Danny Rogers
Digital Marketing
August 24, 2020
AccorHotels and the Digital Transformation
This article discusses new digital challenges and opportunities hotels are currently facing
and Accor’s reaction to them. New developments in the industry, such as online travel agents,
review websites, social media sites, alternative lodging platforms, etc. have encouraged Accor to
revamp their digital presence. To do so, Olivier Arnoux, SVP Customer Experience and
Satisfaction for AccorHotels launched an expansive research project to help determine what type
of content would help them gain value and what channels they should utilize to maximize their
value.
Olivier’s research first uncovered that Accor’s market segments were unique as they
spanned from economy, midscale, and luxury/upscale. This gave Accor a competitive advantage
as most major chains “tended to concentrate on the midscale to luxury segments” (pg. 2).
Wyndham is the only other competitor that operates across these three segments.
Olivier also discovered a shift in customer’s exposure to information and their
expectations for hotels due to the digital revolution. In the past, customers could only access
information about a hotel through “brochures or guidebooks” (pg. 6). However, with the
introduction of multiple digital media sources, potential customers now place great importance
on customer reviews. This has created a customer who is often more knowledgable about a
hotel’s performance than any communications rep for AccorHotels, or any other hotel services.
So, to ensure communication remains between Accor and its customers, they decided to “develop
an omnichannel approach to customer engagement, addressing digital concerns on top of other
promotional activities” (pg. 7).
Since peer reviews have increased significantly in importance for a customer’s decision
making, companies such as Accor have begun monitoring what is being posted about them
through SML. This allows Accor to instantly access customer insights and rapidly address them.
Lastly, this information regarding customer insights enables companies to create content that