Marketing Strategy and SWOT Analysis of Accor Hotels

Accor Hotels is a hospitality group that owns prominent brands such as Novotel, Sofitel, Fairmont, Banyan Tree, and Raffles. The hotel firm, headquartered in France, owns hotels, resorts, and vacation homes. Their economical brand, Ibis, is a well-known business-class hotel that has received several medals and distinctions in this area. Mercure is the Accor group’s largest mid-tier hotel chain, with over 750 hotels in 50 countries. This article will look at the marketing and SWOT analysis of Accor Hotels.

Take a look at Accor Hotels Mission and Vision statements. 

Mission Statement: 

“Our priority mission is to promote access to professionalization, employment or entrepreneurship by supporting projects with positive implications for vulnerable people.”

Accor Hotels was negatively impacted by COVID lockdowns, much as several other international hospitality firms. Following a one-year hiatus from advertising engagement, Accor and Mastercard worked together. They develop a multi-phase campaign, initially luring visitors with flexible “pay now, stay later” messaging, then offering two cascading packaged “ideal escape” bargains when globally immunized travel channels opened up. They required a partner to assist them in identifying their best audiences, promoting direct bookings, and using the attribution technique to evaluate performance after setting customer acquisition (CPA) and return on advertising spend (ROAS) targets.

Vision Statement: 

“We believe that hospitality has the power to unlock a better tomorrow. We act for good to support & empower the communities in which we live and protect the planet you visit.” 

To take action on the changing habits and behaviors of their highest value personas, which included affluent tourists, YOLO adventurers, and nature enthusiasts, Accor used the Quantcast Platform. With the help of Quantcast’s technology, which examined the outcomes from each campaign phase to pinpoint the customers who were most interested in and likely to make direct bookings, Accor has actionable mid-campaign insight to optimize return on ad expenditure.

Let’s talk about the positioning strategy of Accor Hotel.

Accor introduced the Emblems Collection, a premium soft brand of hotels, beginning with the 64-suite Guiyang Art Centre Hotel in China’s Guizhou region. If the weak brand market is becoming a touch crowded, it is.

Many people joined Accor’s after brands like IHG’s Vignette Collection and Wyndham’s Registry Collection Hotels, including Emblems Collection. With numerous soft brands, Marriott and Hilton already compete in this market.

Emblems Collection, which debuted in 2008, focuses on more conventionally styled luxury hotels than MGallery, which has drawn more than 100 properties. By 2030, Accor hopes to have 60 hotels in its Emblems Collection portfolio.

Although some may scoff at Accor creating another brand—the Paris-based hotel business already has more than 40—a soft brand aimed at luxury hotels is a gaping hole in its lineup compared to its rivals.

There is a Luxury Collection at Marriott. Wyndham and IHG have recently launched products targeting the high-end independent hotel market, indicating that the industry sees additional room to court independent luxury hotels. Hilton has LXR.

Targeting the luxury market is the most recent effort by large hotel chains to win over independent hotel owners with soft branding. It gives them greater freedom over decisions about design and operations while still gaining access to the larger chain’s distribution channels and loyalty program.

With Emblems Collection, Accor’s expansion strategy focuses on bargaining with the owners of previously constructed land. Soft brand conversions, in which the owner of an existing hotel adopts a brand association, are a significant source of growth.

According to Accor, conversions will account for more than 70% of growth at their new soft brand, including modifications of existing hotels and other kinds of facilities, such as offices. 

We conclude that Accor Hotels fits the Ruler archetype due to these criteria.

As a result, we may infer that the Ruler is the Accor Hotels brand archetype.

What do we need to know about this archetype?

• Dominance is a desire.

• Creating a wealthy and thriving family, company, or community is the goal.

• Involve some leadership.

What should we be mindful of regarding the Ruler brand archetype?

Level One: A scarcity of resources, an absence of order, or discord.

Level Two: Accepting responsibility for your life circumstances.

Level Three: Assuming leadership positions in your family, community, company, or workplace.

Level Four: Establish yourself as a leader in your neighborhood, profession, or society.

The Ruler identity may be appropriate for you if your company possesses the following characteristics:

• A high-status object used by influential people to increase their authority; a thing that aids in people’s organization; 
• a product or service with a lifetime warranty; 
• Services that provide technical support or knowledge to assist in the maintenance or enhancement of electricity;
• a regulatory or protective body; 
• a product with a moderate to high price range; 
• A brand that wants to differentiate itself from the competition or is the market leader;
• A reasonably steady sector or product offers safety and predictability in a chaotic environment.

The ruler archetype wishes to be in command and contributes to the growth of a prosperous family and community. The brand archetype desires order. The archetype’s greatest fear is overturning that amidst the chaos.

Consumers who lack wealth and harmony are under the grip of ruler firms. The archetype thus communicates the idea of taking control of one’s life. Leadership, work, and organization all need effort. The field is the Ruler archetype’s last message. It is about being a natural community leader.

Brand Archetypes. Why do we need them in practice?

Our communication strategy may have multiple messaging approaches. But there is some logic that unifies all these and it is called communication based on archetypal branding. A company may have many messages, but they do not have something in common. For example “Do everything easily”, “Go ahead and be powerful” or Dig deeper and be experienced”.

These 3 quotes have different goals and bring different subconscious effects. One is about Being a Hero, another is about gaining more experience. These are 2 different directions of messaging and the logics of Brand archetypes brings more uniqueness and clarity here. Just read the book “8 steps to a complete archetypal branding” and you will have more experience in communication-based on archetypes.

