Founding of Accor Hotels

REACHING FOR THE IMPOSSIBLE
1967-2007
le cherche midi
We would like to thank all the managers, employees and retirees
of the Group for the time they devoted to us as well as all the information and documents
they kindly transmitted to us to create this work. We would particularly like to thank
Paul Dubrule and Gérard Pélisson for their availability and their invaluable help.
We would have needed hundreds of pages to include all the personal accounts, relate all the higlights and
anecdotes that people shared with us. We hope that all those whom we weren’t able to mention for lack of
room will forgive us.
“Reaching for the impossible ” was created by the Accor Corporate communications and external relations
department, in collaboration with le cherche midi éditeur, with the participation notably of:
For the conception and editorial production: Virginie Sido, Sylvie Morille (Accor), Maria Felix-Frazão and
Anne Sol (le cherche midi).
For the graphic design: Caroline Keppy, Sandrine Roux and Anne Sol (le cherche midi).
For the text: Antoine Blachez, Dorothée Lagard, Anne Proenza, Maria Felix-Frazão as well as Patrick
Coupechoux.
For the translation: Eileen Powis
For the iconography: Catherine Aygalinc, Anne Sol and the team at the Accor photo library.
For their careful proofreading and their invaluable help: most especially Georges Le Mener, Claude Moscheni,
Olivier de Surville and Olivier Weill (Accor).
© le cherche midi, 2007. www.cherche-midi.com
le cherche midi
Our first 40 years…
Forty years is scarcely a generation on a human scale. But Forty years later, the winds of conquest still blow over the
Accor’s life span is measured differently. Dozens of life Group. The spirit of initiative, open-mindedness, perform-
cycles have been crossed, linked and mutually strengthened ance, trust and respect still constitute our specificity and
since the opening in 1967 of the first Novotel in Lille our strength.
Lesquin. Today, a single and wonderful story has been writ-
ten that I am proud to share with you. The adventure continues today, with new frontiers to be
imagined in a world changing at a dizzying pace, in order to
Forty years is a relatively short time to go from one hotel to invent the hotel business and services of tomorrow. We are
4,000, from one country to 100, from one employee to over going to continue to show audacity and intuition on a playing
150,000. It is also the story of a meeting and an understand- field that has become worldwide and extremely competitive,
ing between two men, Paul Dubrule and Gérard Pélisson, to to forge ahead against the current, to always be on the look-
whom we wish to pay deep and respectful tribute. out for changes, to dare to take risks even if it means mak-
Since their paths crossed, they have ceaselessly devoted all ing mistakes from time to time…
their energy to this project in which few people believed. The greatest challenge we face today is bequeathing the
They succeeded, far beyond their hopes, by forming an bounty of our conquests, our creativity and our initiatives to
extraordinary duo. Their secret was having transmitted to the generations to come. This challenge demands humility
their teams an unshakable faith, absolute trust, creativity and constant attention from each of us, without our ever los-
and audacity able to move mountains. This is why Accor’s ing the passion for our businesses. Through this work and its
men and women have succeeded in pushing back frontiers, many personal accounts, I invite you to discover this
both literally and figuratively. Of course, there were tough extraordinary adventure as a tribute from our past to our
years and doubts, but the team’s cohesion and talent, their future.
ability to question themselves have always made it possible
to move forward and constantly innovate.
GILLES C. PÉLISSON
CEO
10 NONCONFORMIST IDEAS
2 8 OPEN SPACE, OPEN MIND
54 LIFE-STYLES, WORKING STYLES
7 4 ADVENTURE TRAVEL DIARY
A C C O R TA B L E O F C O N T E N T S
8
108 ONE PLANET
120 VIEWS AND STYLE
162 THE STORY OF THE BRANDS
1 8 2 T H E AC C O R G E N E R AT I O N S
TA B L E O F C O N T E N T S A C C O R
9
NONCONFORMIST IDEAS
Going against the current, discarding preconceptions, distrusting con-
sensus, straying from the beaten track, these are just a few of the expres-
sions that perfectly characterize Accor’s culture, from its very beginnings
through four decades of development. This human and industrial adven-
ture was so nonconformist that no one believed in it. Building a hotel in a
beet field, playing the odds with a 600-room hotel, resisting the tempta-
tion of the luxury market and opening the way for economy hotels despite
Novotel’s success, imagining, in 1984, hotel rooms without bathrooms or
sinks, building hotels in a different way, wagering on all-electric hotels,
launching franchises, the list of nonconformist ideas is long…
Paul Dubrule and Gérard

▼
Pélisson, in the 1970s.
Mr. Genin, Robert Larrivé,

Mr. de Chambure, general ▼
manager of Devimco,
and Joseph Lepoutre.
The Novotel Lille Lesquin

▼
in the 1970s.
ACCOR NONCONFORMIST IDEAS

12
▼
Gérard Pélisson
AUGUST 1963 and Paul Dubrule in
the former’s office
Porte de Clichy, in Evry, in the 1970s.
Gérard Pélisson’s apartment

André Petit, the head of a paper mill in the north of France, Gérard had gone to MIT (Massachusetts Institute of
introduced Gérard Pélisson to his brother-in-law, Paul Technology). He was working at the Paris headquarters of
Dubrule. In theory, they never should have met. The latter, IBM-Europe where he was in charge of planning, monitoring
who graduated from HEC at the University of Geneva, came and market studies, nothing but important responsibilities.
from northern France and a manufacturing family. Gérard They viewed their first meeting, in Gérard Pélisson’s apart-
Pélisson, a graduate of the prestigious École Centrale, was ment at the Porte de Clichy, in different ways. Gérard was
born into a well-to-do family in Lyon. But it so happened that immediately convinced by Paul’s project and his enormous
the two young men had both spent time in the United States enthusiasm about it, even if it was only based on intuition.
and both of them had been greatly impressed by the progress Paul was persuaded, on the contrary, that his presentation
American society had made. At 29, Paul, an energetic young was a flop and that the idea had in no way enticed Gérard. The
man, had just spent several years looking for an idea to opposite was true. Gérard had immediately recognized how
develop in France. After having thought of mas market dis- innovative the latter’s project was even if he had suggested
tribution, he planned to develop a chain of franchised hotels, dropping the franchise idea for the moment as its develop-
following the successful example of Holiday Inn, a chain he ment seemed somewhat premature to him. Next came the
had examined from every angle and that he now wanted to set tough search for financial backing. Gérard, Paul and Maurice
up in France. He was overflowing with enthusiasm, he was not Simond looked to their families, friends and friends of
“handicapped by experience”. friends for help.
NONCONFORMIST IDEAS ACCOR

13
▼ ▼ ▼ ▼
The Hôtel du Port in Barfleur, A Prisunic supermarket An overpass on the Autoroute du Sud The Hôtel du Nord et d’Angleterre in
France, in 1960. in Drancy, France, in 1960. between Arcueil and Gentilly, France, 1963. Laon, in the Aisne department in France.
When France changed centuries…

If France took a long time to pull itself out of reconstruction,
the 1960s witnessed an explosion in modernity and
An oracle named Trujillo
progress. The country discovered the joys of growth, speed If Paul Dubrule admits that someone influenced him, it is
and consumption that French television and new magazines Bernardo Trujillo whose teaching he followed in the
like L’Express, Elle and Le Nouvel Observateur popularized. United States. This marketing theoretician organized
Posterity nostalgically dubbed this period the “Thirty lectures at which he defined the principles of modern
Glorious Years”. business that radically changed distribution. Bernard
The picture however was not the same everywhere. It was Darty, Gérard Mulliez, Edouard Leclerc and Marcel
true that people communicated more rapidly, traveled at Fournier, Carrefour’s founder, were among his acolytes.
high speed on the new highways being built, but whole sec- He hammered away at these young Frenchmen, “For
tions of society were still living the same way as they had you, observing the United States is like reading tomor-
▼
between the two world wars. This was particularly the case Gérard Pélisson’s professional row’s newspaper today.” One of his succinct formulas
knowledge of the American economic found its way into the Novotel project: “No parking, no
with the hotel sector and commerce, which seemed like
model was one of the keys to success in the business”.
poor cousins compared to the Holiday Inns and other
same way as Paul Dubrules’s perception of
American motels. The traveling salesman, the new herald of American marketing methods.
modern life, could basically only choose between a decrepit
hotel with rudimentary comfort or the rare and basically
unaffordable luxury hotel…
Idlewild Airport (later called
▼
The United States: the genesis of John F. Kennedy Airport),
New York, United States, 1961.
a shared vision
A feature of the 1960s was the expansion of a new life-
style that the governments of the period endeavored to
export throughout the world under the explicit label of
the American way of life.
The Western world, and Europe in the forefront, was
amazed at these enormous supermarkets open 24 hours
a day, automatic teller machines, credit cards. Young
French college graduates discovered these new produc- Motel on Las Vegas Boulevard
▼
tion and distribution methods after a tour in the United (The Las Vegas Strip), Las
States. They went back to France and created the FNAC, Vegas, Nevada, United States,
Carrefour… You could in fact say that the “intellectual” 1960.
meeting between Paul Dubrule and Gérard Pélisson took
place in the United States. Of course, their itineraries
there were very different as Gérard Pélisson came into
contact with the greatest think tank of the period, MIT, a
Nobel Prize breeding ground, while Paul Dubrule dis-
covered the revolutionary teaching of the father of con-
sumerism. But these two different approaches coalesced
in the same pragmatic conclusion, which cemented the
two men’s alliance: what was happening in the United
▼
States at the time was inexorably destined to take root Aisles of the Super Giant
in France and in Europe. Gérald Pélisson’s professional Supermarket, United States,
experience in a company with an American culture, IBM, in the 1960s.
only strengthened this conviction. The cofounders
together acquired not only a theoretical knowledge of
American development and management methods, but
also the “in vivo” experience of their application…

14
The major founding dates
December 1963 Creation of Devimco, the Group’s first company, with 10,000 francs in capital,
owner of the Novotel brand, held by Paul Dubrule and Gilles de Courtivron.
1965 Increase in capital to 100,000 francs with the entry of Gérard Pélisson and Maurice Simond.
1966 Creation of the Motel de Lesquin company, financed by Paul Dubrule Sr.
The Motel de Lesquin company signs a franchise agreement with Devimco to use
the Novotel brand that this company holds.
1967 Creation of Novotel-SIEH by Paul Dubrule, Gérard Pélisson and Maurice Simond.
August 1967 Opening of the first Novotel, Lille Lesquin.
July 1983 Creation of Accor and listing of the company on the Paris stock exchange on the 19th of the
month.
The lounges and bars of the Novotel Lille “Your friend on the road”
Englos, opened in 1970, with (from left to For four years, between 1963 and 1967, Paul Dubrule worked
right) Joseph Lepoutre, Jean-Pierre Metay,
Jeannine Honnaert, Colette Lepoutre and
and reworked the plans for this first hotel, trying to optimize
Claude Moscheni.
▼ every square meter. Architects drew up the blueprints. The
first was fired because he went over the budget and it was
the second, Jean-Pierre Secq, who was responsible for the
Novotel Lesquin. Paul took on one small job after the other to
take care of his family and piled up the kilometers looking
for inexpensive land while Gérard stacked up professional
responsibilities. He divided up his days, weekends and even
nights between IBM, Papyrus, André Petit’s firm, and that
hypothetical hotel chain still looking for a name, money and
sites. “Ami” [friend] was the name that Paul Dubrule had in
mind. He even imagined the slogan “Votre Ami sur la route”
[your friend on the road]. But Citroën had just named a new
car model Ami 6. The name “Novotel” was finally chosen. A
great deal of attention was paid to where these hotels were to
be located: sites on the outskirts of major cities were favored.
There was a dual advantage in this: land was inexpensive and
traffic promised to be abundant. A plot in Lesquin, a suburb
right near Lille, was finally found and bought. Excavation
began in July 1966. It was a disaster: the land, sitting on old
quarries, was full of holes. Construction continued despite
this setback and an extra cost of 200,000 francs. In August
1967, the Novotel opened its doors under the skeptical glance
of many Lille residents. Crédit Hôtelier, an organization that
financed hotel projects at the time with a low interest rate,
dealt the first blow to this new project. It rejected the plan for
a 62-room hotel because the building did not conform to the
standards set by the Ministry of Tourism. Paul Dubrule Sr.
Not up to standards! was finally persuaded to contribute all the equity capital to this
first project. He had traveled to the United States, and what
The authorization of the Lesquin Novotel less: the doors often didn’t close prop-
by the Ministry of Tourism is a story wor- erly, the customers didn’t use them or he saw there convinced him of the soundness of the project,
thy of Kafka. The standards imposed at left their things in them. The verdict was which he had always supported even if, he remembers with
least one shared bathroom per corridor. that the doors were to be replaced by amusement, he had heard about nothing else from his son
The Novotel had one per room, but that simple fabric curtains. The civil servants
hadn’t been stipulated in the regulations. at the Ministry of Tourism gave their own except the Novotel’s construction for four years. At the end of
So the dumbstruck architect was asked verdict: they refused to give a rating to the 1966, Gérard Pélisson and Maurice Simond ran themselves
to add a “phantom” bathroom per floor. It Fontainebleau Novotel. Paul Dubrule ragged to finance the next two Novotels. They asked 33
was used as a storage room in the first rubbed more than one official the wrong
friends and relatives to put together the capital of the new
Novotels, until standards finally were way when he said in public: “France is
updated to reflect reality. It was not the doing well, France is doing really well, Novotel-SIEH group that would handle development of the
only time that Novotel affronted the law. seeing that the minister of tourism takes Novotel chain. Thirty-two of them answered the call and on
Paul Dubrule had decided that the bulky care of closet curtains!” February 9, 1967, there was 1,100,000 francs in capital. Paul
closets in the hotel’s rooms were use-
was president of the group.

15
An office, a grill,
a swimming pool and breakfast,
all for the price of a hotel room
The Novotel principle was as simple as it was revolutionary
because in France, the hotel business was a traditional activity
divided among either small independent hotels whose quality var-
ied widely or luxury hotels accessible only to the very well-heeled.
The principle was to define the norms of a standard 62-room hotel
that could be reproduced ad infinitum. The site was the keystone of ▼
Novotel Lille Lesquin room, France,
the concept: it was always on the outskirts of the city, along roads in the 1960s.
and near airports. The basic principle was that each hotel had only
L’hôtel du Port à Barfleur
one floor to avoid having to install an elevator and other con- A bathroom for each room dans les année 60.
struction costs. Lastly, even if the price was economical (42 francs In 1967, the inauguration of the Novotel Lille Lesquin
a room), comfort was a critical element with spacious, light, quiet doubled the number of bathrooms in Lille’s hotels. L’autoroute du Sud entre
Decidedly functional, the first bathrooms also changed the Arcueil et Gentilly, 1963.
rooms, all of them 24.5 sq.m. [263 sq.ft.] and with a 140 cm x 190
landscape of the hotel market, even more so as at the
cm [standard double] bed. And above all, each room had a bath- time, few French households had them. The specifica-
room. At the time, this was revolutionary and not only in the hotel tions were white tiles: 105 mm x 105 mm [4 in. x 4 in.], a
sector. This concept was really premonitory, seeing how much neon light, a dual-function spray unit attached to the
sink, a shower and a bathtub 1.6 meters [5 ft. 2 in.] long.
room and importance is now given to the bathroom, which has Novotel was ahead of the Crédit Hôtelier standards at
almost become a living space… the time. In 1984, the bathroom was once again a source
The whole Novotel concept is based on the same empirical search of innovation, this time with Formule 1. Whereas the gen-
eral trend was to offer a room with a private bathroom,
for the best adaptation to needs. The first rooms already attracted
Accor went against the current one more time by remov-
businessmen who could say good-bye to the small pedestal table that ing the bathroom to lower the room price.
had to serve as a work surface. The large desk, with a telephone with
a direct outside line, became an essential piece of furniture. The desk
was usually attached to the wall above the floor so that vacuuming
was easier and more efficient. Lastly, and right from the start in
1967, customers could take a dip in the hotel’s pool. Not that Lille’s
climate was propitious to outdoor swimming but because, as Paul
Dubrule recalls, “a swimming pool gives a hotel class.” Parking
problems disappeared with a parking lot in front of the hotel. Right
from the start, bedding was considered important. At Novotel, you
don’t joke about sleep and comfort. The proof is that, at this period,
Paul Dubrule had 15 mattresses in his Lille apartment so he could
test them one by one! The sofa was also the object of a great deal
of attention. The first Novotel set its sights on a weekend family
clientele with no charge for two children traveling with their par-
ents and a free breakfast. The price of a room for a family of four was
unbeatable.
All the ingredients of the hotel chain were found in the first
Novotel of Lille and all that was needed afterward was to duplicate
the recipe. That is why, right after the Lille hotel opened in 1967,
another one was being built in Colmar while land was being
bought in Marseilles for the third. They all belonged to the Novotel-
SIEH company. The dynamic was launched. The first assets guar-
anteed the first loans and moreover, Crédit Hôtelier was involved
in the projects, all the better as the first chief financial officer of
Novotel was Stanislas Rollin, who came straight from Crédit
Hôtelier, all of whose ins and outs he knew.

