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AccorHotels also has enlarged its portfolio of brands from 13 to 27 in Bazin’s five years at

the helm and has made a significant number of acquisitions and equity investments outside its
traditional hotel business, including home-rental businesses such as Onefinestay to co-
working brands such as NextDoor, from concierge services provider such as John Paul and
digital services companies such as Fastbooking, AvailPro and Gekko.
Bailly and AccorHotels know that making the guest experience easier, fuller and more
valuable is at the heart of its digital transformation.
“These acquisitions are all part of our ‘augmented hospitality’ strategy, which will see us
providing our guests and partners with an increasingly wide range of complementary
services,” she said. “The vision is that these services will give our guests an unmatched
overall experience—far beyond the stay—and help our partners build a much deeper
relationship with them.”
AccorHotels’ global portfolio recently surpassed the 4,500-hotel and 650,000-room marks,
but Bailly said working to becoming a distribution player in the same weight class as the
OTAs is still challenging.
Finding success is not just a case of buying the right companies, Bailly said, and added she
sees the firm’s digital function as the key enabler to move from vision to action.
“My role is to embrace this new DNA and make it a reality for our two clients, (our) hotels
and guests,” she said.
Bailly sees six areas in which AccorHotels’ digital structure is being transformed and needs to
be in place to better able to be competitive.
1. Building an agile IT infrastructure
Bailly said one of the challenges of adapting the company’s IT infrastructure is to get away
from systems solely designed to deal with selling roomnights.
These infrastructures have to be “able to move from a model based on selling hotel rooms to,
in our case, a model offering enhanced hospitality experiences, including rooms, co-working,
private rentals, and a variety of travel services,” Bailly said. “Your IT infrastructure also
needs to be agile, integrating new services much faster and being able to constantly adapt to a
fast-moving technological environment.
“Services provided by IT—central reservation systems, revenue-management services or
payment solutions that are secure, efficient and match geographical and cultural specificities
—must be almost ‘plug-and-play’ so that hotels can integrate them quickly (and) efficiently
and at minimum cost.”
2. Making data the battleground
Data remains at the heart of AccorHotels’ digital strategy, Bailly said.
“Our challenge is to collect, process, analyze and aggregate data in order to better know and
interact with our guests. … (If data is) collected and processed in respect (for) customer
privacy and put into the hands of ‘guest-passioned’ people, (it) becomes an amazing lever of
personalization, satisfaction and, consequently, business,” she said.
3. Putting IT and data at the service of personalization
Bailly said any digital strategy to compete with OTAs must have the right muscle, which
must be ultimately structured to provide better guest experiences. AccorHotels is using its
Accor Customer Digital Card to put IT infrastructure, 130 terabytes of data and its expertise
in terms of digital experience at the service of hotel staff, she added.
“Because ACDC aggregates and synthesizes all the customer information the group has, this
General Data Protection Regulation-compliant tool and its ultra-fluid interface allows hotel
staff to better know our customers and then better welcome, delight and surprise them,” she
said. “Artificial intelligence has a key role to play in delivering such a hyper-personalized
service. As we are moving from the interactive to the predictive era, AI can react to the search
terms a guest enters online, push the most relevant offer regarding customer preferences and
the history of their stays.”
Bailly said the platform’s algorithms can provide hoteliers with relevant messages and
actions, such as wishing the guest a happy birthday and giving a golfer a list of nearby
courses.
4. Turning loyalty programs into loyalty ecosystems
In the current era of consolidation, diversification and acceleration, Bailly said hospitality
groups cannot merely have a loyalty program.
“Our 50-million-member loyalty program will always remain the key vehicle of the bond we
have with our guests,” Bailly said, “(but) it is crucial to embed it within a limitless ecosystem
of brands and touchpoints. … A wide ecosystem of brands must be supported by an (equally)
wide ecosystem of touchpoints: website, mobile app, chatbot, digital marketing, call centers
and last, but not least, hotels.”
5. Bringing simplicity, clarity and speed
Bailly said one major aim of all AccorHotels’ digital transformations and customer
touchpoints is a simple one: to make customers’ lives easier.
“Simplicity, clarity and speed are the top priorities driving the revamping of our digital
platforms,” she said. “For instance, making bold choices, we divided the speed index of our
home page by four on mobile and by two on desktop. We also drastically reduced the number
of displayed rates for a booking from 20 to a maximum of four based on customer’s most
important drivers.”
6. Creating an agile culture
Bailly said that to enable true transformation, hotel employees need to work differently,
anticipate tomorrow’s trends and react to them faster than competitors by accelerating the
decision-making process.
“In other words, become agile,” Bailly said. “This includes reducing the number of layers in
the organization but also introducing a culture where we constantly test and learn, collect
real-time feedback and develop partnerships with all types of companies, from Asian tech
giants to French startups.”
AccorHotels is striving to develop an innovative entrepreneurial mindset in which its staff are
not afraid of failing, she added.
“At the cutting edge of innovation not every idea works, so you have to be prepared to take
risks, and if something doesn’t work, stop it, learn from it and move on,” Bailly said. “These
new ways of working are essential to maintain a culture where businesses are constantly
evolving to keep pace with ever-changing consumer habits.”
Mobile Technology
One issue which Accor Hotels sought to address when it set about creating its
new smartphone app was that, until now, the hotel experience was limited to the time a guest
spent with the company during a holiday or business trip. To extend the experience, Accor
Hotels wanted a service where guests were also supported and engaged before and after their
stay.
With the new Accor Hotels app, Accor customers can now get a bird's-eye view of their hotel
options – including over 6,000 branded and independent locations. Guests can select between
chic, mainstream, luxury, or cut-price options, and each one comes complete with a city
guide, available in eight different languages to advise on cultural, gastronomic, and shopping
preferences.
A particularly smart feature called MoodMatch allows customers to create a profile of their
ideal experiences, and the app’s algorithms will then match them up with an ideal location.
Customers can set preferences on three criteria – ambiance, aesthetics, and neighbourhood,
and then add extra considerations such as romance, family, etc. Using the same software
employed by dating sites, MoodMatch aims to find users the perfect location on holiday.

