Accor Case Write Up

Mark 550 – Pramit Singh (ps1155- BULLDOG)

 Accor was facing digital disruption by new platforms, which had rendered the traditional booking/review channels irrelevant.
o OTAs- Accor’s inability to draw enough customers to make direct booking from its website had led to Online Travel
Agents (Like Expedia, Priceline, which marked a shift to online from traditional travel agents), eating up a larger
chunk of commission.
o Review Platforms- Inability on Accor’s part to develop a mechanism to listen to and to incorporate feedback
published on digital medium. (on social sites like Facebook and meta sites like Trip Advisor).
 In addition, Accor’s inability to encourage user generated content (in a world which had moved from institutional review to
peer feedback) hindered organic (and cheap) online promotion and in turn potentially its ability to attract customers.
 Accor team’s ignorance in leveraging the power of digital and hence not caring enough about the online reputation of Accor.

Accor Customer Journey :

 Recognize the need- Customer must recognize the need to book a hotel room. (It might be for business or,
pleasure).
 Consider Options- Customer searches for available options. This can be done through OTAs (like Expedia, Priceline
etc.) or, by browsing through travel blogs or, promotional emails. It can also be through content shared on digital
platforms (Instagram, YouTube) or, through Work Travel sites (like Concur).
 Evaluate Option- Customer evaluates different options based on different metrics like (Price, Location, Customer
Satisfaction) by browsing meta sites like Trip advisor and digital platforms like Facebook and Twitter.
 Purchase- Customer makes the booking/purchases the trip using digital payment method/loyalty points.
 Consumption-
o Customer Checks in.
o Customer may order food/beverages.
o Customer may use Conference rooms/other business facilities.
o Customer may rent a car, go sightseeing or, use other recreational facilities.
 Post Purchase Experience- Customer shares feedback on travel site/ meta sites about the experience.

Recommendation 1: For the Economy segment, which caters to younger segment, encourage travelers to share
about their experience (by posting pictures from their vacation and using Accor hashtags) on Instagram and
Facebook by running a contest and incentivizing them by offering free future stays.
This would allow Accor to reach out to and potentially increase its 39% market share (by flooding the Consider/Evaluate phase with
emotional promotional strategy) where it is in direct competition with Wyndham. This might also generate a sense of loyalty as these
customers move up segments with time.

Recommendation 2: For the mid segment (which forms the chunk of business travelers), tie up with corporate
booking sites/corporates, and set up a one stop site/app which will enable them to read reviews, make bookings,
plan a gateway and check in and check out (online, thus saving time) and encourage them to leave a review (by
sending them a personalized post stay thank you email) by incentivizing them with a discount coupon. (which will
not only ensure a review but will also increase the chance of retaining customer loyalty.
This would allow Accor to retain it its largest chunk of customers by getting them to book directly from its own platform and thereby
save on commission (the 20% commission usually charged by OTAs) and build a set of loyal customers with a focus on customer service.
Recommendation 3: For the Luxury segment, Accor should acquire data of premium travelers and reach out to them
through personalized email, tie up with airlines/cruise/local tour operators and let users create a personalized
experience for themselves, which will enable these customers to land on a one-stop vacation site (Accor Internal). It
should contain photos and videos for different vacation locations to enable customers to compare these different
options and purchase one easily.
This would allow Accor to create a bunch of loyal high end customers by providing them the liberty to personalize their vacation
experience.