16
▼
Le Grill of the Novotel Lille Lesquin,
France, in 1967.
The first to believe in it
If most of Lesquin’s neighbors, to say nothing of the hotel-
▼
Bathrooms, with the famous “spray

unit” of the Novotel Lille Lesquin, keepers in the area, made fun of those madmen who were
in the 1960s. building a hotel in the middle of a beet field, a few of them,
Extract from a Novotel room
inspection book in the 1970s. ▼ however, had confidence in the project. For example, there
was Mrs. Manhaeve, the editor-in-chief of the newspaper La
Gazette du Nord-Pas-de-Calais, the only journalist to believe
in the project, and a few courageous people in the building
trades who risked taking part in the construction of the first
Novotel even though they were told they would never be
paid. And these supporters included, of course, financial
partners like Mr. Pollet, the manager of the Société Générale
agency in Tourcoing where for many years the Group kept an
account out of gratitude and loyalty. Several of the pioneers
even kept their personal accounts there. And above all,
when the opportunity for the large Novotel in Bagnolet pre-
sented itself in 1969, one man played a decisive role:
Maurice Lauré. President of Société Générale and inventor of
the value-added tax, this renowned banker was the only one
who followed Paul and Gérard in this new mad wager along
with the Louis Dreyfus bank, whose chief financial officer
was Renaud d’Ellisagaray, a friend of Gérard Pélisson and
Maurice Simond’s. The first partners were also the fran-
chisees who unhesitatingly put all their savings into these
new Novotels in which few people had any faith.
17
▼
The Novotel Bagnolet,

▼
in France, in 1973.
The mad Bagnolet wager

One thousand rooms in Bagnolet: this was Paul Dubrule and three years under the architectural direction of Pierre-Yves
Gérard Pélisson’s new project. It was 1969. This colossal proj- Cochin. The manager-to-be was Henry Perret. John Lehodey,
ect was suggested by a promoter. It was right near the junc- accommodations manager, recruited an army of employees
tion of the beltway under construction. The project was in whose training was improvised right in the middle of the con-
no man’s land and no one was interested in it. Persuaded that struction site. It opened its doors on the day scheduled two
there was commercial potential in their future large Novotel, years earlier, i.e., May 1, 1973 – for a cost of 54 million
Paul Dubrule and Gérard Pélisson launched into the adventure. francs, 2 million less than planned. The construction cost of
They imagined it with 1,000 rooms. Maurice Lauré, president the Novotel Bagnolet was half that of the major Parisian
of Société Générale, was willing to back them, but only for 600 hotels at the time. It was an immense challenge tackled by a
rooms. In just a few months, 56 million francs were found small and amazing team headed by Robert Larrivé, the man
for this gigantic project for the small Novotel-SIEH company. known for his technical feats. At the same time, another
Robert Larrivé, a school friend of Gérard Pélisson’s and the new major hotel project was being built, in a more classic per-
technical manager, took on the dual challenge of the budget spective: the 4-star Sofitel at the Porte de Sèvres. It was deliv-
and construction deadlines. The hotel was built in less than ered late and with a considerable budget overrun…

18
▼
Le Grill restaurant of
the Novotel Lille Lesquin,
France, 1970s.
The expansion of the 1970s

The bar of the Novotel While everyone thought that the Group was focusing on the
Bagnolet in the 1970s. ▼
Bagnolet challenge, development outside the Paris region
was accelerating. One of the keys to success was moreover the
speed at which the Novotel chain, like Ibis and Formule 1
later on, developed. Even before the competitors realized it,
Novotel was already present in all the major cities in France.
With an inflation rate higher than the interest rates, the
future belonged to those who got into debt, which Paul and
Gérard clearly understood. Their roles had already been
divided up: Paul focused on the search for sites while Gérard
consolidated the financial structures. Their objective was
inexpensive plots of land, located near highway exit ramps,
for example. The key elements of their development were
speed and discretion. The teams operated like commandos,
each knowing his role by heart. The execution speed was so
great that no one else could keep up with them. Two years was
all it took between finding a site and opening a hotel. The
result was that in 1970, four Novotels had opened; in 1971,
eight. At the start of 1974, the young Group already had 45
Novotels. Sometimes you had to show daring, even intre-
pidness. Building permits occasionally arrived late, the sacro-
sanct banking rules were sometimes juggled, and overdraft
authorizations ever so slightly abused. Despite a cold sweat
or two and with constant vigilance, the adventure was a suc-
cess story.
“Bob the trowel”

As brilliant as he is modest, Robert Larrivé, nicknamed I found a small installer in the north of France who was
“Bob the trowel”, played a critical role in the Group’s his- able to supply us with an automatic switchboard specially
tory. A friend of Gérard Pélisson’s from both their high modified to meet our needs and install it in 48 hours. For
school in Lyon and the École Centrale, he left his water 10 years, our hotels were equipped with this system
heater company to become the Group’s Mr. Builder. under fantastic conditions. There are a lot of examples
Conception, construction, decoration, layout, equipment, like that. So we succeeded in dividing the costs of put-
maintenance, renovation, negotiation… with his team, he ting together the rooms in the Novotel Bagnolet by three
successively tackled every challenge raised by the by ignoring the calculation curves established by a well-
Novotel Bagnolet, Ibis and Formule 1. He did this by known consulting firm that thought that our calculations
always keeping to his deadlines and budgets and thinking didn’t obey the laws of physics. I quickly realized that to
about operating costs that matched the forecasts. His innovate you often have to come to the opposite conclu-
recipe was a solid team of autonomous and passionate sions of a conventional study and that you have to beware
employees with a sharp sense of innovation who always of readymade consensuses on an option.”
stuck together. “I had contacted the major vendors of
telephone equipment to do our phone installations. I was Robert Larrivé
was the Group’s technical director.
shown the door in no uncertain terms by my contacts
who didn’t want to waste their time with our rash ideas.

19
Inventors of
the French franchise
Growth in the 1970s was also closely intertwined with that of hypermarket chain. What did they have in common? None of
that franchisees. Novotel was now a brand that the market them knew anything about the hotel business but they had a
liked. Paul and Gérard knew that the franchise was a tremen- host of talents, a desire to be entrepreneurs and a lot of con-
dous tool for expanding their network without investing, but fidence. They quickly became friends and travel companions.
first the soundness of the product had to be proved. Novotel’s Jacques Fayet, a truculent personality with a great deal of
pioneer franchisers and its first “travel companions” were charisma, opened the first franchised hotel in Tinqueux, on
notably Jacques Fayet, Joseph Lepoutre, Francis Bigard, the outskirts of Reims. Francis Bigard, who met the copresi-
Bruno Paturle and Jacques Fournier. The first was a grain dents in 1972, opened his first Novotel in Angoulême. He
farmer in Reims, the second a buddy from the army, run into had one of the most brilliant careers as a franchisee by open-
by chance, the third a trader in maggots for line fishing, the ing many Novotels and Ibises all over France. Joseph
fourth a manufacturer in the Rhônes-Alpes region, and as for Lepoutre developed several franchised Novotels in the north
the fifth, he was the brother of the founder of the Carrefour of France.
▼
The inauguration of the first
franchised hotel in Tinqueux,
A mailing ahead of its time France, in the presence of Jean
Taittinger, mayor of Reims at
On September 25, 1967, a few weeks before the first
the time, Jacques Fayet and
Novotel in Lille opened, Paul Dubrule wrote and sent a Paul Dubrule, in 1971.
canvassing letter to potential customers. Forty years
later, Eric Lepleux, the Accor Group’s strategic market-
ing director, comments on this letter that was ahead of
its time. “The strength of this letter lies in its simplicity,
in the image of the cofounders and their big ideas. This
simplicity makes its pitch very effective. The content is
direct and straightforward. Moreover, the main infor-
mation jumps off the page: ‘Novotel Lille Aéroport, the
first new hotel built in Lille in the last 50 years’. And the
text is also very personal. You feel that the company is
very close to the future customer and is very modest. In
a certain way, this commercial approach anticipates
▼
First canvassing letter, future direct marketing techniques, the ones we know
in 1967. today.”

20
▼
Preliminary drawing for
the construction of the Ibis
Jakarta Slipi, Indonesia,
in the 1980s.
▼
An Ibis-type bathroom,
in the 1980s.
IBIS,
when Accor
persists and signs
Resisting the temptation of luxury
Resting on its laurels was not really in the Group’s mentality. But 30: the magic number
what direction was it to take? It was advised against the 2-star mar- The new brand was called Ibis, a short name that meant the
ket because it was becoming saturated: a large number of brands cost of signs could be reduced. The key to the Ibis concept
had launched themselves on this segment on which the traditional could be summed up in one word – simplicity – and one
hotel business was omnipresent. Paul and Gérard, however, were number: 30. Their initial positioning was based on a precise
convinced that they had to stay close to a young and more modest calculation. The idea was as simple as it was ambitious: offer
clientele. Whereas a number of companies would have gone in for the rooms at a price 30% lower than those of Novotel, a size
luxury market, they had the intelligence to resist this temptation. 30% lower than those of Novotel and a construction cost
Their targets were individual customers and traveling salesmen. As 30% less than that of its older brother. Although the concept
travel have become democratized, why not offer pleasant hotels wasn’t complicated, Ibis nevertheless immediately distin-
within everyone’s reach ? To succeed in this new challenge, they once guished itself from traditional hotels. It would be a modern
again had to combine speed and innovation because this time, Paul and well-equipped hotel. All the rooms would have a bath-
and Gérard were no longer unknowns and novices: the market was room whereas only 20% of the rooms in traditional hotels
waiting for them at the bend. These hotels would be simple, con- had one. In no time, Ibis became the reference in value for
vivial and equipped with every comfort. money. In a market flush with 2-star hotels of very variable
quality, Ibis meant security for anyone who didn’t like
unpleasant surprises.

21
And the adventure continues
Forty years later, Ibis has 745 hotels and 82,546 rooms in
▼
Ibis hotel room, in the 1970s.
36 countries. By 2010, 100 Ibises will be built in China.
And above all, the chain remains the reference in the
Ibis restaurant, in the 1970s. ▼ 2-star hotel segment in Europe. Certified ISO 9001, the
most well-known quality label, Ibis also obtained the
environmental certification ISO 14001 for over 180 of its
hotels. With the new “Coquelicot” room, Ibis has just
moved up to another level in quality and comfort on this
market segment with parquet floors, LCD flat screen and
quilts in the rooms…
Façade of the Ibis hotel, in Boulogne-sur-Mer,

France, in the 1970s.
▼
Still not up to standards…

With Ibis, the Group ran up once more against official gov-
ernment standards because of the very French and very
thorny question of… the bidet. All 2-star hotels were sup-
posed to have a bidet in each bathroom. When the Group
presented its request to eliminate this “accessory”, the min-
ister of tourism in Georges Pompidou’s government lost his
temper and refused in colorful and no uncertain terms. The
Group had to wait for Valéry Giscard d’Estaing to become
president for a courageous minister, Jacques Médecin, to Breakneck development
propose a new standard, the **NN, for hotel rooms with no Very quickly, Ibis became the leading economy hotel network
bidets in their bathrooms. in France, then in Europe. Bordeaux was the first city to have
an Ibis, in 1974. One year later, there were three Ibises. In
2 concepts in 1 1976, the Ibis family had 15 members, because you have to
The creation of Ibis brought with it another major innovation: move quickly. All the credit for this rapid expansion and suc-
hotel zones. The idea was simple: built Ibises near Novotels. cess belonged to the enthusiastic and particularly tenacious
The goal was to block the competition and offer each cus- teams. The pragmatism of John Lehodey in the very beginning
tomer a product that fit his wallet in the same area. Later of the adventure, the ingenuity of Pierre-Yves Cochin, the
on, newcomers to the family completed the puzzle of the Novotel Bagnolet architect, then the quality of the duo
Accor to be. It was a brilliant idea that would ensure future formed by Robert Molinari and André Cointet made it possi-
success. Once again, the cofounders showed their ability to ble to move mountains. Between the two of them, they
manage the present and anticipate the future. opened 300 Ibises in 15 years.

22
The start-up attitude
If Paul Dubrule and Gérard Pélisson shook up the hotel busi-
ness, they also inaugurated a singular management con-
cept. As always, the two founders had a pragmatic view of
their system. Paul Dubrule describes how one day, when he
took the train for a control meeting at the Novotel in
Mulhouse, he realized that the cost of each trip equalled
two weeks’ worth of a hotel’s profit. It was more efficient to
delegate his powers to the manager. And that was how con-
fidence and autonomy appeared, not only as an ethical and
human choice, but also as an economically fair option. De
facto, the various brands have always had broad financial and
legal autonomy, respecting the Group’s values of course and
based on the principle that nothing is as valuable as the cul-
ture of proximity, that even the most structured organization
won’t prevent everything from being played out at the end
“at the moment when the receptionist smiles or you taste
the salmon on your plate.” That is why the brands have
been able to show so much reactivity over these last four
decades, with the support of a powerful group, but with the
inventiveness and creativity worthy of a start-up.
FORMULE 1,
making waves
again ▼
Automatic sales terminal
for Formule 1 rooms.
Seventeen years after the opening of the first Novotel and 10 The objective was clear: defining a new type of hotel for under
years after that of Ibis, the Accor Group once more made 80 francs a night (the equivalent of 12 euros today) for three
waves. They were called Formule 1 and again, the Group people. The solution was to eliminate all the services. The
showed the market its tremendous capacity to invent and hotel wouldn’t have any personnel or night watchman. When
innovate. How did the Accor do it? By focusing on a neglected the customer arrived and paid with his bankcard, he would
market, that of the 1-star hotel, and by creating a mass market receive a code that served as a key. And there was one bathroom
product accessible to one and all. A survey conducted by for every four rooms. It was the height of irony as Novotel had
Joseph Lepoutre, one of the original faithful followers, demon- in fact been a pioneer in this area by equipping every one of its
strated that even if France had an abundance of small inex- hotel rooms with a bathroom. It was such a risk that even
pensive hotels, they lacked comfort, to say the least. But the within the Group there were reservations and criticism.
demand was strong, composed of workers, students and
retirees.

23
Still not up to standards…
According to the standards of the period, a hotel had to have
a minimum number of rooms with bathrooms to receive a
1-star rating. The conciliatory minister of tourism at the
time, Michel Crépeau, created a custom-made class for
Accor: the zero stars [sic]. It should be mentioned that the rat-
ing, even with “zero stars”, was important because the value-
added tax was more interesting than without any stars at all.
A new challenge for the technical teams

After Novotel, Bagnolet and Ibis, Robert Larrivé’s team had
to face a new challenge. “We needed to limit ourselves to a
cost of 3,000 francs a square meter whereas this cost was
Formule 1, Dardilly, France.
▼ 5,000 francs for a 2 or 3-star hotel at the time. And that’s
without stinting on the quality of the materials used and
their installation, quite the opposite,” he recalls, 23 years
later. By dint of inventiveness and, once again, taking short-
cuts, they succeeded. “When Paul and Gérard talked to me the
first time about Formule 1, they asked me for construction
that would take under three months, the first hotel in 18
months and no fewer than 50 hotels a year. It was a nice
program, lots of fun,” Robert Larrivé recalls. But the mission
was accomplished and the first Formule 1 hotels were inau-
gurated in 1985, in Evry and near Macon, on the highway.
Sometimes it only took 11 weeks for a Formule 1 to rise out
of the ground.
A Formule 1 here, a Formule 1 there…

One hotel in 1984, 10 hotels in 1986, 50 in 1989, 200 in
1994… and 380 in 2007. Formule 1 mushroomed very
quickly everywhere in France: in Douai, northern Lyon,
southern Lyon, Strasbourg, Dijon, Metz but also abroad. The
initial team comprised Robert Larrivé, André Motte, Jean-
François Bourgeois and Jean-Claude Luttmann, the first two,
copresidents of Formule 1. A first Formule 1 opened in
Belgium in 1989, then in Great Britain and Germany in
1991. Seas and oceans were even crossed in 1992 with the
inauguration of a Formule 1 in South Africa and another in
Sydney in 1995. In 2007, Formule 1 became the reference in
low-cost hotels. But innovation continues. Formule 1 has
▼
Preliminary drawing now written a new page in its history with the makeover and
for wall coverings for
Formule 1 corridors.
redefinition of living spaces: rooms with flat-screen TVs, a
reception area, breakfast, etc. So at last, comfort and economy
▼
A Formule 1 room. happily coexist.

24
Etap Hotel, the traveling half-brother
For obscure regulatory reasons and the question of
bathrooms, Formule 1 was not welcome in Germany. So
the chain took the name of Etap Hotel and each room
had its own bathroom. Located in the downtown areas of
major cities and near trunk roads and airports, Etap
Hotel is present in Europe and Israel. An intermediate
concept between Ibis and Formule 1, Etap Hotel quickly
created its own market. The brand offers on-site parking,
abundant buffet breakfasts and the third person in a
room stays free of charge. In 2007, Formule 1’s half-
brother had a network of 347 hotels in 11 countries.
Etap Hotel Porte de Saint-

Ouen Paris, France.
▼
Suitehotel Lille Aéroport,
France. ▼
Suitehotel, yet another new concept

Space, modularity, comfort, conviviality… Fifteen years
after Formule 1, Accor launched a new brand. Suitehotel
was a new type of hotel designed for nomads in quest of
living spaces that could be personalized. The concept,
once again, was greeted with skepticism. For the admin-
istration as well as observers, the idea was incompre-
hensible. The Suitehotel is designed for long stays with
spacious adaptable suites for the price of a classic 3-star
hotel room. The rooms evolve into relaxation or work
spaces according to needs or desires. Suitehotel was
Accor’s solution for people who spend a good part of
their life in a hotel and who consider it their second
home. In 2007, the network had 20 hotels in four different
countries.
Mercure, a twist of fate…

The acquisition of this chain concluded with its presi-
dent, Michel Vincent, when it consisted of 14 hotels,
▼
Hôtel Mercure, 1980. meant really wink at destiny. The brand had been
launched to compete directly with Novotel on the 3-star
market. Mercure’s positioning subsequently evolved: a
very diversified hotel offering, a location in the city cen-
ter, a very strong regional anchoring, traditional restau-
rants with an outstanding wine selection… In the end,
the two ranges became perfectly complementary.

25
MODULAR ARCHITECTURE
hotel, dock and
ship architecture…
A child of the modern era, Accor grew up with the develop-

ment of an industrial hotel sector closely linked to the costs
and tight deadlines of its constructions. The Group’s archi-
tectural heritage, especially in budget hotels, therefore par-
tially fits into the “modular” architecture that changed
twentieth-century landscapes. An Englishman who was born
in Germany, Prof. Michael Weinstock spent his childhood in
Singapore, Hong Kong and West Africa before going to sea at
the age of 17 after having read Conrad. This architect with a
strong technical grounding, who discovered the world of
shipyards and the docks of Gibraltar, now runs the
“Emerging Technologies and Design” master’s program at
the Architectural Association (AA), the most prestigious
architecture school in Britain, founded in 1847. He has been
especially interested in putting a controversial type of archi-
tecture that has unsuspected virtuosity back into its histori-
cal context and evolution.

26
Figuring out the finances of the future budget hotel was-
n’t an easy task. Looking for a solution, the two Formule
1 designers, Jean-Claude Luttmann and Jean-François
Bourgeois, decided to invert the usual equations in the
hotel sector. ▼
Although the Ibis, Motel 6 Inn and Etap Hotel chains fall
under, to varying degrees, the category of “automated”
architecture, the creation of Formule 1 in 1984 is a text-
book example in the hotel sector. To roll out its network
at the dizzying rate of two hotels a month, Accor com-
bined three different industrial prefabrication techniques
including (opposite) the Houot procedure for three-
dimensional prefabrication on wood framing.
Modular architecture may be defined as a construction made tially modular. The only difference is that if the Eiffel Tower
out of prefabricated elements that can be assembled, then were to be built today, there would only be 10 pieces.
separately modified, removed or added. When was it Did this construction procedure come out of a technical
invented? invention? Or the discovery of new materials?
Michael Weinstock: Le Corbusier was the one who first used M.W.: Modular architecture is an “intellectual” innovation. It
the term, in the twentieth century. He had developed a sys- isn’t a question of a series of inventions but a group of con-
tem of proportions based on a human being’s dimensions. His vergences. It came out of a cross between globalization and
idea resulted in the creation of universal standards in archi- architectural know-how and the widespread use of indus-
tecture. But ‘modular construction’, in which each element in trial production means. The turning point came when plants
a building is autonomous and interchangeable, is a whole started to produce steel beams and columns that could be
other concept. We can mention Jean Prouvé, a “pioneer” transported throughout the world, by boat, by truck…
architect who created prefabricated industrial “modules” Where would you place this movement in the history of
that were set into a building as a complete unit with a crane, architecture?
then possibly removed and installed elsewhere. M.W.: One of the most important theoretical developments
Was this kind of architecture revolutionary? of the modern era emerged in the late 1920s: the idea of a
M.W.: All the architects did was to adapt Henry Ford’s idea universal construction model, which could be adapted to
of large-scale car production, which started in 1913, to the any site, any terrain. The “International Style,” as it was
building sector. The Americans were the forerunners of this called, was directly inspired by factories to create the cul-
type of architecture. But if we look back, we can consider ture of what we now call “system buildings.”
that large structures, like the Eiffel Tower, were already par-

27
OPEN SPACE, OPEN MIND
Open-mindedness, like modernity, is above all an attitude, that of perceiving the
world that surrounds us with curiosity, attentiveness, vigilance and imagination, in
short being able to accept new things without losing your critical sense. Without it,
Accor wouldn’t exist, or at least, wouldn’t have expanded at this pace. Deeply
anchored in the personality of its cofounders and pioneers, this open-mindedness
has been transmitted over the years as the operational driver for all the employ-
ees, permeating the entire company.
This spirit is intellectual, geographic and relational and its basic principle is
respecting others and their differences. “Open space, open mind” are two ideas
that are an integral part of the Group’s identity.
ACCO R OPEN SPACE, OPEN MIND

30
Thinking without borders
Very soon after opening the third Novotel in Vitrolles, near
Marseilles, Paul Dubrule and Gérard Pélisson started to think
about expanding beyond France’s borders. It was only 1969,
but they were already persuaded that Novotel had every-
thing it needed to become a major European chain one day.
Without any real strategy and with only limited resources,
armed with their daring, they set out to explore and settle new
territories in all directions, with amazing energy. As for per-
sonnel, it was mostly their classmates who acted as developers
on a volunteer basis and worked through their network of
acquaintances.
In the beginning, they naturally looked at neighboring coun-
tries where the hotels were similar to those in France, i.e.,
frankly outdated. But right from the start of the 1970s, it
was clear that the development projects no longer had any
limits. To a banker who asked him after how many hotels he
planned to stop, Paul Dubrule replied, dumbfounded: “But
why do you want us to stop?” So there were no preconceived
ideas with the exception perhaps of the Italian market, which
Gérard Pélisson suspected was very complicated. The first
developments were in Switzerland, Belgium and Great
Britain, quickly followed by Africa, with Pierre Allain, the
Middle East with the young Philippe Bourguignon, then
Brazil with Jean Larcher. Despite this initial enthusiasm and
burst of energy, the first steps on foreign soil were however
complicated and studded with obstacles. But the teams never
became discouraged. Quite the contrary, development
remained a major goal, under the impetus of, notably, Robert
Molinari, Michel Vincent and Stanislas Rollin…
▼
Sofitel Gold Coast, Broadbeach, Australia.
OPEN SPACE, OPEN MIND ACCOR

31
▼
Novotel Birmingham Centre, United Kingdom. ▼
Europe, the tides of change… Novotel Neuchâtel Thielle, Switzerland,

later transformed into an Ibis.
▼
In the early 1970s, it was not easy for Novotel-SIEH to invest
outside France because of currency restrictions. Moreover,
Novotel-SIEH did not have the means to do so. A new frenetic
hunt for shareholders was undertaken among friends and
family who lived outside the country. Finally, Novotel
International was created in Switzerland with a capital of
5 million Swiss francs of which Novotel-SIEH held only 5%.
The new company opted for Switzerland where it planned to
take its first steps. The first Novotel abroad was built in
Neuchâtel on inexpensive land next to a “future” highway.
Claude Moscheni opened it in 1972. But then came the first
hard blow for this foreign adventure that was barely out of the
womb: the highway was only completed 20 years later.
The second attempt was in Brussels. This time, the work site
was shut down right in the middle of construction because an
ecological association put pressure on the local authorities
claiming that the project was polluting the landscape. Claude
Moscheni finally opened the first Novotel in Belgium, also
in 1972, near the airport and the hotel turned out to be very
profitable. The third step in Europe was taken in the United
Kingdom under the impetus of a British engineer, Peter
Charles, at Coventry, the center of the British automobile
industry. No one foresaw the disaster that occurred, how-
ever. Just a few weeks after the opening, part of the industrial
site closed, and with it, the hotel’s potential customers van- ▼
Novotel Brussels Airport,
ished. Nonetheless, two other Novotels opened, one in Belgium.
Nottingham, in 1973, and the other in Bradford, a year later.
Peter Charles’s perseverance paid off though because the
Novotel and Ibis networks grew in the United Kingdom’s
major cities. During the same period, the tireless Robert
Molinari, then head of development, brought Novotel to
Poland after an improbable meeting with the Polish minister
of tourism. The team then discovered another world, that of
a country plunged into the immobility of communism.
Despite the context, Robert Molinari kept at it. His reward was
seeing the Polish government commit to the construction of
six 140-room Novotels, in accordance with state protocol.