Once travellers set off, they can use the app to book everything from trains and planes to taxis
and room service. The Virtual Valet service means customers don’t have to keep heading to
the reception desk to find out what’s on and book excursions, as it can all be accessed through
the app. The Virtual Concierge and Loyalty programmes even let users pay in-app, and save
points which can be redeemed in future stays.
Sébastien Bazin, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer at Accor Hotels said, “Once you've
said to the guest that you're not there to ask for his passport or credit card, that's the
opportunity to engage in personalised dialogue that generates value.”

Smart Rooms
Another way Accor is using digital technology to enhance the hotel experience for its guests,
(especially those with reduced mobility,) is with its soon-to-be rolled-out smart room concept.
Created in collaboration with acclaimed designer Didier Versavel, Accor Hotels’ smart rooms
will boast a range of innovative and luxurious features.
A connected tablet will allow guests to adjust light and music, close the curtains, adjust the
headboard on their bed, and control the audio-visual features. LED lighting will be activated
by footboard-mounted sensors to help guests move about in the dark without disturbing travel
companions. Wearable technology in the form of a headband which senses brain energy can
help guests relax or concentrate. The room will also feature customisable scent devices
designed to ensure guests wake up to their favourite aromas, such as coffee, tea, or sea air.
"With the Smart Room concept, our goal is to inspire the hotel market by introducing a new
approach to the traditional [persons with reduced mobility] room, which is often unoccupied,
not very welcoming and stigmatising," said Damien Perrot, Senior Vice President of Design
Solutions at Accor Hotels. "We have envisioned a room for everyone, with design and
creativity adhering to PRM standards and practices to the point that they disappear to the
benefit of emotional and sensorial experience.”
Final Thoughts
From its mobile technology to its exciting smart room concept, Accor Hotels has thrown its
hat into the digital transformation ring with gusto.

MKT42290 - Digital Marketing Strategy & Campaign Planning 8


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The content produced by the consumers has a crucial role because it involves the
trustamong users, which has always impacted largely the social dynamics andnespecially
theconsumer behavior. Authentic photographs and honest reviews are the main ingredient
ofthe e-reputation of hotels. This phenomenon is driven by altruistic purposes, since usersdo
not have a direct benefit from it, they post reviews in order to help other consumersfeeling
part of the community, on the one hand, and to share good and bad experiences inorder to
help the hotel to improve services or report a failure experience, on the otherhand.
N e w C u s t o m e r J o u r n e y
The above mentioned two variables affect the costumer journey in each phase. Theconsumer
could be indirectly and direclty influenced by visual and descriptive content(photos, story-
telling video and texts, “how to” guide
, etc.) when the holiday destinationhas to be decided and the hotel still have to be booked.
Travel Blog and Forums, as wellas Social channels plays a great role during this inspiration
phase. When the activeresearch begins, the user will take advantage from OTAs and
Metasearch site in order toread review, compare price and book the best offer. During
this phase the user is driven bydifferent need, not only price related, since the main concerns
regard also the risk ofchoosing a poor quality option. Also social media play a role because
can generate brandawareness and sense of loyalty towards a brand which is recognized by the
communityinfluencers. It is worth of notice that the booking through a third party sites has
highcommission costs for the hotel, which have the interest of keeping the consumer on
thewebsite after the first purchase through loyalty program. Finally during and after
thestaying period the hotel should encourage the consumer to give feedbacks and
sharepositive reviews, engaging the user and apply remarketing tactics.

