, he had previously seen them.
International business travellers will require a shift in focus. “You
Millions of people live in the same city as you, and they are not offered to them.
You can do anything that will allow you to enter your hotel. This is the time to do it,” he said, noting
Hoteliers can use the Accor app and loyalty program to help bring in more guests.
in local business.
Key performance metrics for the fourth quarter and full year 2021
Accor’s systemwide revenue per available room in fourth
The quarter 2021 was down 27.2 percentage points compared with the fourth quarter in 2019. All Systemwide
RevPAR in full year 2021 was down 45.7 percent against that of 2019. Accor’s
financial statement attributes the decline to “an environment disrupted by the
Resurgent Covid-19 pandemic is despite marked improvements in global
business levels from April 2021.”
In the fourth quarter, 2021, average daily rates declined by 3.1
The same period in 2019 was a mere 0.1%. ADR fell 9.9 percent for the full year 2021
Percent compared with 2019. In the fourth quarter of 2021, the rate of vacancy fell 17.4
Percentage points in comparison to the 2018 period. The full-year 2021 occupancy
The decline was 27.9 percent from the full-year 2019.
Accor built 288 hotels during 2021. This represents 41,000
It also led to a 3 per cent net growth of the network in 2020.
Accor’s hotel portfolio consisted of 777 714 rooms spread across 5,298 properties at the close of December 2021
hotels. 1 218 hotels have 214,000 available rooms.