32
As the franchisee, moreover, the Polish government was in
charge of management. Its communist and bureaucratic
management was characterized by the same large number of
employees in each hotel, regardless of how many customers
there were. Despite this cultural shock with communist
Poland, the Eastern European adventure really heartened the
teams because the energy expended to conquer Western
Europe did not receive the award it deserved. The problems
Novotel had trying to get a foothold in Italy and Spain in the
1970s were added on to the delays encountered in
Switzerland, Belgium and the United Kingdom. In the
Netherlands, the cofounders managed to turn several proj-
ects into reality through an efficient partnership with Tony van
Spaendonck. Together, they were even able to buy and turn
around the Alpha Hotel (600 rooms) in 1978, the largest
hotel in Amsterdam. At the time, it had lost its sparkle, but a
few years later, it was turned into a Novotel. After these
promising beginnings, Accor became the leader in the
Netherlands. European development didn’t stop there. In the
1990s, after the fall of the Berlin Wall, other fruitful 50-50
partnerships were formed in the Netherlands, as well as in
Italy with the Agnelli group, in Brazil with the Brascon group
and in Portugal with the Amorim group. Accor also bought
stakes in state-owned companies, for example, Pannonia in
Hungary and Orbis in Poland.
▼
Gérard Pélisson’s speech,

The Alpha Hotel, in
at the opening of the Novotel
Amsterdam, Netherlands,
in 1978. ▼ Airport Varsovie in Warsaw, Novotel Airport Varsovie ▼
Poland, on July 24, 1975. in Warsaw, Poland, in 1975.

33
▼
Novotel in Africa sticker, 1980s.
When Accor started in Africa, the modernization of cities was still in its infancy.
Here, the Abidjan market in the 1980s, Ivory Coast.
The African saga

Despite their bumpy beginnings in Europe and the first oil cri-
sis that shook European economies, Paul Dubrule and Gérard
Pélisson set their sights forward and took a close look at
Africa. Starting in 1973, they made personal investments in
development along with Pierre Allain, who then began to
build Novotel’s relational network in Africa. Their efforts
bore fruit two years later in the People’s Republic of the
Congo. The first Novotel in sub-Saharan African opened in
Pointe Noire in a very tough context. A revolution was under-
way in the Congo in 1975 and Cuban troops were massively
present in the country. In short, the atmosphere was some-
what out of the ordinary. It was André Motte, head of African
operations, who opened the hotel.
Meetings took place that brought together well over 30 peo-
ple, ministers, military officers and bureaucrats, with the
inevitable trio of a Communist party member, a government
representative and a “manager comrade”, in this case André
Motte himself, who managed operations on the continent
for a decade. Gérard Pélisson himself took part in creating a
training center in Libreville for the opening of a Novotel and
an Ibis, each with 200 rooms. In fewer than six months,
nearly 900 Gabonese employees had to be recruited and
trained. During this decade, the Group opened a network of
50 hotels in 17 countries. Accor remains very committed to
this continent that the cofounders frequently visit.
The Accor “Africans”
At the head of its teams, which consisted at the period of
Sofitel Teranga Dakar,
▼
over 200 expatriates, were, among the many Accor

Senegal
“Africans”, Pierre Allain, Bernard Westercamp, André
Motte, Hans Konopek, Jean Hentz, Guy Juste, Jean-
Philippe Savoye, Jean-Paul Lespinasse, Jean-Luc Chardon,
Daniel Hougnon, Daniel Lin, Michel Bro… All of them had
extraordinary adventures, reversals of unpredictable situa-
tions and sometimes frightening experiences. But all of
them have remained deeply attached to this hospitable and
enchanting continent. Through their efforts, thousands of
Africans have been trained in hotel professions and deep
friendships have been formed. Despite a few setbacks and
the vicissitudes to which the continent is constantly sub-
ject, Novotel had its best results abroad in Africa in the
1980s and in 1998, 1999 and 2000, had an exceptionally high
level of profitability on this continent, thanks to extremely
dedicated teams including Jean-Luc Motot, Vincent Joyner,
Jean-Marc Schnell and Luc Lamorille in sub-Saharan
Africa, Marc Thépot in Morocco, Thierry de Jaham and
Olivier Hick…

34
▼
Sofitel Teranga, Dakar, Senegal.
When everything, even the worst, is possible…

But even if the charm, the joie de vivre and the warm African to a head of state, with a minister and escort at the airport,
welcome captivated the Accor pioneers right from the begin- he was completely on his own for a few weeks to manage
ning, they had to deal with particularly complicated situations 200 rooms, three restaurants and a nightclub. Moreover, the
that no one was prepared for. There were problems of financ- efforts made over many weeks could be wiped out from one
ing, political instability, safety, organization, recruitment… day to the next. One illustration is Guinea, where Novotel
However, they never, or almost never gave up and they man- recovered the Indépendence hotel, in the early 1980s, when
aged to overcome most of these obstacles. The keys to these the country was ruled by Sekou Touré. The teams discovered
Mercure Yaoundé Centre, Cameroon. ▼
African success stories were a great degree of open-minded- a hotel that was extremely dilapidated where a battalion of
ness, a real taste for adventure, deep respect for others and 150 people worked. Everything had been totally renovated
their cultures and broad autonomy for the teams who acted when a coup d’état forced all the teams to leave the hotel,
with the greatest freedom. This freedom gave the Group an which was subsequently sacked by revolutionary troops. But
extraordinary measure of reactivity. It was precious and often three months later, Guinean representatives asked Novotel
decisive because development in Africa was primarily a ques- to run the hotel once again. A different but equally nerve-
tion of seizing opportunities. You had to be in the right place wracking situation occurred in Libya, when Qadhafi’s régime
at the right time and act very quickly. This was the case, for was focusing on new and ostentatious development. Novotel
example, in Cameroon in 1977, when André Motte bought a built two very beautiful hotels there under especially trying
hotel in Yaoundé managed at the time by Sheraton, in 48 conditions. A few days after they opened, the Libyans broke
hours. Welcomed on his arrival with the honors usually given the contracts.
Serge Ravailhe mentioned, in a telex in 1977, one of

the first international Novotel conventions where
▼ Sofitel L’Amitié, Bamako, Mali.
▼
Africa was given a place of honor.

35
▼
Modern China, Shanghai. Novotel Hyderabad, India
▼
The political context did not facilitate
the opening of hotels.
Here, the Golan desert, during
the Yom Kippur War in 1973. ▼
Conquering the Middle East…

and Asia
At the same period, Novotel succeeded in carrying out devel-
opment in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. In the latter, the
company used the same method. A scout, who had been given
the names of a few contacts and a modest amount of money,
was sent on a reconnaissance mission. For the Middle East,
the scout was Philippe Bourguignon. The future head of Euro
Disney and the Club Méditerranée left France for Dubai right
before the start of the Yom Kippur War in 1973. He was only
26 years old and bursting with energy. Alone, he succeeded in
signing the first Novotel in Sharjah (one of the United Arab
Emirates), then another in Cairo, Muscat (Oman), Baghdad,
Beirut, Jeddah, Damascus and Kuwait City. He crisscrossed
the Middle East and signed up eight hotels in his first year.
Whereas the big American hotel groups showed up in the
36
▼ ▼
▼
Kuwait City. Mosque in Dubai. Cairo.
▼
Novotel Hyderabad, India.
Grand Mercure on Renmin Square, Xian, China. ▼
Novotel Lombok, Indonesia. ▼
Middle East with impressive financial and human resources, Philippe nings, however, were not easy. In 1984, the first stone of the Novotel
Bourguignon started with just 10,000 French francs in his pocket Beijing was laid in the presence of Paul Dubrule, but the hotel never
and the name of a go-between. Day after day, he telexed the dimen- saw the light of day. They had to wait a number of years longer to
sions of the sites he was considering to the Novotel technical team. make a breakthrough, with men like Robert Molinari, Raymond
And the teams sent him back information so that the projects’ plans Capdevilla and David Baffsky and his teams, including Michael
could be drawn up, something he did himself at night. Paradoxically, Issenberg and Reggie Shiu, an emblematic figure of the Group in
these small-scale means combined with the enthusiasm of the teams Asia, the latter having tragically disappeared with his family during
made the Group extraordinarily reactive and its development in the the tsunami in 2004. As for Chinese market, Paul Dubrule had not
Middle East is now handled by Christophe Landais, Abderahman given up, quite the opposite. Seconded by Zhang Shang-Zhi, a
Belgat and Jean-Michel Cassé’s teams. Simultaneously, the Group French-speaking Chinese graduate of the ENA, the National
sent exploratory missions to sniff out the Asian market, particularly Administration School, he put all his effort into the task and accel-
in Bangladesh, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, the erated the events. Starting in 2001, with the support of Jean-Marc
Philippines, India and Pakistan. And those who went returned Espalioux, he opened the way for the construction of the first Ibis
convinced that this market with extremely promising. But the hotels in China.. Today, armed with its knowledge garnered from
cofounders, with the active participation of Stanislas Rollin, decided these regions and through the dynamism of the countries’ economies,
to wait until the 1980s before going into Asia, and more particularly Accor is starting a new intensive development cycle with India and
China with Philippe Bourguignon and Christian Mure. The begin- China as the spearheads.
37
Conquering the West…
At the end of the 1970s, the cofounders looked westward,
across the Atlantic. Philippe Bourguignon was the first one
sent there to clear the way. The objective was to open in the
eastern part of the country in American cities whose spirit was
close to that of Europe. The Group then tried to conquer the
American market starting with the top. They bought the Hôtel
de France in Minneapolis in 1979 and later made it a part of the
Sofitel network. Just when the contract was being signed, the
distrustful seller absolutely refused to accept the guarantee of
the BNP [a French bank] and insisted that a New York bank
guarantee replace it. Another Sofitel opened in Houston.
These first two tough projects, however, acted as catalysts.
Other hotels subsequently opened in Miami, Chicago and Los
Angeles… This period was also marked by the Group’s first
steps in the mid-range market, with the acquisition of the
Roosevelt hotel in Grand Central Station in New York, with its
1,100 rooms. In less than 48 hours, Claude Moscheni had been
sent to New York to put this hotel back on track, in addition to
his responsibilities in southern Europe. At the same time as
Jacques Borel International merged with the Group in 1983,
Georges Le Mener moved to New York to run North American
activities. Michael Flaxman and Gilles Pélisson joined him to
▼
The terrace of
Paul Dubrule and Robert Larrivé, develop Novotels in Canada and upstate New York. the Novotel New York,
in the 1970s. United States, in 1983. ▼
▼
A license plate with
the name of the Novotel
New York, United States.
Sofitel Miami,
▼
United States.
The Hôtel de France

▼
in 1979, which became

the Sofitel Minneapolis,
Minnesota, United
States.
Motel 6 comes under
the Accor banner
“Take your suitcase and set yourself up at the head office of
Motel 6 in Dallas.” In 1992, the results of Motel 6 were disap-
pointing so the cofounders decided to send Georges Le Mener, one
of the most faithful of the flock, to the bedside of the ailing
American chain. Accor had bought Motel 6 in the summer of
1990… at a high price, “too high” according to certain people. The
Group had been eyeballing the American market for too long and
as it couldn’t export the Formule 1 model or launch a new chain,
it opted for an acquisition, the only way at the time to penetrate
this tough market. The acquisition was Motel 6. Although many
of its 550 motels had to be renovated, it was a reliable, prosper-
ous chain and above all, the owner of its motels. But very rapidly,
the economic crisis that struck the United States combined with
the mediocre management of the chain forced the confounders to
take radical steps. Georges Le Mener gave Motel 6 a shot in the
arm by reviewing Motel 6’s methods from A to Z. By his side were
Serge Ravailhe, Armand Sebban, the CFO, Emmet Gossen, David
O’Shaughnessy, Joe Wheeling, Carol Kirby and Jim Amorosia.
This team was strengthened a few years later by Patrick
Bourguignon, Bernard Rudler, Patrick Ollivier, Olivier Poirot and
others. The move was successful because the American chain
quickly recovered market shares and is the unquestionable leader
of the budget hotel business in the United States.
Daniel Coccoli and his team during

▼
the first anniversary of the Novotel

New York, United States, in 1985.
▼ A Motel 6 room. ▼ Motel 6.
At this point, one of the oddest and most incredible open-

ings in Accor’s history took place. The hotel in question was
the Novotel New York, built above a four-story building and
thwarted by the rather strong-armed actions of the powerful
New York unions. It took all of Daniel Coccoli’s presence of
mind and bravura to open and run this Novotel. In spite of his
best efforts, Accor didn’t manage to create a strong enough
Motel 6
▼
dynamic. And despite the breakthrough of Sofitel, the Group

Las Vegas, Nevada,
ran up against a market already filled by the major American United States.
groups. This is why the cofounders went back 10 years later
and attacked the economy hotel market by acquiring
Motel 6.
39
Always looking
further
The French touch luxury
dimension
▼
Sofitel Bora Bora Beach Resort,
▼
French Polynesia.
The temptation of leisure

For a hotel and service group, leisure activities are
a natural extension of the core businesses. This is
undoubtedly why the cofounders always looked very
closely at this sector in which they made investments to
varying degrees. The 1970s brought with them the “civi-
lization of leisure activities” and the beginning of the democ-
ratization of travel following in the wake of tour operators and
American airline charter companies. At this time, the Group
took its first steps in leisure with the Novotel in Oléron, hotels
On the left, the Sofitel sign, 1986. in Guadeloupe and Martinique, the Novotel in St. Gilles on
▼
Réunion island and, in the French Alps, the Novotel Val

▼
The Sofitel Salvador, Brazil.

Thorens and the Mercure in Courchevel. Novotel, which had
become Accor since the merger with the Jacques Borel
▼
La Voix du Nord,
September 18, 1980.
International group in 1983, acquired the tour operator
The acquisition of the Sofitel chain, run by Benjamin Cohen, Africatours. This purchase constituted a new direction in
from the Jacques Borel International (JBI) company in 1980, Accor’s hotel business policy, a direction, moreover, that the
allowed the Group to enter the very closed club of luxury entire hotel world took at the time: that of the leisure hotel
hotel chains, of which Sofitel was one of the stars. Later, in the business. From then on, the Group moved in lockstep with the
early 1990s, the exchange offer on Compagnie International enormous ramping up of new life-styles supported by more
des Wagons-Lits brought Accor very high-quality hotels such favorable labor legislation and the boom in the airline indus-
as the Old Cataract in Aswan, the Métropole in Hanoi as well try. Under the impetus of Jean-François Maljean and Jean-Luc
as hotels in Venice, Florence, Rome and Luxor. These hotels, Vernier, comanagers of leisure hotels, the Group opened
which were placed under the Sofitel banner, made it possible hotels in many seaside resorts in metropolitan France and
for the brand to have, throughout the world, an “address” that continued its growth in the French overseas departments and
meant comfort and prestige. In certain cities, the Sofitel hotel territories as well as abroad. The result was that employees
is even a central element in national life. In Dakar, as in many became real globe-trotters stationed in tourist paradises. This
of the capitals of emerging countries, Sofitel is an indispensa- was notably the case for the young manager Dominique
ble geographic, cultural and political point of reference… and Colliat, who spent a good part of her professional life island-
sometimes even an extension of the French embassy. hopping between the Novotels scattered like pearls in tropi-
cal seas.

40
▼
Sofitel Thalassa Quiberon, France.
Thalassa, the science of well-being

Thalassotherapy is not a vacation like any other. It is really linked to health-
care and makes it possible to get your body off to a new start. It is moreover
very much open to all types of clientele, from active senior citizens to
stressed-out executives or young mothers. The aesthetic dimension is
of course essential, and the Accor Thalassa training program has
become an international reference. It offers flawless expertise in
healthcare, perfect hotels and a dimension of pleasure and cul-
ture to boot. We are really far from the time of the wheeled
bathtubs filled with seawater of the nineteenth century in
which the patient immersed himself to treat his tubercu-
losis or melancholy…
Sofitel Thalassa Mogador,

▼
Essaouira, Morocco.
▼
Sofitel Cannes Mandelieu Royal

Casino, Mandelieu La Napoule,
France.
▼
Mercure Resort Sanur Bali,

Indonesia. New business lines
“Watch out for the core business strategy. It’s sometimes use- between a retirement home and a traditional hotel. Despite
ful to open up to other sectors and go in all directions to the very strict requirements of the healthcare sector, Hotelia,
broaden your expertise, even if it means that certain new which Olivier Weill ran for eight years, became the leading
activities become part of the core business and that others chain in this market segment, with 24 hotels. This capacity for
are sold off.” This viewpoint, expounded by Paul Dubrule, opening up to other realms, which is an essential element of
explains the many investments and initiatives in other activ- Accor, gives it a sharp nose for unearthing opportunities.
ities including, after the acquisition of JBI and later on the Always on the lookout and responsive to the market, it has
Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits, as well as the enabled the Group to buy or acquire a stake in outstanding
change in Accor’s perimeter starting in the 1980s. The result companies, as was the case with the Lucien Barrière group, the
was that several business lines were being handled in the leader of casinos in France, currently headed by Dominique
Group in the 1980s and 1990s. The opening to other busi- Desseigne and run by Sven Boinet. He is the very same Sven
nesses does not necessarily mean dispersion and two suc- Boinet who, when he joined the Group in 1987, as director of
cessful adventures in similar sectors prove it: Accor Thalassa the Presidents’ Bureau, examined Accor’s first acquisition of
and Hotelia. The latter saw the light of day in 1988 under the a stake in the Lucien Barrière group. He then ran Accor’s
responsibility of André Coeugnet. It is a hybrid, a cross hotel branch for 11 years.