MKT42290 - Digital Marketing Strategy & Campaign Planning 8


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December 2016
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Third Individual Assignment
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4 ) M a i n P r o b l e m s a s s e s s m e n t

Taking into account the above mentioned variables, Accor is facing numerous
challengesbecause of the current digital disruption, and the main problem can be grouped
asfollows:
1. The shift of power
Institutional trust has been substituted by peer trust: the consumer has gained power(see
exhibit 2) and the company has to focus on a customer-centric approachtransformation. The
users have more information and can influence other users sharingexperiences and comments,
influencing negatively or positively the company reputationonline.
Exhibit 2
2. The content challenge
The great accumulation of content online comes from different sources, is posted
onnumerous channels, and is produced with different aims. Accor has to plan
a digitalmarketing strategy able to tackle each of the following aspect:-
Monitoring
the bran reputation and receive the feedbacks-
Producing
content for each channel for each aim-
Encouraging
users to share positive experience
MKT42290 - Digital Marketing Strategy & Campaign Planning 8
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December 2016
Gabriella De Domenico

16204455

Third Individual Assignment
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S W O T A n a l y s i s
SWOT
STRENGHTS- Global Presence- Target each Market Segment- Asset-light management-
Good level of feedbacksOPPORTUNITIES- Leveraging the interaction and feedbacks with
guestsin order to improve the service- Encouraging satisfied and loyal customer to share
theexperience becoming influencersWEAKNESSES- Other players in the market have
stronger partnership- Old Style feedback collection- Accor team is not incorporating digital
variable into inthe everyday duties- Online Information about the Brand are not
completelyunder Accor controlTHREATS- The market is highly competitive with strong push
toinnovate- New competitor with light asset costs, as Airbnb-Customer gaining more power
5 ) S t r a t e g i c P l a n R e c o m m e n d a t i o n s
In order to complete the transformation towards a customer centric business, and tacklethe
first identified problem (the shift of power), firstly, Accor should use social channelsand
review site as a source of honest feedback in order to improve its product and
service.Secondly, Accor should improve and leverage the loyalty programs, addressing
eachsatisfied customer with personalized and targeted deals in order to encourage to use
theowned booking platform on the website (saving commissions costs to OTAs), and to
sharethe positive experience with other users.The content challenge should be tackled on
each phase (Monitor, Produce, Encourage)addressing the consumer need with the
right content and channel. Firstly, Social Media Listening activities should be put in place in
order to monitor the e-reputation. Secondly, the Accor staff should be trained in order to
integrate digital capabilities and consume behaviour understanding within the everyday
duties. Thirdly,

MKT42290 - Digital Marketing Strategy & Campaign Planning 8


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December 2016
Gabriella De Domenico

16204455

Third Individual Assignment
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each phase of the customer journey should be addressed with specific actions, targetingeach
stage with the content and the platform above mentioned.
6) Conclusions
Accor is an established worldwide 50-years-experience hotel chain currently facingnumerous
digital challenges, represented by new actor in the market, as OTAs, Reviewsite, Travel blogs
and Social network and the rise of mobile connectivity, which haveinfluenced the costumer
journey in the hotel and tourism sector and shaped andempowered the customer. The
competition has risen, with new actor as Airbnb, and thecosts have grown due to the
commission for third party websites. Accor

s needs are toassess an innovative online marketing strategy with the aim of enriching the
customerexperience and emerging from the competitors. After the analysis of the emerging
digitalthreats and Accor Hotel strengths and weaknesses, two main problems have
beenidentified: the shift of power and the content issue.For these reasons,
Accor’s digital marketing strategy should be foc
used on two mainaspects: on the one hand, Accor should adopt a customer-centric approach,
integratingfeedbacks and review and follow its e-reputation in order to improve the services.
On theother hand Accor should put in place marketing tactics in order to Monitor (i.e. SML
tools),Produce and Encourage content creation, in order to preserve the brand awareness.
Reference:
Dubois D., InYoung C., Niessing J., Wee J., (2016) AccorHotels and the Digital
Transformation: EnrichingExperiences through Content Strategies along the Customer
Journey, INSEAD

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