Business travel at Accor, the French hospitality company, has seen very little impact from all the uncertainty around tariffs and geopolitical issues in the last 15 months, according to Sébastien Bazin, CEO, speaking from blizzard-struck New York at a virtual press event. “Even last April when we had 60 days of mess [when tariffs were first announced]” said Bazin, “we saw very little impact.”
“The world has never been so hard to predict,” said Bazin, “but we have been able to navigate through many storms. In the end we are very strong in terms of market share, leadership and brand.”
Business travel demand in 2025 at Accor was “remarkably resilient,” with corporate activity picking up speed in the fourth quarter, according to Martine Gerow, CFO, speaking on a fourth quarter earnings call last week.
Bazin said at the press event that the company’s outlook is “extraordinarily solid,” noting that “if Accor has done anything right, it has been to bet on luxury and lifestyle brands.” He said the operator has gone from 13 to 47 brands in just a few years, and most of that growth is in luxury and lifestyle products.
What sets Accor apart, said Bazin, is that it is “a United Nations of hospitality companies.” While American hotel operators like Hilton and Marriott are very US-centric in terms of leadership, he said, the 50 top Accor executives represent 30 different nationalities. That diversity, said Bazin, is representative of the company’s strength in Europe, Asia, Africa and Latin America.
Bazin said that while Accor was late in starting a loyalty program (it started in 2005), ALL Accor is now growing rapidly and has an advantage over its competitors in having so many international members. Because of that diversified membership, he said, “we’ve never had so many people knocking on our door,” referring to hotel developers.
In the US, said Bazin, Accor will not try to compete on a large scale with the likes of Marriott, Hilton and Hyatt but will be strategic in terms of maximizing its loyalty program and distribution in this country. Luxury hotels in gateway cities will be one area of emphasis, with brands like Fairmont and Sofitel seeing growth. “We have to be rigorous and disciplined in the US,” he said.
Bazin said he welcomes the advent of AI, noting that Accor very recently was the first hospitality company to make a deal with ChatGPT. He said the company’s inventory and pricing are available on the app, although rooms are not bookable yet. At some point, he said, the AI companies will become commercial, offering the ability to book.
Summing up how Accor views its US competitors, Bazin said: “They crush me in the US. I crush them elsewhere.”
