Dive Brief:
- Accor named two global brand presidents in a bid to “fortify brand leadership,” the France-based hotel company announced last week.
- Benoît Racle will serve as global brand president for premium hotels, which include Pullman, Mövenpick, Angsana and Peppers. Jean-Yves Minet will hold the same role for Accor’s midscale and economy brands Novotel, Mercure, TRIBE, Handwritten Collection and Ibis.
- According to Accor, the appointments signal a commitment to “strengthening brand presence globally” while boosting guest satisfaction and loyalty across market segments. Though the company has been making a concerted push in luxury of late, its premium, midscale and economy brands account for 90% of its 5,000-hotel global portfolio.
Dive Insight:
Racle joins Accor from W Hotels. He previously held executive roles at Marriott International and Starwood Hotels and Resorts, according to LinkedIn.
In his new role, Racle will oversee the strategic direction and growth for Accor’s premium brands, which Accor calls a “segment of strategic focus.” In 2023, Accor signed three times as many premium brand hotels as in 2019, the company shared. Its Pullman, Swissotel and Mövenpick brands, in particular, have significant pipelines, with 65, 40 and 80 hotels underway, respectively.
Minet joins Accor from the beauty industry, where he was an executive with stints at Estée Lauder and L’Oréal, according to LinkedIn. At Accor, he will work to drive midscale and economy growth by “leading the brand vision, positioning, and operating models” of the segment’s hotels globally.
Handwritten Collection, which Minet will oversee, recently made its U.S. debut in San Francisco.
According to Accor, both appointments underscore its “dedication to strengthening its brand presence globally.”
In 2022, Accor separated its brands into two divisions: a premium, midscale and economy division and a luxury and lifestyle division. In the second quarter of 2024, both divisions saw year-over-year RevPAR growth of 4% and 8%, respectively.
Though Accor operates premium, midscale and economy hotels in the U.S., the company is focused on luxury and lifestyle expansion in the region, Accor Group CFO Martine Gerow said in February. That push includes the forthcoming Fairmont New Orleans and Raffles Boston, which opened last year.