We’ll then examine Accor Hotels’ SWOT analysis.

Strengths: 

Accor Hotels has a presence in all categories and has something to offer guests of all budgets. The group has Mercure Hotels and Adagio in the mid-tier market. Among their premium brands are Novotel, Sofitel, Fairmont, Banyan Tree, and Raffles. As a result of catering to various economic levels, the hotel enjoys a large client base. 

Accor Hotels offers many hotels, resorts, and vacation homes. They have 4300 properties spread over 100 countries in North America, Latin America, Europe, North Africa, Asia Pacific, and South Africa. This network is dispersed throughout various hotels, catering to customers who regularly travel for business or pleasure.

Accor Hotels has established a franchising concept to drive rapid development without aggressively boosting expenses. As a result, even though Accor Group is one of the most prominent participants in the hospitality industry, 2040 of its hotels are managed by franchisees. They have tight guidelines for franchisees to follow, and the organization monitors the operations of their franchised facilities to ensure that quality is maintained.

Guest interaction: Accor Hotels’ primary business concept is that guests always feel comfortable. Profitable loyalty programs, exceptional guest executives, and online check-in are among the options available. All touchpoints, from registration to checkout, are reviewed and improved regularly.

Loyalty Programs: Accor Hotels has one of the top loyalty programs in the industry. Their loyal visitors are entitled to various benefits, including free nights after accumulating 2000 points, complimentary upgrades to higher classrooms, exclusive access to private deals, online check-in, and privileged checkout.

The hotel operator keeps a database of nearly 60 million guests, recording their preferences and incorporating them into its offerings. The information gathered is utilized to administer over a hundred national digital campaigns on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter.

Weaknesses: 

Accor Hotels is losing business in the mid-tier and economy categories against small hotels and internet firms such as Airbnb and Oyo Rooms. With significant monetary investment, the hotel business has aggressively invested in improving its services and food and beverage sector.

Focus on franchising: While franchising has helped the hotel chain decrease costs, service levels have worsened, particularly in premium hotels such as Novotel, Sofitel, Fairmont, Banyan Tree, and Raffles, due to a lack of proper attention.

Overemphasis on sub-brands: Accor’s sub-brands, such as Ibis, Novotel, and Mercuri, are extremely popular, causing a mismatch in customers’ minds regarding the leading firm and people need to recognize the name Accor.

Opportunities: 

Growth in developing economies: There is a boom in tourism to these locations, and growing economies in Asia and Africa provide tremendous potential for the hotel industry. Business travel has increased dramatically in these areas due to the expansion of commerce, which has benefited companies like Ibis.

Threats: 

Competition: Starwood Hotels, Best Western, Cendant Corporation, and Hilton Hotels Corporation are some of Accor Hotels’ key rivals.

Finally, it’s time to choose the Accor Hotels Segment.

To achieve this, we’ll view one of their commercials.

“Hospitality needs to advance toward more adaptability and be able to open the doors to locals for a drink, a yoga class, a workout facility. In other words, by providing hospitality outside of the hotel, we are aiming for non-travelers. Through intelligent collaborations, we also offer our hospitality experience in new markets, such as co-working spaces. Director of Accor Hotels Sebastien Bazin.

The largest hotel chain in Europe, Accor Hotels, aspires to be more than just a lodging provider; instead, it wants to become a platform for hospitality that touches everyone’s lives every day, whether they are travelers or not. The present aim of Accor Hotels is to add a new hotel every three days, to increase that number to one hotel every day in the following three years.

To transition from a hotel brand to a hospitality platform and service provider, Accor is employing three strategies:

1 – Reduce their real estate holdings

2- Increase their collaborations with and purchases of tech and innovative businesses like Smart Rooms.

3- Expand their offerings beyond hospitality and help locals

The network has worked with start-ups and digital firms to leverage the internet of things, voice activation, and other technologies to make its rooms more accessible and customized. It is part of Accor’s ambition to improve guests’ experiences. The firm, such as the Google Voice assistant, tablet-controlled LED lighting, and curtains, use a wide range of technologies.

Additionally, it will include aromatherapy sleep aids like Sensorwake and Dream headbands for relaxation. To better understand their habits and personal preferences and personalize their experience, Accor is also looking to collect data from their loyalty program and guest profiles. For instance, they want to know their preferred music or TV shows, preferred room temperature, and preferred welcome drink.

The market segment – is Balancers.

How much do we know about balancers?

Values and lifestyle:

Balancers place the highest priority on their families and work. They are constantly battling over how to split their time and attention between these two. These people make every effort to spend time with their loved ones because they understand the importance of family in everyone’s life. Furthermore, Balancers understand the importance of a successful job. They know how much effort and labour are necessary for success.

Shopping Point of View:

The Balancers’ target clientele is highly loyal to the brands they initially tried and liked. They value product quality since they frequently have a lot of extra money. Balancers will always maintain the quality of the items they desire.

On the other hand, members in this target market are bargain hunters and would never buy a product only because of the brand. They only accept and test new goods if needed since they know exactly what they want.

Accor Hotel is the world’s top grocery chain after thoroughly assessing its SWOT analysis and marketing strategy. The corporation confronts several key challenges, including the economic slump, competitors, and globalization. Accor Hotel must expand its market and implement cutting-edge technology to remain competitive.

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