(AOF) – Accor announces today the appointment of Gilda Perez-Alvarado to the strategic direction of the Group. Currently Managing Director of the specialized consulting firm JLL (Jones Lang LaSalle) Hotels & Hospitality, Gilda will join the Accor Management Committee from October 1, 2023. Based in Paris, she will be responsible for global strategy, hotel owner relations and strategic partnerships, and will report directly to Sébastien Bazin, Chairman and CEO.
A graduate of Cornell, Gilda Perez-Alvarado began her career at PwC before joining JLL in 2004: she has nearly twenty years of experience in strategic and financial consulting with the largest owners and investors in the sector.
In her current position, she manages international sales to acquirers-investors, debt and equity investments, strategic advisory services and asset management, in the Americas, EMEA and Asia-Pacific regions.
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Key points
– World’s leading hotel operator, created in 1967, with more than 40% of the market (excluding France, 1/3 of the market), leader in Asia-Pacific, Middle East-Africa and Latin America;
– Hotel portfolio of 5,445 hotels, i.e. more than 802,000 rooms in 100 countries, from luxury for 26% of revenues under the brands Fairmont, Pullman, Raffles, Sofitel, etc. to mid-range (34%) and economy Adagio, Ibis , Mercury, Novotel…;
– Activity of €4.2 billion balanced worldwide and divided into two major divisions, HotelServices for hotels owned under franchise or by management (76%) and HotelAssets for those owned directly (26%) as well as diversification in concierge services, rental of luxury residences or digital services for hoteliers, etc.;
– Economic model based on the reduction of capital requirements by “asset light” – sale of buildings and management control -, by building loyalty and by optimizing the model;
– Capital characterized by the presence of the Chinese hotel operators Jin Jiang and Huazhu (13% and 6.2% each), the Qatari fund QiA (11.3%) and the English Kingdom Hotels (9.21%), the founders retaining 1.43% of the capital, with a 12-member board of directors chaired by managing director Sébastien Bazin;
– Financial structure under control with €2.8 billion in liquidities, a return to positive free cash flow of €337 million and net debt reduced to €1.7 billion and the rating raised.
Challenges
– 2023-2027 strategy with financial objectives for each division:
– “Premium, Mid & Eco” (Ibis, Novotel, Mercure, Swissôtel, Mövenpick and Pullman hotels): annual increase of 2.5 to 3.5% for the network, from 2 to 4% for the RevPar, from 4 to 7% for operating profit,
– “Luxury & Lifestyle Division”, luxury and Lifestyle hotel brands (Ennismore, etc.): annual growth of 8 to 3.5% for the network, 3 to 5% for RevPar, 11 to 13% for the Operating profit,
– for the group: annual growth of 3 to 5% for the network, 3 to 4% for RevPar and 6 to 10% for operating profit;
– Innovation strategy, Accor wanting to be a leader in “hospitality innovation”:
– 3 objectives: stimulation of internal innovation, creation of brands and concepts (greet, JO&JOE, Le Loft, Flying Nest, Emblems), expansion of expertise (D-Edge),
– Innovation lab: marketing, digital and e-commerce, transformation of hotels
– partnership logic: start-ups, large groups and more than 200 schools (eg: flow prediction and waste reduction in restaurants, baggage check-in in hotels, etc.);
– “Planet 21” environmental strategy of 0 carbon in 2050 for Accor hotels:
– 2025 stage plan: reduction of 25.2% of gas emissions internally and 15% of those of suppliers,
– elimination of single-use plastics, “green loan”;
Challenges
– Change in RevPar, indicator of hotel activity, above its 2019 level;
–
Strong exposure to Europe which contributes nearly 40% of operating profit;
– Faced with inflation, effectiveness of the RESET plan for recurring cost savings -€200 million per year, reinforced by an energy savings plan in hotels;
– 2023 objectives raised: 15 to 22% growth in RevPar and almost tripling of gross operating surplus from €920 to €9,600 million
;
– Return of the dividend, in the amount of €1.05, together with an exceptional dividend of €0.34.
Find out more about the “hospitality and leisure” sector
World tourism still on the rise
Over the first nine months of 2022, 700 million tourists traveled internationally, more than double (+133%) the figure recorded for the same period in 2021. This figure reached 63% of 2019 levels , which should allow the sector to reach 65% of its pre-pandemic levels in 2022. This result is due to a strong level of demand and the gradual lifting of restrictions in a large number of countries. Europe is significantly supporting this rebound with the arrival of 477 million people between January and September 2022 (68% of the global total), reaching 81% of the pre-covid level. Tourism there is driven by strong intra-regional demand and travel from the United States. Some destinations recorded notable increases in receipts, including Serbia, Romania, Turkey, Latvia, Portugal, Pakistan, Mexico, Morocco and France.