41
▼
A Seafood Broiler restaurant,
in the United States in 1986.
▼
The Freetime restaurant in
the 1980s.
RESTAURANTS: from the simple to the sublime

“In terms of pure restaurant services, we’ve rarely reached managed food activity was called “Générale de
our goals,” Paul Dubrule and Gérard Pélisson admit. The Restauration”. But the love story with managed food serv-
cofounders, however, were no strangers to this activity sec- ices didn’t stop there and new chapters opened, including
tor, so close to yet so far from the hotel business. To be spe- when Roberto Cusin came on the scene. This Italian, who by
cific, it was managed food services that they didn’t succeed means of an exceptional career that began when he was
in mastering, because restaurants in hotels were born with 12 years old, became the leader of managed food services
the Group. The first Novotel, Lille Lesquin, already had a in Italy. His company, Gemeaz Cusin, and his purchasing
grill where you could eat a dish for 3.5 French francs and a group, Scapa Italia, managed several hundred restaurants in
hot meal for 15 French francs at the period. But it was the Italy at the time. With 70 million meals served a year at the
merger with the Jacques Borel International group in 1983 start of the twenty-first century, it remains a heavyweight in
that thrust the Group into the world of managed food serv- Italian managed food services. Roberto Cusin is Accor’s key-
ices. From that moment on, Accor had 1,500 restaurants stone in Italy where he has successfully opened many hotels
and 20 brands, among them, Arche, Chuck & Cheese, What and is developing the Ticket Restaurant activity.
a Burger, Seafood Broiler, Freetime and Pizza del Arte. This
Courtepaille, a recipe for success

The first Courtepaille restaurant was opened in 1961 in
Burgundy. Jean Loisier and his wife created this original
concept and used all their talent to develop it. The recipe
for success was simple: a traditional décor with a thatch
roof, inexpensive menus, quick service and restaurants
alongside major highways. All the ingredients were
appealing to Paul Dubrule and Gérard Pélisson who
Convention of the 100
Courtepaille managers
bought the chain with its 14 restaurants from the Loisier
to celebrate the opening family in 1973, after having observed it for a long time.
of the 100th restaurant Accor faithfully respected the original concept for a long
in Deauville, France,
1990. time and was rewarded with a resounding success as
▼ the chain’s restaurants passed the 100 mark.
Courtepaille was run by Philippe Brizon, who completely
rethought its concept, then by Gilles Pélisson, Hervé
Bertrand and André Motte. Courtepaille remained in the
Group until 2000, when it was acquired by its employ-
ees, …including a certain André Motte.
▼
From left to right, from top to bottom,
Marc Robino, Jacques Grandemanche,
Pierre Poirier and Gilles Pélisson in 1990.
42
The Lenôtre brand in Kuwait. Le Pré Catelan restaurant, Gaston Lenôtre.
▼ Paris, France. ▼ ▼
Lenôtre: creator of haute

gourmandise
If one were to choose a single word to evoke the excellence of tus, the unexpected and apparently impossible marriage of the
French gastronomy, that word would be Lenôtre. Born in 1920, Lenôtre tradition and Accor’s industrial power finally became
the pastry chef Gaston Lenôtre became the best of them. a reality. Some 20 years later, the wager has been hand-
Above all, he is known throughout the world. A great pastry somely won. Lenôtre continues to shine with 53 stores world-
chef, he is also an excellent businessman. Over the years, his wide and over 6,500 events catered each year throughout
small family firm became a thriving company present in the four the world. Who could brilliantly cater the Olympic Games, the
corners of the globe. His career took shape somewhat like that extraordinary wedding of the Indian magnate Mittal’s daugh-
of Paul Dubrule and Gérard Pélisson and this similarity had a ter, the 1998 World Soccer Cup or the America’s Cup?
great deal to do with their reciprocal understanding and their Lenôtre of course.
coming together in 1985. The know-how of this “goldsmith of taste” continues to con-
A genuine ambassador of France’s gastronomic heritage, quer new markets, in particular in the Middle East with
Lenôtre is a unique firm where superb craftsmanship is prac- Kuwait and Qatar, and in North Africa. Asia has not been
ticed on an industrial scale. So joining the Group was not an overlooked, with Japan and of course China, a market of the
obvious step. It took all the talent of Jean-Marc Simon, then future if ever there was one. The latest jewel to date in this
that of Patrick Scicard, the young hotel manager in whom the already splendid crown: one of Lenôtre’s young chefs,
founders had placed their trust, for this jewel of French gas- Frédéric Anton, at the helm of Le Pré Catelan restaurant in
tronomy to continue to sparkle internationally and perpetuate Paris, has just been awarded a third Michelin star. The won-
this creative tradition, the envy of the world. Under their impe- derful story continues.

43
A new wave
of conquest
Those who proclaimed at the end of the twentieth century
that there was nothing left to invent in the hotel business
were certainly short-sighted...
Just when the Group is celebrating its 40th anniversary, a
whole new chapter, intense and ambitious, is being written.
The innovation instinct demonstrated at the beginnings
remains more than ever necessary. The world market is
booming and requires an increased capacity for anticipation
and imagination.
To achieve this, Accor is now concentrating on its two historic
and strategic businesses: hotels and services. While keeping
its commercial synergies intact, Accor has sold Compass,
Carlson Wagonlit Travel, Go Voyages as well as some of its
stake in the Club Méditerranée.
The Group has set very ambitious growth objectives between
now and 2010. For the hotel business, renamed Accor
Hospitality, although the Accor brands offer the most com-
plete range on the market, a new dynamic and new offer-
▼
Mercure Paris Porte de
ings must constantly be launched. Today’s travelers are Versailles Expo, Vanves,
France.
increasingly “polymorphic” and multicultural: they may
want luxury one day and economy the next, coziness in a
city’s downtown area then contemporary design in a mega-
lopolis, authenticity then ultra functionality a day later…
The Group’s goal is to present a range of offerings that pro-
pose all these types of experiences and emotions by increas-
ing the brands’ potential or creating new ones. Imagining
▼
new concepts, getting the best out of existing brands, fitting The European flag.
in with new life-styles, adapting to new cultures – who says ▼

Paris La Défense, France.
there aren’t any new frontiers to conquer?
The rate of openings will double to reach 200,000 new hotel
rooms by 2010. Accor’s goal is to be the leader on the econ-
omy and middle range and to be a major actor in luxury and
upper upscale. These new ambitions concern all the brands
from Formule 1 to Sofitel, on all continents. Geographically,
the developing countries will have the leading role. Europe
will not be forgotten and 40% of all growth will be concen-
trated on the continent, thanks to its newfound dynamism
and under the direction, notably, of Philippe Adam, executive
vice-president Strategy and Hotel Development. Yann
Caillère, chief operating officer, Hotels southern Europe, the
Middle East and Africa and Sofitel operations, and Michael
Flaxman, chief operating officer, Hotels northern Europe,
will guide sustained development in their regions. In short,
the adventure continues.

44
▼
Ibis Tianjin, China.
Asia-Pacific,
the new growth driver
Even though the Asia-Pacific region only represented 10% of all Robert Murray, Vincent Lelay, Ernst Zimmermann, Gilles
hotels in 2007, it will be responsible for a third of the increase Larrivé and Zhang Shang-Zhi, who has supported the devel-
in new hotel rooms over the next three years. With over opment of Ibis since 2001. Didier Gros, one of the Group’s pio-
50,000 rooms being created, the number of hotels will leap neers, who officially retired and became the franchisee of a
from 300 in 2007 to over 500 in 2010. The Group’s resources, dozen hotels, is also taking an active part in the brand’s devel-
however, are equal to these ambitions. Under the command of opment in China. All the more so as the Group plans to open
David Baffsky and Michael Issenberg, teams are being 100 Ibis hotels there by 2010. Half the growth in the Asia-
strengthened to crisscross the region, find new opportunities Pacific region, the Group’s new Eldorado, concerns the
and open doors. Operating personnel and developers are economy segment. This growth is concentrated in China
already at work: in Asia, Gaurav Bhushan, Brian Deeson, (43%), Southeast Asia (25%) and India (15%). And in most
▼ Hong Kong, China.
Oswald Pichler, Gérard Guillouet, Patrick Basset; in China, cases, management contracts are signed.
A new economic model

for the hotel business
In 2006 and 2007, the Group developed and refined its new
economic model for the hotel business, under the impetus in
particular of Jacques Stern, who joined the Group in 1992,
and at 42 years old is now chief financial officer of Accor.
Pierre Todorov, the Group’s corporate secretary, also con-
tributes his expertise to complex legal arrangements. This
efficient model is built on strong brands for which Accor now
sells its know-how as operator, manager or franchiser. The
policy carried out since Novotel-SIEH was created has made
it all possible. Today, the new team has exceptional lever-
age : the property assets Accor has been amassing for the last
30 years. And this is all the more exceptional insofar as the
Group’s calling at present no longer includes being an owner
everywhere in the world. It is moreover the right moment to
manage on a case-by-case basis with holding methods tai-
lored to the particular features of each local market.
Flexibility is the golden rule and there is a marked contrast in
situations from one continent to the other. In Africa, the
Middle East and Asia, management prevails whereas sub-
sidiaries are in the majority in budget hotels and in particu-
lar in North America. In Europe, there is greater balance even
if the subsidiary remains the usual management model.

45
The brands make a powerful return
The key to future successes entails more visible, stronger, more the expectations of a different clientele that was in quest of new
attractive and complementary brands. Over time and with experiences. Typically, these customers made apparently con-
their growth, the brands’ territories were sometimes super- tradictory choices, such as eating at a prestigious restaurant
imposed and the borders crossed. The result was occasionally while sleeping in a Formule 1. So a major repositioning was
confusion for the customer. What was required was a new undertaken. This was notably the case for Mercure with the cre-
organization, a new road map and a strategic marketing ation of the M Gallery label, but for also for Sofitel, the
department that set the course and revved the engines Group’s showcase, which started to transform itself to become
because the stakes were high. Its job was also to better decipher the reference in the luxury arena. This approach went hand in
hand with the relaunch of the Formule 1, Ibis and Novotel
brands through innovation, design and communication, and
the creation of new brands in the Accor galaxy: All Seasons and
the new nonstandardized 2-star brand, in Europe, and
Pullman, will occupy the top-of-the-range segment in between
Sofitel and Novotel. These brand creations, coupled with the
repositioning of the other brands, arm Accor with an offering
that is complete and unique on the market.
Pullman Paris Porte de Sèvres, France.

▼
Pullman, Xanadu Resort, Hangzhou, China. ▼
▼
F1 prototype room.
Ibis room.
▼
All Seasons,
“All is all you need”
After the successful launching of Suitehotel in 1999, there
Innovation at the core was a lull in Accor’s brand creation. With the announcement
of the development of All Seasons, innovation has made a
Luxury: when Sofitel sets the tone
strong comeback. The future European network of nonstan-
There’s been a revolution in luxury. More cosmopolitan, not
dardized economy hotels located in the downtown area of
as concerned with price, the luxury clientele has dramatically
cities and major activity centers, a brand already operating in
changed in the last few years. Baby boomers’ children no
Australia, will group together small independent hotels
longer want to reproduce their elders’ codes with a stereo-
around four key values: simplicity, an all-inclusive offer, qual-
typed view of the very top-of-the-range hotel. Today, every
ity of services and products guaranteed by a very strong com-
moment must be a unique experience. The repositioning of
mitment, conviviality with a very warm welcome, a dedicated
the Sofitel brand is underway. A network of luxurious, chic
space and lastly, interactivity with among other features, Wi-
and contemporary hotels with the “French touch” is being
Fi Internet connections and flat screens. The counterpart of Ibis
formed for a clientele in quest of exceptional moments. Two
on the nonstandardized segment, All Seasons will combine the
versions have been created: Legend, a collection of unique,
welcome and cachet of independent hotels and Accor’s secu-
hotels like the Métropole in Hanoi, Vietnam, and the Winter
rity and know-how. The goal is to create a network of
Palace in Luxor, Egypt, and So by Sofitel, for young urban
200 hotels in five European countries by 2010, and over
nomads, that feature the most contemporary trends in archi-
20,000 rooms. Bon voyage, All Seasons!
tecture, design and high-tech.
▼
All Seasons prototype rooms.

▼
Pullman, a new definition of comfort
Luxury isn’t the only thing that has changed: those who like
top-of-the-range hotels in major international cities for their
business trips, meetings and seminars will be delighted.
Warm, convivial, cabled and equipped with spacious lobbies
and business centers, this hotel network, planned for 2008,
should have 300 hotels by 2015.
M Gallery, hotels with a history

There are hotels that have a soul. It is because of their pres-
tigious past, their unique atmosphere and their singular
location that Mercure decided to bring them together under
the banner of the M Gallery, “the finest of Mercure”. In the
longer term, about 40 remarkable hotels will come under
this new designation, including Le Grand Hôtel in Cabourg,
France.

47
Citizens of the world
NEVER BEING
“handicapped by experience”…
At Accor, no one is predestined to do a given job or follow a tral level, Volker Büring, then Cathy Kopp in 2002. There are
given profession for life. Careers and destinies are decided by innumerable examples. Among the most emblematic are
circumstances, talent and perseverance. Moreover, Paul Evelyne Chabrot who started as a housekeeper in the United
Dubrule and Gérard Pélisson didn’t even consider going into Kingdom and who is now human resources director for
the hotel business, which they knew absolutely nothing Europe, Africa and the Middle East; Rose Lakoussan, a cham-
about at the start. One of them was thinking about mass mar- bermaid, then an international trainer before becoming the
ket distribution, the other had turned to a career at IBM. owner of her hotel in Thiers, France; Danielle Gillot, a recep-
More than a thought-out strategy, this approach first of all tionist then a manager of a Mercure; Dominique Combriat, a
meets a need. The cofounders have always recruited by receptionist who worked as a temp and is now also a manager
instinct and often to deal with an emergency situation. Most of a Mercure; Nagui Nafoual who was barely 17 years old
of all, they don’t have any preconceptions. They put their when he joined Accor and who successively ran several
trust more in people, in personalities, than in diplomas. That Sofitels in Qatar and North Africa before changing continents
is why they have no hesitation in turning over major respon- and becoming Sofitel’s regional manager in Latin America.
sibilities to young people right out of hotel schools. They Even today, the career paths of young hires can be amazing.
haven’t regretted their choices because most of this young You can be a young graduate from the prestigious
graduates have had brilliant careers. Lastly, they don’t put Polytechnique like Anne Dérégnaucourt and put your all into
people in boxes. People move and are often strongly encour- becoming a hotel manager or go from the legal department
aged to do so, from one continent to another, from the hotel to that of service development like Victoria Bagdassarian
business to the service business, from operations to support who now crisscrosses Central and Eastern Europe. In short,
jobs and vice-versa. Career paths have suddenly taken dif- there is no career path set in stone or fixed levels to sur-
ferent directions, crossed and intersected under the impetus mount. Employees hold their destinies in their own hands.
of the two successive human resources directors on the cen-

48
“The first equality
is diversity.”
Victor Hugo, Les Misérables.
Any traveler who has ever had a real encounter

with another culture knows that, as a result, his
identity has been changed, in the best sense of
the term. This idea of a cultural mosaic whose
elements are enriched without being altered
perfectly defines the Accor Group. With over
20,000 employees who change professions or
countries each year, hotels where sometimes
over 40 different nationalities, cultures and reli-
gions work side by side, projects that blossom in
a Swiss village or on the Chinese plains, it is an
authentic melting pot. This is because the
blending of cultures and ideas is at least as
important as that of the products. Accor, in its
human resources policy, has made diversity and
mobility a master word, dear to Cathy Kopp,
executive vice-president of human resources for
Accor, personally involved as a member of the
High Authority of the Battle against
Discrimination and for Equality (HALDE).
Cathy Kopp is supported in this approach at
Accor by Gérald Ferrier, in charge of social pol-
icy and diversity.
Schools not like any other
Near the temples of Angkor, in Siem Reap, Cambodia, a mod-
ern structure stretches out over more than 2,000 sq.m. [20,000
sq.ft.] with four model rooms and ultra-sophisticated kitchens.
There aren’t any tourists here but a hotel school created by
Paul Dubrule in 2002 that he inaugurated after an odyssey on
a bicycle of 15,272 km [9,490 miles] from Fontainebleau in
France to Siem Reap by way of Tibet. Since the opening, over
500 young Cambodians have benefited with concrete and
immediately operational training in the region or elsewhere.
Another school, another objective: by setting up, with Paul
Bocuse, an institute of the same name in partnership with the
University of Lyon, Gérard Pélisson was responsible for the
opening of the first hotel school in Europe that awards high-
level diplomas in hotel management and the culinary arts.
This school is headed by Hervé Fleury, who previously
worked in the Group.
49
Accor Academy, Evry, France.
▼
How to cultivate open-mindedness:
a day at the Accor Academy in Evry
Accor has its own university in Evry, in the Paris suburbs,
complete with a lush green campus. The brick and white
cement façade of the Accor Academy stands out among the
Group’s hotels. It is an experimentation site that is at the
cutting edge of training methods. But at the beginning, the
training had been designed to be “nomadic”, a small team of
trainers went from one hotel to another, depending on needs
and openings, before the cofounders decided to have a real
campus built.
Trainees in sweaters and jeans mix with the battalions of
executives in dark gray suits in the Academy’s lobby. Out of
the 20,000 people trained every year, there are of course,
employees in the hotel business, but also chefs, administra-
tive personnel, service specialists, échansons who are intro-
duced to the Mercure wine menu… The training offering
covers a host of areas and every employee has access to it.
Rooms with a contemporary design, restaurants, gymnasiums
and relaxation spaces: everything has been provided to make
the training sessions pleasant, especially as the rule here is to
try to make learning fun. The first corporate university to
open in Europe in the service field, the Academy came into
being in 1985, after the merger between Novotel-SIEH and
Jacques Borel International two years earlier. A global cor-
porate culture had to be instilled, and industrial hotel tech-
niques transmitted to new arrivals from very different
horizons.
Today, the Accor Academy has made a name for itself with its
14 training institutes around the world and qualifies nearly
170,000 employees a year. It has become a reference and
many companies use its teachings to train their employees in
the reception and service areas.

50
Immersion in the Team Lab
Lakor is one of the Leti islands of Indonesia, at the tip of East thing without the people who use them.” Once the roles are
Timor. The Mambo mineralogy and marine biology module given out: “Action.” Dressed in orange jumpsuits, half the
frequently sails on its crystal-clear waters. The reason is that module’s team goes through the decontamination hatch
right next to the “Roaring Forties” – huge winds that blow while the rest sit down in front of the monitoring station’s
from the 40th parallel, Accor runs an imaginary underwater screens. Two people in charge of “radio communication”
factory for breeding John Dory fish. One hundred meters must contact the Mambo from the monitoring station.
[394 ft.] down, on an ocean crest, an ecosystem that comes Tension mounts… In the Nautilus reminiscent of Jules Verne,
from a marine source supplies the food chain that feeds this men and women dressed in orange fasten their seatbelts
royal fish. But today, the factory’s parameters are out of kil- because it will be a rough ride. The submarine goes under.
ter. The ecosystem between Jakarta and Sydney is in danger. Everything starts to shake…
The Mambo team has just three days to act. If not, it’s the end. A hallucinatory scenario? A regressive game? Beneath its
This week, the supervisory team of an Ibis hotel has to deal entertaining exterior, the Team Lab is a formidable tool for
with lack of oxygen, fuel running out, the loss of financial improving teamwork. For three days, the managers of the
resources, shellfish that stick to the propellers and other Ibis exchange roles, break down hierarchies, and learn to
imminent disasters. Dominique Bouffier, head of the project cooperate better together. They have to overcome their weak
and inventor of Team Lab, has told them: “The most impor- points and strengthen their cohesion to save the marvelous
tant resource is you. Technical resources don’t mean any- world of red fish languishing 8° below the equator.

