Foresight and innovation in
the global hotel industry

Accor’s new digital strategy: the unanswered questions | By Vivek Badrinath & Peter O'Connor

Professor of Strategy at University of South Australia Business School
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Synopsis

Last October, global hotel operator Accor held its first digital day, launching its ambitious digital transformation project “Leading Digital Hospitality” and highlighting the importance of digital for the hotel company of tomorrow. This ambitious plan focuses on reinventing both the customer experience and hotel operations through digital technology, with the company committing €225 million to eight clearly defined projects over a five year period. With the hype now cooling, and implementation of the plan well underway, the Hotel Yearbook asked ESSEC’s Peter O’Connor to take the opportunity to quiz Vivek Badrinath, Accor’s Deputy Chief Executive Officer and the plan’s main architect, on many of the questions on everyone’s lips.

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Peter O’Connor
Professor of Strategy at University of South Australia Business School
University of South Australia
ESSEC Business School
Cergy Pontoise, France
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Founded in 1907, ESSEC is one of the world’s top management schools and holds the “triple crown” accreditation from EQUIS, AACSB and AMBA. With 6,660 students; a faculty comprised of 163 full-time professors, 19 of which are emeritus professors, in France and Singapore, recognized for both the quality and influence of their research; a wide range of management training programs; partnerships with the world’s best universities; and a network of 60,000 alumni, ESSEC continues to foster a tradition of academic excellence and a spirit of openness in the fields of economics, social sciences and innovation. In 2005, ESSEC opened a campus in Asia, ESSEC Asia-Pacific. ESSEC’s operations in Asia Pacific, strategically located in Singapore, present the perfect foothold for ESSEC to be part of the vibrant growth in Asia and to bring its expertise to the expanding region. Additionally, in 2017 ESSEC opened a new campus in Rabat, Morocco, ESSEC Africa. ESSEC’s international expansion allows students and professors to study and understand the economic forces at work in the different regions of the world.