51
As a (provisional) conclusion:
“We must confront reality
with a bit of humor, if not,
we miss something.”
Lawrence Durrell
ACCOR, MORE SOPHISTICATED THAN THE ANTS:

– WE HAVE TWO QUEENS!!!
– THE ONLY THING THAT ISN’T MODERN

DESIGN IS THE CUSTOMER!
– LET’S SUM UP: YOU HAVE GERMANS IN

– COME IN! IT’S REALLY BEAUTIFUL INSIDE! SPAIN, ITALIANS IN AMERICA, JAPANESE
IN FRANCE, AND ACCOR EVERYWHERE!

52
CAREER PLAN
– YOU ARE HERE
– OR THERE
– OR REALLY HERE
– OR STILL HERE
– THERE
NO REST FOR THE BERNACLES

40 YEARS
– ENCORE! ENCORE! ENCORE!
– I REMEMBER SEEING THEM AT THEIR BEGINNING!
– STILL IN ON IT!
– AS YOUNG AS EVER! HOW DO THEY DO IT?
– IT’S A PROFESSION!
– THEY’VE REALLY KNOWN HOW TO ADAPT!
POWER OF THE NETWORK

– WE HAVE 2,800 ROOMS…
CRAZY, ISN’T IT?
– I JUST WANT ONE!!!
– WE HAVE TWO PRESIDENTS AT ACCOR:
ONE FOR EACH SIDE OF THE BRAIN!!!
WE’RE KEEPING THE BERNACLES! All these illustrations are by GABS.

– WE’RE STAYING! WE’RE STAYING! WE’RE STAYING!
– DON’T GET WORKED UP GÉRARD!

53
LIFE-STYLES, WORKING STYLES
In the 1950s, the world of work started to change in an impressive
fashion. As is often the case, companies were the first bastions of these
new trends. In truth, all of society changed with the expansion of the
continuous workday, the increase in the number of women working, the
gradual rise in the distance between the home and the workplace, the
blurring of lines between professional life and personal life, etc. New
“working styles” had to be invented for these new life-styles. And this
became Accor’s second business line, a service business so close,
so linked to our daily lives that it naturally developed in the Group.
▼ In the 1960s, the first open spaces appeared

in offices.
ACCOR LIFE-STYLES, WORKING STYLES

56
SEPTEMBER 1967,
Paris, National
Assembly
While construction of the first Novotel was being completed,
monopolizing all of Paul Dubrule and Gérard Pélisson’s
attention, General Charles de Gaulle’s government passed a
law that would change the face of Accor a few years later. But
the founders were not aware of this at the time. According to
the law, a company could now substitute Ticket Restaurant
(meal vouchers) for mandatory lunches at the company din-
ing room, benefiting from the same tax incentives. It was a
simple system, but someone had to think of it.
▼
The Luncheon Voucher, the first meal voucher,
invented in the United Kingdom, in the 1950s.
A little ticket, a big idea

An idea that came from elsewhere…
It all started in the United Kingdom in the 1950s. An English
physician invented the principle of the meal ticket, the
Luncheon Voucher, the first of its kind in the world. The system:
an issuing company sells the meal tickets to firms that them-
selves sell them to their employees at a lower price. The
employees then have lunch in restaurants near their company
that are affiliated with the system. This simple principle is win-
win… The final step: the restaurants are reimbursed by the
issuing company for the tickets used.
LIFE-STYLES, WORKING STYLES ACCOR

57
An unexpected encounter…
Nothing really predisposed Accor to developing this serv-
ice activity. When Novotel merged with Jacques Borel
International, the Group encountered services somewhat
by chance, and, it must be admitted, without any real
enthusiasm at the beginning. Quickly, Paul Dubrule and
Gérard Pélisson saw a real interest in it: its capacity to
improve the Group’s cash flow. This was only one of the
dimensions of that celebrated complementarity between
Accor’s two businesses, two businesses with different
cycles, two businesses that operated inversely from a
capitalistic viewpoint, but two businesses that require
outstanding skills in marketing and sales. As for these
skills, the cofounders turned them into formidable
weapons that they constantly honed…
Before the Tickets Restaurant, lunch was often a problem,
▼
between the old-fashioned company lunch room and lunchbox.
Epic beginnings…
Jean-Marc Loustalet, a figure at Accor Services and pioneer of
Tickets Restaurant sales at Jacques Borel International, remem-
bers his baptism by fire in the Rhônes-Alpes region. His first
customer was a notary’s office… with all of five users. The con-
text was difficult at the time. Very few companies, apart from
banks, had a continuous work day and employees still went
home for lunch, especially outside the Paris area. The product
was new and some people were even suspicious about it.
Information on companies was hard to obtain and there were
no data bases or any other sophisticated tools at the period.
The only sales technique was the old-fashioned one, knock-
ing on doors. So salesmen, carrying with them a simple
brochure, an order form and a price list, crisscrossed France.
Gradually, there were signs of change: lunch hours got
shorter, fewer and fewer people went home for lunch with the
expansion of the continuous workday and employees got
tired of bringing their own meals to the factory and office.
Women entered the job market en masse, which radically
affected the family’s organization.
Lastly, suburbs cropped up at lightning speed, the highway
system expanded and the distances between home and the
workplace lengthened. At the same time, the Jacques Borel
International group opened agencies so that sales reps would
be closer to their customers. The first contracts were signed
with social institutions and supermarkets, which were
expanding exponentially. A dynamic took shape, a new busi-
ness was being structured…

58
A precursor’s vision
An iconoclastic stance
Hidden behind the image of the financial middle man, there
was a new vision of society that Accor has been developing.
Between the various economic stakeholders – the state, local
administrations, companies and employees – there were The first Tickets Restaurant in Latin America.
▼
“cracks” in the mechanism, social needs that no organization
could really meet. A third party, Accor Services, could however
provide a genuine added benefit for everyone by proposing a
global and totally personalized solution.
The Ticket Restaurant principle was a perfect example. It has
certainly given employees real freedom to eat lunch where
they want. But this freedom has been only a small part of
the benefits.
▼
A lunch box, in the United States
in the 1960s.
Grocery store in Buenos Aires, ▼
Argentina.
Restaurant in Los Roques ▼
archipelago, in the Venezuela.
An economic and social accelerator

With the Ticket Restaurant, the employee can eat outside the versions, serves as a social and economic regulator. This is
workplace and almost anywhere he liked, at a reasonable notably the case for one of its first variations, the Ticket
price as his employer pays part of the cost of the meal. The Alimentation in Latin America. It permitts employees to buy
employer sees a dual benefit as it receives fiscal and social food products and therefore feed whole families… All the
exemptions and contributes to employee satisfaction. There new tickets created will serve both an economic and social
is the increase in purchasing power and wealth creation, but function, simultaneously stimulating employment, fighting
also the forging of a new link between the employee and the against the black market and helping to create social and
company. As a sociologist who is an observer of corporate intergenerational links and fulfill needs that the state or fam-
life mentions, the Ticket Restaurant is often one of the only ilies can no longer meet.
tangible objects that the employee always has with him and This challenge is not obvious for a multinational, and it is a
when colleagues have lunch together, they often discuss their real challenge in itself because it assumes major societal
respective amounts… responsibilities, precise and subtle analysis and creativity.
The Ticket Restaurant also helps support demand and there- And Accor Services’ business, before selling a service, almost
fore growth. Above all, the Ticket Restaurant, like its later has to invent it.

59
▼
Montevideo, Uruguay.
Terrace of a restaurant, Rio de Janeiro,

Brazil. ▼
When there is no law
If the hotel business had to “shake up” institutions and reg-

ulatory bodies in order to create most of its brands, Services
did as much, if not more, because it is frequently the laws, and
even the Labor Code in France, for example, that must be
adapted in order to put these services into practice. There Young Poles, Krakow, Poland.
▼
are still countries like Russia where there are no meal vouch- Shopping center, Budapest, Hungary. ▼
ers because there are no appropriate laws regulating them.
This is a new dimension of a service business where you have
to, above all, create the right political and legislative condi-
tions before devoting yourself to the “heart of the business”
– sales. How many other companies ask their teams to be, in
turn, sociologist, trend analyst, lobbyist, economist, legal
advisor, salesperson… to say nothing of occasionally being a
pioneer, handyman or mover?

60
From fieldwork
to adventure-seeking…
Commando operations
The passion for selling is indispensable because the men and
women of Accor Services have worked laboriously under
conditions that would certainly have discouraged the faint-
hearted.
“Finding good men and women, trusting them, making their

talent bear fruit, motivating them morally and financially,
congratulating them, using them to their best abilities, pro-
moting them” is the philosophy of John Du Monceau, the
head of Accor Services. The decisive role played by the teams
in the development of the Ticket Restaurant explains the
attention paid to the personnel in the framework of field-
work where obstacles abound. Because if this ingenious
product is a raw but precious nugget, it would have stayed
that way without the efforts of a handful of “goldsmith-sales-
people”. These men and women, most of whom came from
Jacques Borel International, include Firmin Antonio, Jean-
Louis Claveau, Graziella Gavezotti, Jean-Marc Loustalet,
Robert Lugo, Philippe Bertinchamps, Robert Bardoux, Hervé
▼ Jeanson, Bernard Rongvaux, Oswaldo Melantonio and of
La Mano, sculpture in the Playa Brava, Punta del Este, Uruguay.
course John Du Monceau. During the 1980s and 1990s, they
tirelessly cleared the way in new countries and thus played an
important role in Accor’s international opening. Their tools
were their own qualities, that is, the consummate art of
developing precious relational networks in each country
where they set foot, an unquestionable talent for sales,
enthusiasm and unlimited commitment, daring and a taste for
Shopping street in Bucharest, Romania. ▼ adventure worthy of the developers who put enormous effort
into Accor’s hotel business. Their teams consisted of them-
selves, sometimes a secretary, sometimes their own families
as they were settling in, like that developer who wound up in
Latin America with his wife in a trailer with a telephone and
fax.
Their favorite places were Western Europe and Latin America
in the 1980s and the United States then Central Europe in the
1990s. Later, they went to India, South Africa, China and
Australia...
The reward for “clearing land” was enormous freedom of
action. When international expansion was at its height, the
Group was in such ferment that everyone had carte blanche,
or nearly so. This freedom of the early years allowed this
group of men and women, who operated like a commando,
to build an “empire” of services in South America.

61
▼
International Ticket Restaurant seminar in the presence
of Gérard Pélisson in Mexico City in 1986, Mexico.
Young people on the South American continent have greater

social expectations, especially about the family and children.
John Du Monceau,
the Ticket Restaurant man
John Du Monceau’s name is inseparable from that of the
Ticket Restaurant. A formidable salesmen, an excep-
tional teacher and an unequaled manager, John Du
Monceau was responsible for making Ticket Restaurant
sales explode throughout the world. A charismatic fig-
ure, sometimes feared for his angry outbursts but above
all admired for his incredible dynamism, he crisscrossed
the entire world to create the Accor Services network in
35 countries. He especially succeeded in placing Accor
Services in a growth dynamic, and making public author-
ities everywhere in the world aware of the challenges of
society and the solutions provided by service vouchers.
▼ When his contacts were rather cool to his proposals, his
John Du Monceau.
enthusiasm and faith wound up convincing them. One of
his favorite success stories is the purchase of Luncheon
Vouchers in the United Kingdom, following tough negoti-
ations with the founders. Beaten in the “first round” by
Sodexho, the sellers finally called him back a month later
and Accor Services clinched the deal for 10% less!

62
▼
A mother and her children and a grocery store in Peru.
▼
The first Brazilian Tickets Restaurant.
▼
Firmin Antonio, on the cover of Inauguration of the Tickets Restaurant
▼
Brasil TravelNews, in 1998. production unit, in the presence of
Firmin Antonio, in Brazil in 1988.
Development in Europe was also the result of meeting with From one continent to another
uncommon personalities. Roberto Cusin, that Italian with studied in the 1980s. The Mexican market was the first one
his extraordinary career path, handled development of the opened in 1981, with Robert Lugo, followed by Argentina,
Ticket Restaurant in Italy, as well as its managed food serv- taking advantage of a relative economic liberalization. This
ices to become the national leader. When he arrived in market performed extremely well and encouraged the Group
France at the age of 16, Firmin Antonio was spotted by to go into Uruguay, Chile, Colombia and Venezuela.
Jacques Borel himself who had lent him a small house in Farther north, in Venezuela, another figure from Accor
Vaucresson, not far from Paris, in exchange for a few hours of Services was breaking ground: Jean-Marc Loustalet, one of the
work by his mother in his own residence. Antonio’s brilliant first Ticket Restaurant salesmen in France. He arrived in
career started at this point. His professional adventures Venezuela in 1990 with his whole family and a million dol-
began in 1973 in Portugal, with the creation of the first lars to open up this country that he was told was calm. Eight
Ticket subsidiary outside France. An outstanding salesmen, years and two coups d’état later, he left it to open the
he successfully sold the Ticket Restaurant there. When the Romanian market. Between time, “el señor de los tickets”,
“Carnation Revolution” broke out, Jacques Borel sent him to as he was nicknamed, succeeded with his teams after inten-
Brazil in 1976. His mission was to introduce this original and sive lobbying to change local legislation. His first customers
popular French-born product to other latitudes. Over thirty were the Electricidad de Caracas company and Procter &
years later, he is still exercising his extraordinary talents, Gamble Venezuela. Today, over 800,000 employees use
with a solid team, Oswaldo Melantonio, Laurent Gachet, Accor Services in this country. From Caracas, he next opened
Alejandro Engel, Martin Arrosa, Laurent Pellet and Gilles Colombia. In all these countries and each and every time,
Coccoli, but now as chief operating officer of Accor in Latin these men started from scratch. They had to create a company,
America. Unquestionably, Firmin Antonio was in the right put together a team, develop a network and above all, get
place at the right time. In the meantime, the Ticket favorable legislation passed. This meticulous work takes
Restaurant had become a national institution in Brazil, an months, sometimes years. But thanks to the talents of these
institution in motion that constantly innovated by creating exceptional individuals, their efforts were very often
new products, making Brazil a real growth driver for the rewarded. The result was that Accor Services had gotten a
Accor Group. It was Firmin Antonio who brought Jean-Louis very strong foothold in Latin America by the end of the
Claveau to Brazil in 1978. The two men shared the same pas- 1980s. This continent has even become the second stronghold
sions: Brazil and selling. Jean-Louis Claveau was a dedicated of Accor Services, with nearly 40% of its revenue generated
pioneer in this country where he spent a great part of his life. there. As for Jean-Marc Loustalet, he left for Central Europe
He was successively, head of sales, sales and marketing direc- in 1998. After Caracas, he started off in Vienna and then
tor and director of operations. A network of about 20 sub- went on to Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic, Romania
sidiaries was created in this country 15 times larger than and Slovakia. There is however a promising new market to
France. In 1988, when he left Brazil, Accor Services had win – Russia, with its nearly 160 million inhabitants all look-
more than one million users. All the markets were carefully ing for better living and well-being.

63
The tough business of convincing…
Whatever the cultural context, lobbying is a noble business increase the Bulgarian budget deficit. During the negotia-
in which you have to master the art of convincing and be tions, Gérard Pélisson and John Du Monceau met the prime
constantly vigilant. If Accor Services’ contacts in each coun- minister and the former king Simeon at a private audience.
try are officials in social affairs and labor departments in the When the latter told them about the pressure from the IMF,
government as well as the finance ministry, responsible for a Accor’s cofounder dared to reply: “But your Majesty, who’s the
balanced budget, the political instability of certain regions and boss in Bulgaria?” Things have not really changed and today
the irrationality of certain regimes can make matters the young employees who work on new markets such as
extremely complicated. Each time, the Accor teams’ mission Victoria Bagdassarian in Russia, Hervé Combal in Latin
was to convince the powers that be that Accor Services America, Arnaud Erulin in Central Europe, Koray Ozbay in
would be a driver for the country’s progress and develop- Turkey, Laurent Delmas in the United Kingdom, Stéphane
ment. John Du Monceau remembers that it was particularly Eard in Portugal, Laurent Thérezien in France and Thomas
difficult to convince the decision-makers in Australia, Beurthey in Australia know that every day is a perpetual bat-
Bulgaria, China, India, Sweden and the United States. tle. Nothing is ever definitively won: the teams still bitterly
Whereas the Bulgarian government decided to pass the remember a certain government choosing a state monopoly
exemption law for the Tickets Restaurant, the International to create vacation checks whereas the whole Group had
Monetary Fund (IMF) was opposed to it as it did not want to worked night and day on the project.
The major dates of the international rollout

1954 Creation of the “Luncheon Vouchers” concept in the United Kingdom by John Hack
1962 Launch of the Ticket Restaurant in France
1967 Passing of the decree governing the functioning of meal vouchers in France
1976 Creation of the Ticket Restaurant in Brazil, Italy, Belgium, Germany, Spain and
Portugal
1981 Launch of the Ticket Restaurant in Mexico, then in all of Latin America
1982 Purchase of the Luncheon Voucher company in the United Kingdom
1989 Creation of Childcare Vouchers in the United Kingdom
1991 Purchase of Rikskuponger in Sweden
1992 Launch of the Ticket Restaurant in Turkey
1993 Launch of the Ticket Restaurant in Czech Republic, then the rollout in Central
Europe
1997 Launch of the Ticket Restaurant in the Netherlands, Poland and India ▼
2005 Launch of the Ticket Restaurant in South Africa, the first country in Africa Restaurant in Shanghai, China.
2007 Accor Services present in 38 countries
Fierce competition
▼ The Accor Services team, Paris, France. One of the reasons for Paul Dubrule’s initial hesitation about the Tickets
Restaurant was that they were theoretically easy to illicitly reproduce.
Appearances are deceptive and the business seen from the outside was
enticing and profit seemed easy to make. If Accor is the world leader, the
Group nonetheless has to face hard-core competitors. It has to constantly
distinguish itself, prove that it is more reactive, more inventive. And it is
here that one of the Group’s major strengths takes on all its meaning:
continually getting to know its customers better, understanding societies
better, constantly being on the lookout for opportunities and improve-
ments.
“It’s not by chance that there are only two major competitors worldwide,”
Serge Ragozin, who now runs Accor Services, analyzes. “It’s not enough
to have the financial resources needed, services aren’t a niche market.
There’s a subtle alchemy between the sellers and the customers, with
whom we have totally personalized relations. We don’t sell a standard
product, it’s always customized. Another basic quality is knowing how to
balance interests that are theoretically opposed. Lastly, we totally trust our
teams and our reactivity is unbeatable.”

64
▼
Accor Services, Paris, France.
Understanding societies
undergoing change…
The world isn’t our village
One of the keys to understanding Accor Services is the
“cultural immersion” the teams undergo throughout the
world. Local realities are so politically subtle that proximity
isn’t just a quality, it’s an absolute necessity…
When Jean-Marc Loustalet set up from scratch, for the
municipality in Bogota, Colombia, an exchange operation,
Tickets Alimentation against weapons held by individuals,
we are very far from the pacific fiscal and sophisticated
Ticket Restaurant arguments in industrialized countries. But
the urgency of the situation was evident. In a society held
hostage by violence, reducing the number of weapons in
civilian hands was vital.
Ever attentive to daily life, the teams identify the paradoxes
to be solved: How can you sell Tickets Restaurant for Private life – professional life:
employees in emerging countries when their families don’t when the lines blur
have enough money to buy food? How can you support the
increase in women in the workforce in countries where chil- In industrialized countries, one of the greatest changes in
dren only go to school a few hours a day? This sociological the last decade is certainly the blurring of the lines between
and economic watch is the preliminary step in any innova- work and private life. New technologies make it possible to
tion… choose between several “offices”, to more freely manage
That is how the Chèque Estudante was created in Portugal to your time, to communicate from home to the company or
cover the tuition of employees’ children, the Wellness Ticket vice-versa, to manage family problems from your office. But
in Hungary to facilitate the access of employees to healthcare above all, employees’ aspirations have changed: people no
and well-being products and services in a country where the longer want to choose between investing themselves profes-
government is trying to strengthen its public health policy, the sionally and having a more satisfying personal life. It is no
Ticket Transport in the United States to partially cover longer taboo to talk about well-being and health at the work-
employees’ transportation expenses. place. Moreover, all the studies have come to the same con-
The new products now generate nearly a third of the clusion: efficiency goes hand in hand with serenity, which is
Services’ revenus. Even in the countries where Accor Services perhaps due to the innovative demands of women at work…
has been established for a long time, growth possibilities Services are gaining a strong foothold in both the company
seem unlimited, whether in the development of existing and everyday life. Precious tools for human resources spe-
services or the introduction of new products. Isn’t Accor Latin cialists and managers, they concretely simplify the daily life
America’s ambition to make the Ticket Car its flagship prod- of employees torn between the demands of their professional
uct in the near future? life and their search for leisure. The change in family struc-

65
tures – two-salary households, single parent families – com-
bined with the increase in stress at work, does not make it easy
to calmly balance personal and professional life. However, this
search combined with that of personal development is now
commonplace. Service vouchers have proved to be an excel-
lent solution. Childcare, transportation, gifts, dry-cleaning,
concierge service, household help, etc., the services con-
stantly reinvent themselves through innovative solutions.
This is notably the goal of “Bien-Être à la Carte”, which offers
service programs designed on request according to the par-
ticular needs of each company and the wishes of each
employee. Today, the explosion of personal services, in par-
ticular with the Tickets CESU in France and the Ticket
Service in Belgium, constitutes an unprecedented grass roots
movement. The mascot Gustino.
▼
There is a salutary rule that Henry Ford did not hesitate to
apply: the simpler the employees’ life, the better they work
Even the good old Ticket Restaurant is moving…
and the more efficient the company. Entering the new millennium was accompanied in certain
countries by a new concern: not only must employees eat at
lunchtime, but they must also eat healthy food. When a
balanced diet became a public health issue in Western
nations, the Accor teams used their imagination to help
transform the Ticket Restaurant into a means of fighting obe-
sity. The idea of creating a dietetic Ticket Restaurant
accepted only in restaurants that offered a balanced
menu made its way into people’s minds, especially in France,
Belgium, Sweden and the Czech Republic. Ticket Restaurant
has already developed an ambitious nutritional program
aimed at helping people have a balanced diet. If consumers
want to find it, all they have to do is look for the now famous
mascot Gustino on the menu of each restaurant that is a part-
ner in the program. The mascot guarantees that the dishes
offered fit in with a healthy, well-balanced diet.

66
Times are changing…
▼
The Accor Services cards.
No matter how attached we are to that small book of col-
ored paper tickets, times are changing. With the arrival of
new technologies, after Brazil, the Ticket Alimentation has
even become electronic in most of South America. In the
United Kingdom, the Ticket Childcare is marketed and han-
dled through the Internet. In France the Ticket CESU has a
Web site. And this is just the beginning: a quarter of all Accor
Services transactions are now electronic. With bankcards,
Internet and cell phones, the future of Services has a clear
path ahead of it. The digitizing of all the services through
the use of smart cards has already begun. Unquestionably,
technologies are one of the keys to future performance…
In the heart of life

Childhood, dependence, the habitat, healthcare: personal
services concern these four major areas each of which has a
host of needs: childcare, tutoring, homecare, mobility assis-
tance, animal care and dog walking, meal preparation and
delivery, computer and Internet assistance, household work,
administrative help – the list is endless. In France, the law
on personal services gave birth to the promising CESU
(universal service employment check). A key to directly ben-
efiting from personal services, this prepaid check is issued
by Accor Services. Its objective is to pay the least amount for
a gamut of personal services financed by the company for
its employees. The company is exempt from fiscal and social
charges, the employees receive a tax deduction and the gov-
ernment has a new weapon against unemployment by wag-
ing a battle against clandestine labor. Working styles have
more or less stayed the same but our life-styles undergo
incessant change and the Accor teams are already studying
those of the coming generations. We told you there would be
a new adventure every minute!

67
If we pay attention to what is around us, we can spot Accor Services’ red
ball almost everywhere: on our tickets of course, but also on a grocery
store window in Salvador de Bahia, Brazil, a pizzeria on the Via Veneto in
Rome, Italy, or a modest food stall in Shanghai, China. This red ball is a sign
of the city, a sign of life that shares our daily activities. This simple but
evocative symbol invites us to imagine its universe.
Four artists agreed to play the game for us. They were given carte blanche
to interpret the celebrated red ball in their own way. Dreamlike or poetic,
but always surprising, these original creations are an invitation to travel…
Jacques de Loustal
Yusuko
Laurent Parienty
François Supiot
Biographies
Jacques de Loustal was born in Paris in 1956. He
works as an illustrator for advertising and the
press and constantly travels as well. He has created
a universe of beautiful but sorrowful villas and
sumptuously dilapidated seaside resorts. The
strength of his setting, the freedom of his style
have imposed a new tone in comic books. He has a
host of talents: illustration for the press, silk
screens, lithographs, posters, paintings and chil-
dren’s books. His original prints and his paintings
are frequently exhibited.
Yusuko trained at the National University of Fine

Arts in Tokyo, Japan, and graduated first in her
class. After moving to Paris, she became the artis-
tic director for Shiseido. A plastic artist, she also
works as an illustrator for Hermès, Louis Vuitton...
Laurent Parienty is interested in all forms of visual

arts (painting, photography, graphics and so on).
After studying at the ENSAD, he became an illus-
trator. He quickly found his graphic identity and
adopted the computer as an ideal tool to mix and
match his many interests. He works for the press
and is also a published illustrator.
François Supiot was born in 1969. He graduated

from the École Supérieure d'Arts Graphiques.
Along with his work in graphics, he paints and
started doing illustrations in 1999. His work is reg-
ularly seen in the press and he also publishes
works, notably with a young people’s book for
Didier éditions.
ADVENTURE TRAVEL DIARY
FARAWAY, SO CLOSE
Accor’s growth outside France started in 1973. After the first difficult
steps in Switzerland and the surprising ones in Poland, the young
Group opened its first hotels in Africa. The African adventure began in
Cameroon. Farther east, the teams successfully opened the frontiers in
the Middle East. But it was the acquisition of Jacques Borel
International in 1983 that thrust Novotel onto the international scene.
The gates of America opened to Novotel, which became Accor.
Although thoroughly French, the Accor pioneers working abroad suc-
ceeded in blending into the local landscape incorporating the habits
and cultures of the communities where the Group set up business. The
organization’s flexibility, the cofounders’ quick decision-making and
its ambassador-adventurers’ determination were formidable weapons.
Gradually or when the opportunity arose, the Group built its empire in
other latitudes and expanded its horizons. The pioneers incorporated
and respected local cultures without ever departing from the princi-
ples responsible for Novotel’s success. Along with the number of coun-
tries opened, stories, unexpected situations and anecdotes increased
and marked the daily lives of the men and women who chose to take part
in the adventure. Fears, friendships, joys and wonderful surprises were
an integral part of the lives of those who expanded the Group’s frontiers
and who sometimes started a new life far from home.
ACCOR ADVENTURE TRAVEL DIARY

76
En route for the Middle East!
“When I was 26, I wanted to travel and see the
world. So I went to Novotel. A few months later,
they put me in charge of Middle East develop-
ment. That was in 1973. I left with 10,000 francs
in my pocket and a few phrases of Arabic, but
without any real strategy and without a hotel room. I went to
Dubai. I slept in taxis! The Emirates had just become inde-
pendent and the Yom Kippur War had ended. My only contact,
a go-between, allowed me to meet the emir of Chardja. I suc-
ceeded in negotiating the construction of a hotel with him. I had
scarcely announced the good news to Paul and Gérard when
they sent me to Cairo! I signed a contract there for Novotel.
Damascus, Kuwait City, Riyadh, Beirut… I then crisscrossed
the whole Middle East. The first year, I signed eight hotels. It
was an extraordinary period.”
Before taking on the management of Euro Disney and Club Med,
PHILIPPE BOURGUIGNON got his spurs at Accor where he spearheaded
development in the Middle East and Asia.
Who dared eat the wild goose?

In the icy steppes of North Korea, right in the middle of the
Cold War, a man was contemplating a wild goose, roasting
on flaming logs, that still had all its feathers. He was getting
ready to eat the bird in question, shot by his wife during a
memorial hunting party, in the company of the apparatchiks
of the Pyongyang regime. This astonishing scene was experi-
enced by Stanislas Rollin in 1984 when, on the insistence of
François Mitterrand, a French delegation had had to go there
to study the possibility – extremely unlikely – of developing
hotel construction. Received like royalty, Stanislas Rollin and Putting salaries
his wife therefore took part in this indescribable hunt for wild
geese. The story however had a happy ending as the goose
to good use
“In Manaus, where we had opened
turned out to be delicious and especially as in the end Accor
a Novotel right in the middle of the
did not have to take on the impossible mission of managing
Amazon forest, supplying was a
hotels in South Korea.
nightmare. We received supplies by
Having joined the Group in 1974, and after a long career notably truck from Sao Paolo and the driv-
at Novotel and in international development, STANISLAS ROLLIN ers had to deal with torrential rains and some-
now presides over several tourism and hotel organizations.
times didn’t even arrive. All the Novotel
employees were Indians. The day after payday, we
noticed a very high absentee rate. So we decided
to pay half the employees on the 15th of the
month and the other half at the end of the month
to limit absences!”
From Nancy to New York, by way of Brazil,
DANIEL COCCOLI has taken part in
the Group’s expansion throughout the world.
ADVENTURE TRAVEL DIARY ACCOR

77
FARAWAY, SO CLOSE The year 2000 at the Novotel
Times Square
“One of my best memories goes
back to 1999 in New York to the cel-
ebration of the new millennium. I
was responsible for the Novotel at
Times Square, a chic neighborhood
in New York where there was a lot of excitement
about the event. We absolutely had to finish the
renovation of the hotel before January 1. It was a
real race against the clock and all the more so as
the hotel was 90% full while the renovation was
going on. We worked round the clock. We man-
aged to be ready for the big day. And we had our
reward because the hotel was full with rooms at
$1,000 a night (compared to the usual rate of
$300), a record for an Accor hotel in this category.”
MARTIN YKEMA is now head of Accor Services in Poland.
From the bush

straight to the subway
“Brazzaville in the Congo. When
I was getting ready to return to
Europe, the Congolese minister of
tourism insisted that I visit his vil-
lage as his guest. I postponed my
return to Paris. We drove 40 km on a dirt track
Improvised recruitment that plunged and then disappeared into the

bush. I discovered an African village with its
“In 1988, we were getting ready to open our first Novotel in Ghana after six months huts, its men in deep discussion and its women
of intensive work. All that was left to do was recruit a team. So we put an ad in the who were looking after the fire. I was welcomed
local newspaper. The next day, when I arrived at the hotel, I saw an unusual crowd like a prince. They gave me live chickens,
on the road. The closer I got to the hotel, the thicker the crowd was. Several thousand papayas… I spent an amazing day with these
people had answered our ad. The police arrived to help us manage all those people. poor but joyous and hospitable people. I took
We had to improvise. So we formed three long columns and handed out 6,000 application forms. photos of each of them that I sent them later
In the end, we picked 250 people, all of them without any experience. We taught them the basics on. I took my plane that evening. The next day, I
of the business: making beds, recognizing the taste of ingredients like vanilla and mustard… Our was in the Paris subway: blank faces, another
first year of business, we made record profits. And when I left Ghana two years later, 220 of our orig- world, a real shock.”
inal hires were still working there!”
JEAN HENTZ is currently director of franchise
A real globe-trotter of the hotel business, PATRICK BASSET is vice-president operations for Etap Hotel and Formule 1 in France.
of the hotel business for Accor in South and Southeast Asia.

78
FARAWAY, SO CLOSE
Oh no, not the French!

“When I arrived in Australia in 1990,
Accor was completely unknown there. We Culture Shock
carried out a survey to find out how the “In 2000, the creation of the Novotel Peace Beijing in
Australians perceived Novotel, explaining China, right near Tiananmen Square, was one of the most
to them that it was a French hotel chain. wonderful challenges of my career. I had to convert an
The response was: Oh no, not French, that’s not good’. establishment, run for over 40 years following the commu-
When we finally opened in 1991, it was an incredible nist model, into a modern hotel. From the executives to the
great success and the Australians loved us… Accor is cleaning crews, we had absorbed all the personnel and had inculcated
a company that’s a pleasure to work for, that has them with ideas they had never heard in their life: quality, yield, profit. We
heart and that is French. This is important for me to had to teach them how to serve the customer, smile at him and above all,
remember because people don’t know that the take him into consideration. In a society based on the egalitarian model,
French have a great sense of humor and are this sense of service was far from being obvious. Fortunately, we were
extremely open-minded. I’ve been with Accor for over able to work hand in hand with the Chinese government to make this
eighteen years and I’ve adopted the Buddhist philos- corporate culture penetrate their mind-sets. It was a very exciting adven-
ophy, wearing the traditional multicolored cotton ture. At the same time, we also had to take the time to adapt to the
strings around my wrist. This wouldn’t be acceptable Chinese culture as best we could. My wife now speaks fluent Chinese
for a manager in an Australian or British company but and she’s the one who takes care of public relations to make the hotel
it isn’t the slightest problem for Accor. The Group is known all over the city. This involvement was how we proved our profes-
global but acts locally, and I like that a lot.” sionalism to the Chinese.”
OSWALD PICHLER, is director of hotel operations for Thailand, TRISTAN BEAU DE LOMÉNIE is now manager of the
Cambodia, Laos and South Korea. Novotel Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok, in Thailand.
Russian campaign
“Between 1994 and 1998, I was in charge of the new Novotel
Sheremetyevo located at the Moscow airport. In 1992, Accor had been the
first foreign hotel chain to open a hotel in Moscow. At this period, the
country lacked everything. Three semi-trailers constantly went back and
forth between Russia and Belgium to bring us supplies! It was also the
time when Russia opened up to capitalism. This meant the arrival of all the local
mafia and there was a great deal of violence. We often saw armed men enter the
hotel. We were victims of intimidation, threats and racketeering attempts. Since
‘might makes right’ was more or less the rule for daily life, the solution was to have
protection and good relations. This was my case. My protection was my head of secu-
rity, a special forces veteran who had been in Afghanistan.”
After many wanderings in Polynesia, China, Australia and Singapore,
ANDRÉ CANTINIAUX is now in charge of the hotel business for Eastern Europe.

79
CLOSE
ENCOUNTERS
Help wanted ads in the hotel trade press, impromptu encounters, word
of mouth between alumni… in the hotel world, Paul Dubrule and Gérard
Pélisson’s project spread like wildfire. And if the pioneers were at the
starting point by chance, all of them had a fierce desire to be entrepre-
neurs and a healthy dose of daring. Because at the time, a lot of people
made fun of this unbelievable project. You had to be crazy to build a
hotel in a beet field.
Whereas the hotel sector was built around a rigid and formal manage-
ment structure, with Novotel, everything was different. Rumor even
had it that you could become an assistant manager, even a hotel man-
ager very quickly without climbing all the usual rungs in the hotel’s
hierarchy. And even more amazing, supposedly the manager even had
the checkbook and was the captain at the helm of the hotel, a situation
that was unthinkable anywhere else…
It must be said that Paul Dubrule and Gérard Pelisson carried out the
development of their project at an incredible speed. So one of their pri-
orities was to find men and women, the right ones, right from the start.
And these hires were done by instinct and the new recruits had to prove
themselves very quickly. The first contacts with the nucleus of the
Group, which was Novotel-SIEH at the time, were often made directly
with the cofounders. The simplicity of the first contact and the speed of
the decision-making often made a real impression on the applicants.
The tone was set each time and a half hour was enough to conclude the
business. Quite frequently, new hires started work just a few days after
the interview, and not necessarily where they had originally thought
they would be.
I was convinced
that he wasn’t interested
A serious young man… “My first encounter with Gérard was at his
“The first time I met Paul, I was immediately apartment. My brother-in-law André Petit had
impressed with how serious he was. He wore a told me that I absolutely had to meet him to
dark suit and a black hat and I told myself that present my hotel chain project. He impressed
he was really different from those happy party- me a lot, especially as I felt I didn’t have any
goers of his generation. I was completely cap- experience. When I left, I was sure that he didn’t have the
tivated right away…” slightest interest in my idea…”
GÉRARD PÉLISSON PAUL DUBRULE

80
A sign of things to come…
Destiny sometimes sends us premonitory signs.
For Gilles Pélisson, it was the Lyon Bron
Novotel where he often went to lunch with his From one world to another
parents. It made a particularly strong impres- “I started as an executive in a
sion on his childhood and the Group’s begin- bank. It was a rigid and very for-
nings. It was there that he did his first summer internship as mal world. In 1977, I answered
a waiter and his wedding reception was held in the hotel. a help wanted ad for Novotel.
He officially joined the Group in September 1983 to take Stanislas Rollin, who was the CFO
part in its North American development. At this period, at the time, met me in person. Novotel’s head
Accor was building its first Novotel in New York. After office was a small very modest building at the
Seafood Broiler, managed by Alain Dupuis, he became gen- period, very different from the banks’ luxurious
eral manager of the Courtepaille restaurants, then copresident head offices in the center of Paris. At the bank,
of the Novotel chain in 1993 with Philippe Brizon. Before people talked in terms of millions of francs.
returning to Accor in January 2006, Gilles Pélisson went off Here, it was thousands of francs. It was a com-
to “make a name for himself ” elsewhere, as he told the pletely different scale. During the interview,
cofounders when he decided to leave the Group in 1995. For Stanislas Rollin suggested that I meet Gérard
10 years, he was the head of Eurodisney, then Bouygues Pélisson. He saw me right away in his small
Telecom. He acquired expertise and dealt with other worlds. office, his shirt open, lounging on his chair. He
A supporter of avant-garde management techniques, when he said, ‘Weill, what have you done before?’ The
returned to Accor, team spirit was naturally one of his top pri- whole thing disconcerted me. So I asked my
orities. friends for advice and they told me, ‘Yes, we’ve
heard about these two guys and what they’re
GILLES C. PÉLISSON is Accor’s CEO.
doing is really good.’”
A few words Novotel, Hotelia, Internet, Sofitel,

OLIVIER WEILL has held many positions of
are worth a thousand responsibility, notably in finance and operations.
“‘What do you think about New York?’ With

just this one sentence, Gilles Pélisson sug-
gested in 1994 that I take over the helm of a
Novotel on the corner of Broadway and 54th
Street. There was no long introductory spiel,
no interminable meeting, I had total freedom to carry out
the job I was given. At Accor, free rein has always been given
to the employees’ creativity. A lot of Germans think that
The man from London
French managers waste endless hours in discussion and are Peter Charles, a management consultant, was reading his newspaper when the
too Latin to be really efficient. Since I joined Accor, I’ve never account of Novotel’s beginnings attracted his attention. Why not import this con-
been of this opinion. But this efficiency in management cept from the other side of the Channel, he said to himself. He immediately con-
doesn’t stop you from developing really human relationships tacted the cofounders, who were all for the adventure. Peter Charles set himself up
in the Group. For example, when my fourth child was born, in a very small office, above a restaurant run by a famous boxer of the period,
I had to cut short a meeting with Claude Moscheni. The birth who was also thinking about becoming a partner. The meeting between the cham-
took longer than planned and Claude supported me, sending pion of the ring and Paul Dubrule and Gérard Pélisson was not a happy one, the
very warm faxes like ‘This child is like his father… never on boxer even having the nerve to trademark the Novotel name in Great Britain.
time.’ At Accor, efficiency goes hand in hand with humanity.” After financial negotiations, Peter Charles finally became the sole president of the
English subsidiary.
RUDOLPH VON KETTELER is now general manager
of the Mercure Am Dom Erfurt in Germany. PETER CHARLES, nicknamed “the man from London”,
opened the English market for the Accor Group.

81
Welcome
to the first hotel chain
“‘You’ll see, we’ll be the largest hotel chain in France. We’re
planning to open 100 hotels in the country.’ That’s the first
thing Paul Dubrule said to me during my recruitment interview.
I met him after a help wanted ad appeared in Le Journal de
l’hôtellerie. That must have been in 1970. I was 27 years old and
I was running a small family hotel in Lavaur. I got into my car and went to
Paris from the Tarn, way down south. They told me to go to Lille! I was hired
and sent to the Novogrill in Angers. I washed glasses for two months. But
very soon afterward, Paul Dubrule gave me an important job, assistant
manager in the hotel in Lomme, the second Lille Novotel, under Joseph
Lepoutre, the hotel’s manager. He ‘did me the favor’ of getting sick and I
took over for him. I then suggested to Paul and Gérard that I handle open-
ings. At the period, we were opening 15 or 20 hotels a year. For several
years, I crisscrossed France to recruit managers and get operations going.
Everything moved at high speed, we worked like commando teams, it was
another world.”
From the Novogrill in Angers to the Sofitel New York, CLAUDE MOSCHENI opened a great
many hotels and had a host of operational responsibilities before becoming the head of the
Novotel, Sofitel and Mercure brands networks.
Encounter on a promising
construction site
“I had just returned from a two-year internship
in the United States when my father told me
that some crazy guy was building a hotel in a
beet field near Lille. I took my mother’s car and
went to the construction site. I saw a young
man near a concrete block wall. It was Paul Dubrule. Since
I had worked in a few Holiday Inns, I told him that his idea was
a good one. He said that I was the first person who had told
him that in France. Right away, he asked me to run the
future hotel. I mentioned that I wanted to work in another
region, and he told me to see him because he planned to
build other hotels. We ran into each other again some time
afterward. He made me the same offer again and I said no
one more time. In 1975, I called him. He kept his promise
and hired me. I’ve never regretted it.”
After having spent many years in developing Novotels,
particularly in Africa, ANDRÉ MOTTE ran Lenôtre,
Hôtels Arcade and Courtepaille.
Rendezvous in a kitchen
A second life “My first meeting with Paul
“When I began, there wasn’t much more around than the big Dubrule took place, more or less
Parisian and seaside hotels so my career path was very limited. undercover, in the kitchen in the
That’s why I was so motivated about working at Novotel… I back of a store in Paris, in 1974. We
started as the manager of the Novotel Strasbourg in 1972. had been put in touch with each
The company had a lot of confidence in us since I was solely other by the Compagnie La Hénin. I had created
in charge of the opening. I was totally responsible for operating the hotel, a 2-star hotel chain called ITH but, at the last
signing checks as I saw fit, human resources, recruitment, training, event cre- minute, my financial partner dropped me. My
ation, maintenance, sales, accounting… In short, I was very very happy concept was very close to that of Ibis and comple-
for 35 years. Today, I’m an Ibis, Etap Hotel and Formule 1 franchisee and con- mentary in geographic terms. And above all, I
sultant. I’m back with Ibis and I’ve found the spirit of conquest of the begin- brought with me 12 hotels under construction or
nings to develop the brand in China and I spend half my time there. With in the planning stage. We immediately came to
this new adventure, I feel thirty-five years younger.” an agreement because I worked at Ibis for twelve
years. Paul Dubrule immediately captivated me
DIDIER GROS, had a long career at Novotel, Mercure, Sofitel, because he was a blend of businessman and
Thalassa,Hotelia and in the budget sector with Etap Hotel,
Formule 1 and Ibis, which he ran for 10 years. adventurer. And like me, he started off in the
hotel business almost completely from scratch.”
Financier, then general manager of Ibis Sphère,

ANDRÉ COINTET opened no less than 300 Ibis hotels in 12 years.
A continent Everything counts,

to be conquered even the pickles…
“I’ll never forget January 2, 1978, “I started to work at Novotel in 1968 and the
the day I arrived in São Paulo in Grill was a big success. One day, Paul
Brazil as sales director, after Dubrule, who had selected a pâté, pointed out
Firmin Antonio came to Paris to to me that there were two cornichons
get me. I had already lived in Brazil, but I did- [gherkins] and one pickled onion with it and
n’t imagine that I would come back this time that the day before there had been one corni-
to experience an extraordinary adventure: chon and two onions. ‘You have to make sure
conquering this enormous country. A decade When the hotel becomes that the recipe sheets are right.’ He didn’t say
later, I was in charge of operations and we an art gallery it in a mean way but that meant that he
were celebrating our millionth user. I then left “I knew Paul Dubrule after he returned from already had in mind standardization, a con-
to develop Accor in Argentina, Uruguay and the United States. At the period, he was the cept that didn’t exist at all at the time in the
Chile. My other very strong memory is the perfect caricature of the dynamic young restaurant business.”
convention Accor organized in 1983 right in executive of those years, a bit Americanized HERVÉ LEMONNIER started as a restaurant manager
the middle of the desert. We were celebrating but with French elegance. When the new at Novotel (account contributed by Louis Deretz).
Novotel was built, he asked me to give it
the birth of a new group and the launch of the
Accor brand. Because for us, executives at some artistic life. So I organized exhibitions in Start-up
the lobby about once a month for a year. This “My recruitment appointment was
Jacques Borel International, Paul Dubrule and
was being done in the United States, but not in Evry, on August 14, at 7:30 p.m.
Gérard Pélisson were our saviors in a certain
yet in France. There were people who came I arrived at the Novotel parking lot,
way. It was the first major event at which all
just for the exhibition… The paintings were thinking it would be deserted on
the executives met each other. And it was all
very modern, which really fit it with the hotel’s the eve of this long holiday week-
the more important for us as we were outside
innovative architecture. This sort of thing end. I was absolutely amazed to see that three
France when the merger occurred.”
would never have happened in a traditional quarters of the employees were still at work.
JEAN-LOUIS CLAVEAU is now chief operating officer hotel.” There was a real start-up atmosphere there and
of Accor Services in Spanish-speaking Latin America. that appealed to me right away.”
LOUIS NAHI, painter
OLIVIER DE SURVILLE has done a great many things ln
the Group, particularly in finance for Accor Services.

83
EARLY DAYS
Amazement. The word comes up often in the memories of the very beginnings
spent in the Group. A lot of people imagined a very codified multinational with a
strict management structure: they heard about imagination, responsibility, acces-
sibility. Where certain people expected a monolithic management, on the con-
trary, they discovered respect for individualism and different local cultures.
Whatever the case, these early days left an indelible impression on the employees,
regardless of their profile or horizon.
The merits of altruism Creating links

“How I came to work for Accor was quite strange. At the “I was a student in the hotel school in
time, I was working for a competitor, the Hilton in Luxor in Madrid, Spain and only 20 years old
Egypt. We were in competition and I won a really nice con- when I took advantage of the Sofitel
tract: organizing a dinner at the Hatsepshut temple for training program and went to Paris
Toyota USA. Our budget was almost unlimited, we could for a training course. It was my first
even bring the Cairo philharmonic orchestra to the gala. The manager of professional experience and I discovered a
the Sofitel of Luxor, who had seen what a success the evening was, con- renowned hotel, the Sofitel Paris Forum Rive
tacted me. ‘I saw what you did, I think you should work for Accor.’ Two Gauche with more than 800 rooms and 400 employ-
reasons convinced me: first, he talked to me about the Group in such a way ees. During this course, I was assigned to no less
that I decided to come onboard. The second was that he didn’t want to hire than 20 different departments: housekeeper, then
me for his hotel but for another hotel in the Group where he thought they restaurant services, reservations and reception. In
needed me more. I told myself that there was really a good team spirit at one year, I got to know everyone in the hotel. And it
Accor. I’m Egyptian and in a lot of multinationals there are mobility was really me, a young Spanish woman who had
restrictions for anyone who’s from the Middle East. But at Accor, after just arrived, who wound up getting all the employ-
six years, they proposed sending me abroad. I worked in Cuba, a dream ees to get to know each other. Every day, in the
location. I even shook Castro’s hand! Now I’m in Vietnam, at the other employees’ dining room, I made it a point of intro-
end of the world. Honestly, at Accor your only limits are your skills.” ducing people. The huge hotel had become a small
AHMED HOZAIEN is general manager of the Sofitel Plaza Saigon, in Vietnam.
family home.”
MARTA MUGICA is now manager

of Novotel Sevilla, in Spain.
Integration the other way around

“I was born in Cambodia but I arrived in France, in the Savoie, when I was 10 years old. When I went to work
at the Sofitel Plaza Saïgon in Vietnam, everything was new for me. As I had always worked in France, leaving
like that to go to the other end of the world was a real adventure. I knew Accor, but I had never worked in a chain.
But the demands were no different and of course I had to prove what I was capable of in the profession. I was
sent on training courses, internships in Bangkok, all of which opened my mind. At first glance, the customers
took me for someone from here, and the people who lived here took me for a foreigner because I didn’t speak
their language and at any rate, it’s easy to recognize an Asian who lives in Europe. I had to justify myself, fit in
with the local people, put myself on their level and with foreigners, explain who I was. It was a complicated but
very interesting cultural experience. Almost all the people on my team were local people. They hadn’t been trained
in schools so we became trainers and it’s very enriching to tell yourself that you serve a purpose. What I learned
in France I apply here, despite the fact that we’re at the other end of the world. We still represent French serv-
ice and culinary art but here, we don’t have the means to be as creative as we like in the kitchen.”
SAKAL PHOEUNG is the chef at the Sofitel Plaza Saigon, Vietnam.

84
Circles and squares
“The Group has never considered me a foreigner. Although I’m Chinese, I’ve Hotel manager at 25 years old
always been treated exactly like a French employee. I’ve had many career “When I graduated from HEC, I hoped to get a job
opportunities and the cultural enrichment I was lucky enough to have was with real responsibilities as soon as possible,
amazing. I remember that right at the beginning, when I was working at the where I would be put on the front line. My hopes
head office in Paris, I shared an office with a young Frenchman. Thanks to were fulfilled beyond my wildest dreams when I
him, I discovered what the Cartesian spirit was, that very particular way of analyzing, went to work at the Accor Group. Eighteen
going straight to the essential, that extraordinary capacity to say ‘no’ when you don’t months after I started, I was appointed manager of the
agree, which is impossible for an Asian who always tends to spare the sensitivities of Novotel Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, with minimal supervision.
the parties concerned. I always say that a Chinese person is a circle and a French person By giving young executives their chance, Accor takes on part
a square. So we have to make joint efforts to be able to communicate.” of the risk. This policy isn’t very widespread in big companies,
even if it often pays off.”
LEO LIU, 40 years old, started to learn French when he was 10, in Beijing.
He went to a business school in France and joined Accor Services in 1998, BENOÎT ÉTIENNE DOMENGET is now 30 years old.
before opening the Beijing subsidiary in China. He is the hotel development manager for northern Europe.

85
WOMEN’S CAREERS
Tomorrow will be feminine. All the analysts and sociologists agree: women’s values such as intuition, flex-
ibility, a sense of negotiation, an opening up to the world will impose themselves as basic qualities for
adapting to the dramatic changes in contemporary societies. This doesn’t mean that the working world
has become as easy and open for women as for men. At Accor, however, the issue isn’t a recent one. In
1970, the Group’s founders set up a reflection and action structure for the company’s women and in
1980, 17 women were already general managers of hotels. In a very competitive professional milieu,
each of them agrees that being a woman can sometimes be… an advantage!
A welcoming sign
1982: housekeeper at the Mercure hotel in Les Ulis; 1992: accommoda-
tions trainer; then the Novotel hotel in Havana; 2006: manager and
owner of an Etap Hotel in Thiers. This succinct itinerary captions the
glowing portrait of Rose Lakoussan in the 2006 Ibis ad campaign. It says
a lot about this amazing woman who was born in Togo and arrived in
France at the age of 21. “One day, coming back from the clinic were I was working, I saw
the sign of the Mercure hotel in Les Ulis in the Paris suburbs. I looked at it a long time
and told myself that maybe it was time to try something else. So I went in and left my
resumé. A month later, Evelyne Chabrot, the Mercure’s manager, hired me. In three and
a half years, I went from chambermaid to floor housekeeper, then to assistant general
housekeeper at different hotels. Then, one day, I decided I wanted to be a trainer. I
was given an accommodations training program to run. Destination Moscow, then
Estonia, Egypt, Havana, the Dominican Republic, Italy and Guadeloupe.
ROSE LAKOUSSAN is now manager and proprietor of an Etap Hotel in Thiers.
From head housekeeper

to head of Sofitel France
“Despite my parents’ hesitation, I suddenly abandoned my liter-
ature studies so that I could realize my dream: working in the
hotel business. I started as a housekeeper in the United
Kingdom to learn English as well as the business. I dreamed
about Africa and they gave me the French territories. Réunion
island, the French West Indies, Réunion once again… For 13 years I spent
time at many islands at the other end of the world in the leisure hotel business.
Strike management, closings, cyclones, I’ve known them all but the life I lead
is a real source of joy. To my great surprise, Michael Flaxman asked me to han-
dle the opening of the prestigious Novotel Waterloo. Then he gave me the elite
Novotel London West, a 640-room hotel. It was at that time that Philippe
Bourguignon asked me to join the Club Med, where I spent 10 years. I’ve been
back at Accor since 2006, as Paul Dubrule predicted!”
DOMINIQUE COLLIAT is now general manager for the Sofitel network in France.

86
When Polytechnique
leads to Etap Hotel
“I’ve always been attracted to the service sector. I dreamed
about the hotel sector so that I could be in contact with
customers and warmly receive them. First I got an internship
at the Madrid Novotel in Spain where I welcomed the cus-
tomers at the restaurant. This internship confirmed
my choice. After studying engineering at the École Polytechnique and
the École Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées [two prestigious schools of
higher education], I applied to the Group for a hotel operations position,
even if my profile seemed more geared toward a functional job. After a one-
year immersion at the Novotel Tour Eiffel, I was put in charge of accom-
modations at the Novotel Gare de Lyon in Paris. Then I wanted to
discover other brands and another country. I now run a three-hotel site,
an Ibis, an Etap Hotel and a Formule 1 in a tough suburb east of London.
That’s what I like: being in a profession that involves a lot of contact,
being responsible for a profit center with the strength and support of a
large international group.”
ANNE DERÉGNAUCOURT is now manager of an Ibis, an Etap Hotel
and a Formule 1 in the London suburbs in Great Britain.
A manager with character

Polyglot and versatile Yveline Sacotte is one of those
At 30 years old, Victoria Bagdassarian overflows women whom nothing stops. De-
with energy and has already had a career rich termined but especially extremely
in experiences. At 16, she left her family and her enthusiastic, she very quickly
native Armenia, at the time under Soviet rule, became the first woman hotel
and went to Italy, then France. Victoria does manager at 28 years old. It was a job she con-
everything in fourth gear: her education, learning cultures and sidered as natural as keeping house, but on a
languages. She became a lawyer and went to work for a large, much larger scale! And moreover, who better
prestigious French business firm, where she met the daugh- than a woman can take care of a hotel? She then
ter of John Du Monceau, who was the head of Accor Services opened the Mercure in Reims, faced with
at the time. It was a match made in heaven. John Du Monceau Jacques Fayet, the Group’s first franchisee and
convinced her to join Accor’s legal department. She became her Reims neighbor. Later on, she was made
legal advisor when she went to work for the Group, which cap- operations manager for the Novotel, Mercure
tivated her with its dynamism and international dimension. and Sofitel brands. This was still a position usu-
But soon afterward, the world called out to her. Victoria left ally given to men. For her entire professional life,
the world of legal codes and opted for development. The first Yveline has moved around France a lot,
woman developer for Accor Services, she took trip after trip in enchanted by her profession in which one day is
Russia and Central Europe, where she expanded her con- never like the next. Every morning, when she
tacts. For her, the adventure began in a Group that she starts her day, she intones a saying of the
described, in 2007, as a real pioneer. cofounder that rings so true: “happy employees,
An attorney, VICTORIA BAGDASSARIAN
satisfied customers, confident shareholders.”
is head of geographic development in Central
Manager of the Sofitel Arc de Triomphe,
and Eastern Europe for Accor Services.
YVELINE SACOTTE has run a great many hotels
and has also been operations manager.

87
WOMEN’S CAREERS
My hotel itinerary
Nothing is impossible … “When I started in Jakarta, in Indonesia, I did-
n’t know anything about the hotel business. I
“Over the last 21 years, I’ve had a lot of different jobs at Accor. When I
arrived in 1985, the Novotel in Singapore was the first in Asia. There just had training in the banking sector. My boss
are now several hundred… things change at an incredible speed! I’m very suddenly told me that he had to take care of
proud to have been the first to set up an international sales office in the corporate files and that I had to follow the
Shanghai, in China, in 1999. hotels myself. I really wondered if I was going to manage. I
One of the things I learned at Accor is that nothing is impossible. When forced myself to tackle the hotels one by one to immerse
you can’t get in by the door, you get in by the window. When I needed to myself and understand how everything functioned. That took
recruit nonresident employees and Human Resources told me it was me two years but in the end I became capable of following up
impossible, I badgered them until we finally found a solution…” the subsidiary and the hotels. Every since, I’ve found my
home. I love my work.”
MARY GOH is sales and marketing manager at the Sofitel Hyland Shanghaï, China.
ESTER ANITA, an Indonesian, is financial director
for Accor Services in Indonesia.
From head housekeeper to

Hotels, a real passion human resources manager
“I discovered Accor while I was working as a temp. At the time, I was a recep- “I live and breathe this profession! My
tion hostess at the head office in Evry. I wanted to stay there and I became parents had a hotel-restaurant in Saint Tropez.
an assistant at the Presidents’ Bureau. There was only one thing I wanted However, I went to work for Novotel strictly by
to do: become a hotel manager. I started an immersion in all the brands in chance. I started as an assistant housekeeper in
the field to learn the business. By persevering, I got my first manager’s job Coventry in the United Kingdom. That was
at a small Ibis at Paris République. I next went on to Saint Denis, a Paris suburb, and then where I met my husband, who was the receptionist. Two
Northampton, in the United Kingdom. When I look back, I tell myself that my months later, I became housekeeper. In just a few years, I
encounter with Accor was the start of a whole new life.” learned about all the different aspects of the hotel business.
DOMINIQUE COMBRIAT is currently manager of the Grand Hôtel Mercure Président in Grenoble, France. Early on, I was lucky enough to meet Georges Le Mener, who
was my ‘fairy godmother’. He spotted me during a visit to a
pilot linen room that I had set up. Armed with self-confi-
dence, I got my first hotel manager’s job when I was 24. I
The Dolce Vita of the Ticket Restaurant became the first woman to run a hotel-restaurant. It was the
“‘Do you really expect me to take this little piece of paper? Give me Mercure in Orsay. Other management jobs followed: com-
money, like everyone else!’ In 1975, this was basically what Italian mando operations to turn around difficult situations. A com-
restaurant managers and owners told me when I proposed Tickets bination of circumstances and becoming pregnant with my
Restaurant to them. Three years later, the whole country had converted first child changed my career plans. Instead of leaving for
to this new payment method. I had to canvas, company by company, con- Baghdad in Iraq, I became a trainer at the Accor Academy. I
vince our customers that the product was reliable and make it penetrate into their worked there for eight years. As time went on, I was put in
mind-sets. There were only two of us, a project manager and me, to stamp, invoice and charge of human resources for Novotel, then, for the hotel sec-
deliver the tickets over all of Italy! And it was a tremendous success. At the time, very tor worldwide in 1998. Today, I handle human resources for
few companies had lunch rooms. In the groups, the employees of the subsidiaries Europe, the Middle East and Africa. I exercise my profession
had to travel several kilometers at lunchtime to get to the parent company. The Ticket passionately. Moreover, when I’m on vacation in a hotel, I
Restaurant changed their lives. They could now eat a meal almost anyplace in town. can’t help spending time with the personnel. It’s a reflex.”
It was a revolution. And it brought with it an increase in productivity that very quickly ÉVELYNE CHABROT, is human resources manager
changed the minds of the last holdouts.” for the hotel business in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
GRAZIELLA GAVEZOTTI is chief operating officer of Accor Services in Italy. In 1975,

she was the sales rep in charge of launching the Ticket Restaurant in this country.

88
A sense of welcome
“What’s so amazing when you join
a group like Accor is that you feel
like you have a home everywhere
in the world, welcomed by very
different teams, without any pre-
conceived ideas… solidly anchored in their
period, in sync with their time. I discovered new
codes, new languages, a new challenge.
Changing companies gave me an enormous
burst of energy. And I particularly liked my ori-
entation week spent at the Novotel Waterloo in
London, where I really discovered all the hotel
professions.”
ARMELLE VOLKRINGER, is director of Accor Corporate
Communications and External Relations.
THE WINNING TICKET
Carte blanche: a word that can scare
people in our society in which people try
to protect themselves. But used in the
right sense of the term, it opens the
door to extraordinary opportunities,
based on a rule that many employees
keep repeating: at Accor, you have the
right to make mistakes because it is the
only way to take risks, to tackle what
others would have given up on, to go
find in your innermost being the
resources that you didn’t even know you
had. But carte blanche is only worth-
while if management supports you. And
this has been a constant in the Group
since it was created.
A map of the world in your pocket

“My first day at Accor Services, John Du Monceau drew a map of the
world for me. ‘Show me a dozen countries where we could get a
foothold.’ Then he said, ‘You have carte blanche and two years ahead of
you.’ It was absolutely fantastic. I left and crisscrossed the world for four
years… In 1992, John asked me to open up Turkey. I left with a small suit-
case and enough cash in my pocket to manage for a few months, and I created a com-
pany from scratch. And I was only 28 years old! I don’t think there’s another group
anywhere that trusts young people to that point… In the end, I stayed in Istanbul until
2000. I learned Turkish – I had to because I was recruiting young people who only spoke
their own language – by going door to door… In September 2001, I had to rush to the
United States because the manager of the activity there was one of the victims of the
September 11 terrorist attacks. I’ve been in London since 2004. The adventure con-
tinues.”
LAURENT DELMAS, who joined Accor Services in 1989, is now general manager of Accor Services
in the United Kingdom.

90
Inventiveness and reactivity
“What impressed me the most about Accor Services is how
much consideration the company has for its employees. I
remember being surprised at how accessible the manage-
ment was. I was really amazed that I sometimes discussed
this and that with a member of the Group’s board of direc-
tors when I had only been there for two or three days… Accor Services is
a group of small and medium-size companies where you have a lot of
autonomy in your job and a management structure that doesn’t suffocate
you. They let us work, they trust us. The services we propose to compa-
nies offer them innovative solutions for their employees’ daily concerns.
We take part in improving the company’s well-being and performance.
That’s what I like the most in this activity today, along with its flexible,
reactive and inventive dimension. I feel good where I am.”
JOHANN VAUCANSON, is general manager of “Bien-être à la Carte” at Accor Services.
Why continue to invest in the hotel business?

“My first assignment at Accor in 2001 was to present my ideas on strate-
gic tracks possible for Accor Services to the Group’s executive manage-
ment. I had carte blanche for this. I presented several possible growth
tracks, letting people know that there was some very attractive stock
market valuations, especially in monetary flow services. I then asked a
somewhat provocative question: ‘Why continue to invest in the hotel business?’ I’m sure
the people around the table thought that I was completely crazy. In fact, it seems clear
today that one of the best acquisitions the Group has ever made was Ticket
Restaurant, which is funny for a so-called hotel group… With a modest investment, it
treated itself to a real gem, with strong and sustainable growth, which makes an
incredible amount of money and now represents nearly half the company’s value!”
LAURENT THÉRÉZIEN is general manager of Accor Services in France.
Adventure beyond one’s dreams

“Without planning it, I made my dreams come true when I went to work Living intensely
for Accor. I wanted to see the country and create a company, and I told “When I went back to Brazil – I had lived there
myself that the best thing would be to get my experience in a large as a child – I found a dynamic, surprising coun-
group. Accor, then as now, had a lot of territories to conquer and the try where people live well. Firmin Antonio had
means to do so. And that’s how I became a developer in Latin America announced my arrival and I remember the
and was able to open the Peruvian subsidiary. In Peru, we had to deal with a lot of party atmosphere, an extraordinary dynamic
opposing lobbies: small storekeepers against big supermarkets and a group of econ- in the teams, with great motivation and I said to myself at the
omists who wanted to impose a pay system that would have signed the death warrant time: I like it here. It’s true that for the last 10 years, we’ve had
for our tickets. We convinced the storekeepers but it was impossible to reason with the the good fortune to work on an incredible number of differ-
‘neo-liberals’ who were very active in the media. We finally prevailed. As the power of ent projects, but we’ve also lived through crises, problems
attorney I was sent from Paris didn’t cover enough, I had to buy 33% of the subsidiary’s with the governments or unions, restructuring, etc. And
shares out of my own pocket. I then sold them back to the Group – at the price I had especially, we were among the first to launch the card system
paid for them, of course. I remember the expression on the legal director’s face! And that replaced paper checks, the same thing for using the
that’s what the Accor adventure is like and I’m delighted that the spirit of conquest has Internet… We did all of that with a great deal of autonomy
been recognized as one of the Group’s values. I believe in it, and that’s why I’ve stayed given to the managers, with that tremendous possibility of
with them…” being able to be real entrepreneurs.”
LAURENT GACHET is in charge of finance for Accor Services in Brazil. GILLES COCCOLI is general manager of Accor Services in Turkey.

91
ADRENALINE
The organization of a major event, sudden strikes, intimidation, delayed openings, the unex-
pected at the last minute, natural disasters… the hotel business is not a tranquil one, far from
it. This was especially true at the beginnings of the Group when hotels were opened at a rapid
pace, bringing with them their share of surprises, and when international expansion started.
Whenever the unexpected occurs, you have to deal with those who are in too much of a hurry
and do everything you can to not endanger business and destroy the Group’s image…
Inventiveness, solidarity, a calm head: these are the timeless ingredients needed to overcome
a difficult situation and continue to move forward. Whereas a great many companies would
have given up, everyone at Accor persevered. Because at the time, nothing was impossible.
The opposite was true. Each time, enthusiasm, esprit de corps and time-tested pragmatism
moved mountains…
Changing the face of the world…

“When the Accor Group wanted to open a Sofitel in Johannesburg, in South Africa,
in 2003, I had a meeting on the subject with Nelson Mandela. I was immediately
struck by the simplicity, the humility and the joie de vivre that he emanated. He did-
n’t let anything of the 35 years of struggle he had endured appear. In the end, the man
who had just changed the face of the world knew how to make himself as accessible
as the man in the street. And that day, I understood that we could all improve our world one day.”
VINCENT JOYNER is general manager of the Accor hotel business in South Africa.
Storm warning
Fire at Lesquin “Hyacinthe was the name of a terrible cyclone
“A few weeks after the opening of the first Novotel in Lesquin, a fire broke that hit Réunion island in 1983. Only part of the
out. That was the only time I ever saw Paul Dubrule in a desperate state. A clientele had been able to be evacuated to
jacket has been left on the heater! Paul, who was in a meeting, ran out to the France before the airplanes were grounded. The
parking lot. Seeing his hotel burning, he went crazy and started shouting at hotel was jammed because we were also shel-
everyone, including the firemen who had taken some time to get there. For tering people who had lost their homes and soldiers as well.
a few minutes, he thought all his efforts and investments had gone up in For 11 days, we were shut up in the hotel and so we were
smoke, literally. Fortunately, the damage was limited and the insurance completely isolated from the world. We were afraid of the rain
company handsomely reimbursed us!” even more than the wind. It fell nonstop. Water got in every-
JOSEPH LEPOUTRE was one of the first Novotel franchisees along with Jacques Fayet. where and we moved around the ground floor in an inflatable
boat. With the help of a young doctor who was stuck in the
hotel, a woman gave birth to a little girl she named…
Hyacinthe. As the hotel’s manager, I had to shoulder an enor-
mous responsibility during this crisis. It was an intense
human experience. Fortunately, we had just finished installing
the cold rooms, so we ate very well.”
DOMINIQUE COLLIATis now the general manager
for the Sofitel network in France.

92
The numbers acrobat
“Believing in your product and making it attractive
means making use of the confidence people have
in you to generate positive energy. A good yield
manager is above all a good chess player. He has
to take risks, but calculated risks, innovate, but
also adapt to change. Each day, I modify the room rates to opti-
mize the hotels’ profitability. And I make a number of wagers on
the future. So, when a hotel isn’t full enough, I don’t necessarily
decide to lower prices: I also think about our brand’s image,
which would lose its shine for the public if we offered too deep dis-
counts. It’s an exciting job, so much so that I don’t always discon-
nect on weekends. When I go to a supermarket, I can’t stop
myself from comparing prices, doing statistical studies of the
sections, it’s in my blood, and I can’t control it!
The three key words are image, quality and service. Teamwork is
also very important in this business, each employee, whether
he or she is at the reception desk, in a restaurant, closely analyzes
changes in customer behavior. Thanks to this information, I
know their new requirements and can consequently adapt our
prices. So the human dimension is very important, so much so
that when a trainee asks me what my job consists of, I answer
‘human resources’. When you get right down to it, I really believe
that everyone works in ‘human resources’ at Accor, regardless of
how technical his or her job is.
JOHN ZHOU is regional manager for revenue management

for Sofitel in North America.
Going back to the brands’ roots

“At 34, I was appointed to run Courtepaille, which was doing
badly. It was the first time a management person was put in
charge of operations. That upset some people. The real prob-
lem at that point was relaunching the brand by doing market-
ing and not just management and finances. So I tried to give
this magic product back some meaning by looking for the basic elements
it had when it was created. For me, that is the key to product marketing,
going back to the very roots to update its elements. Because if we all share
its meaning, everyone is happy, employees and customers. So we developed
Courtepaille in the suburbs to create proximity, diversify the offering with
broiled food and anticipate the growth of family business, with a children’s
menu. Courtepaille is a medium-size company that is perfect for earning
your spurs. That’s probably why the cofounders appointed Gilles Pélisson
to replace me afterward.”
After having worked for Jacques Borel International, PHILIPPE BRIZON
became general manager of Courtepaille and Ibis
before being appointed copresident of Novotel with Gilles Pélisson.

93
Political grapefruits
ADRÉNALINE “Every Wednesday, we picked up food that was transported
from France via Air France at the Baghdad airport. One day,
our Egyptian house steward called me and asked me to meet
him at the airport immediately. All the crates with grapefruits
in them had a cover stamped ‘Product of Israel’! In a panic, we
decided to remove the cover and sneak them out of the airport. We then
hid them in the files in my office. And everyday, I tore one of them up and
threw the pieces into the wastepaper basket.”
RICHARD TRIDON is chief operating officer for Etap Hotel and Formule 1
in the Paris area.
Combat of the titans

“One of the most unforgettable memories of my career is the negotiation I had to carry out
head-on with Sodhexo and Accor, when the two companies wanted to bring us into their
fold. I remember the tiny office where the discussions were held with the two largest
international companies in the sector… With us, a small country, Uruguay, with just 3
million inhabitants, and with a little firm of 20 people! I have to say that I felt somewhat
proud. In the end, Accor was the winner because its financial terms were better and especially because
the Group was already in Brazil and Argentina.
MARTIN ARROSA, is general manager of Accor Sevices in Mexico.
Saddam Hussein’s birthday cake

“I became manager of the Novotel Bagdad, in Iraq, in 1986. We were
right in the middle of the war between Iran and Iraq at the time. Several
times a day, scud missiles hit the city and the explosions were so power-
ful we almost thought they were earthquakes. ‘If we hear it, that’s
because we’re still alive’ – that’s what we told ourselves back then just to
reassure ourselves. The hotel’s personnel was 85% women. They did all the jobs while
the men were at the front: driver, engineer, electrician. The atmosphere in the city was
particularly heavy, the wildest rumors about spying hung over all the foreigners, we
never felt safe. Violence made its way inside the hotel as well: the customers left more
kalashnikovs in the coatroom then coats, sometimes we counted more than 70, it was
At the speed of light a real arsenal! Under these conditions, we couldn’t let up the pressure and certainly not
“I’m really attached to China because everything here moves the day of Saddam Hussein’s birthday: every July 14, the city’s hotels had the tricky
at the speed of a bullet train, and it’s been like that for 15 years job of bringing a homemade cake to the head of state. The only problem was that it was
without the slightest pause. This year will be my 38th in Asia more than 47°C [115°F] and there was no longer any electricity for the refrigerators
and my 15th at Accor. It all started in Shanghai. When I arrived so all the elaborate cakes we made melted instantly. To meet our obligation, we had
in 1992, I discovered a city swarming with pedestrians and to make a cake in record time, then transport it in a car whose air-conditioning had been
millions of bicycles, along with stalls from another era. Today put turned up to the maximum. A cook went along to the presidential palace – his job
the city is crisscrossed with highways, gigantic bridges and was to keep the cake from falling over until its arrival, which was a heroic feat. When
an ultra-modern subway system. With the Olympic Games, we got back to the hotel, I said to the cook: ‘I don’t know what condition the cake is
Beijing is now the one metamorphosing at an incredible in, the two of us might find ourselves on the plane for France tomorrow…’ It was
speed. For Accor, the Sofitel Wanda Beijing is a project that is only when we saw Saddam Hussein, all smiles, on television that night cutting our cake
mobilizing the whole Group. Managing this opening is an that we knew that the Novotel de Bagdad wouldn’t close right away…”
honor but also means enormous pressure, but if you want to
be at the top, you have to withstand this pressure.” KAMEL CHAÏEB is the manager of the Novotel Moscow Centre, in Russia.
GERHARD ZIMMER, of German nationality,

is the manager of the Sofitel Wanda Beijing, China.

94
With your head
in the stars
“This third star from the Michelin Guide gave me
enormous satisfaction because it rewards my
work, my genuine passion for cooking but it also
rewards my team, which is wonderful. But it has- Sofitel, a small island
n’t changed the way I work. I’ve been at Le Pré Catelan for over
10 years, it was a challenge for a young chef and Lenôtre has
surrounded by ruins
“On May 21, 2003, an earthquake that measured 6.7 on the
always had confidence in me. I had the time to ‘ripen’ and find Richter scale hit Algiers. The Sofitel was located less than
my own style. The three stars mean providing the same qual- 15 kilometers from the epicenter. The employees behaved
ity on a regular basis while leaving room and time for creativ- heroically during the evacuation. Even though the after-
ity… So I’m going to spend as much time in the kitchen, which shocks shook the building every 30 seconds, they stayed
is what I really like.” inside, checking every room, every bathroom, to make sure that no one
FRÉDÉRIC ANTON is the chef of had been forgotten. That evening, when the decision was made that it was
Le Pré Catelan restaurant in Paris safe to go back to the hotel, everyone was at his post. We were cut off from
the world, without any telephones, without any supplies, but we were able
to serve our customers their meals at almost the same level as usual. We then
spent the night in the lobby as no one dared to go back to his or her room.
An enormous solidarity spontaneously emerged between the employees
and the customers. We shared the same sofas, we looked together, terrified,
at the huge crystal chandelier that swayed above our heads with every
aftershock. I think that in these extreme situations, we develop a natural
instinct for self-protection and protecting others. That’s why we subse-
quently got involved in a lot of solidarity operations for the population.”
GÉRARD HOUGARDY, of Belgian nationality, is now the manager

of the Novotel Siam Square in Bangkok, Thailand.
A human shield Olympic preparation

“I was the general manager of the Novotel Solo when rioting broke out
“Getting ready for the opening of the Novotel Sydney
in Jakarta and Solo in Indonesia. This was the hardest period for my
Olympic Park in Australia was a memorable adventure. I
team and I. At the worst point in the crisis, my employees had to form a
worked there for two years and I really felt the Olympic spirit.
human shield for 48 hours to protect the hotel and the lives of the peo-
It was an incredible challenge during those two weeks and it
ple staying there. There were 250 of us, half inside, half outside, and no
was absolutely nothing like any other opening. The Sydney
one slept for two days. Soldiers finally were able to evacuate us to
Olympic Park was a very particular site and some people
another Novotel so that we could have food and a place to sleep. My wife
feared for their future after the Olympic Games. It became a
is from Singapore and she was eight and a half months pregnant at the
business center and a very attractive public venue. I’m very
time and I finally convinced her to be evacuated. In the end, the Novotel
happy to have taken part in this adventure.”
was relatively spared whereas 99% of the businesses in Solo had been
looted and burned to the ground. It was practically a miracle! The whole An Australian, CHARLOTTE GUTTE is regional hotel sales
and marketing manager for Vietnam, South Korea and the Philippines.
team pulled together to protect the hotel. There were two Dutchmen
among them, the rest were all local people. I talk about this period with
a lot of pride. I learned that a team could mobilize itself above and beyond
what you think is possible.”
BERND SCHNEIDER, originally from Germany,
pursued his career at Novotel and Sofitel in Asia.

95
MOMENTS IN HISTORY…
An international group isn’t a fortress cut off from the world around it, especially when its
business is in the center of the city and its name is Accor. The life of the Group has occasion-
ally intersected great moments in history. Sometimes these moments are glorious, such as the
construction of Europe or the Olympic Games. But sometimes they are tragic, such as the
tsunami of December 2004, a catastrophe that no one in the Group will ever forget. Mentioning
these moments of joy and sorrow in the same breath may seem shocking, but that is reality.
The company is now a full-fledged actor in civic life. It must be prepared for it and shoulder its
responsibility, as much for its employees as for its environment.
December 2004,
Khao Lak
“I can’t not talk about what will remain the most
terrible day in the whole history of Accor. It’s
the day, of course, of the tsunami tragedy in
December 2004. Hundreds of thousands of peo-
ple were affected, of course, but our hotel, the
Sofitel Magic Lagoon of Khao Lak in Thailand, was the worst
hit. We lost 150 people, including 50 of the staff. Among them
A hotel, a religious
was Reggie Shiu, who was a sort of symbol of Accor in Asia and gathering place
the employee who had been with the Group the longest in the “From François Mitterrand to Lady Diana, by
region. He was there on vacation with his wife and three chil- way of Caroline of Monaco, many of the world’s
dren. We were only able to find his 6-year-old daughter. I was high and mighty have frequented the Old
in the United States when I heard the news, and I couldn’t get Cataract. This Moorish-style hotel that over-
there until 48 hours after the catastrophe. It was absolutely ter- looks the banks of the Nile, built in 1899 in
rible to be confronted with the disappearance of our guests, but Aswan, Egypt, is on an exceptional site in this still isolated
also our employees. There was such chaos, there was no way region. I arrived in this history-laden venue in 2004, with the
of knowing who had died and who had survived. The manager job of repositioning Sofitel and giving it back its imprimatur.
managed to evacuate all the survivors to Bangkok or their Of all the personalities I met there, it was back certainly the
home countries. We then had to deal with the dramatic after- visit of Papa Chenovda III, the Copt equivalent of the Pope
math, it was the most terrible assignment that I ever had to for Roman Catholics, who impressed me the most. For three
handle at Accor.” days, no less than 10,000 of the faithful constantly surged
An American, MICHAEL ISSENBERG
around the hotel to see their religious leader, who had come
is general manager of hotel operations in the Asia-Pacific zone. to consecrate the Aswan church. The Sofitel was practically
cut off from the world, the crowd was so dense that it was
impossible to go in or out. It’s an event that is engraved for-
ever in my memories…”
ROBERT JAN WOLTERING is now the manager

of the Sofitels in Ghent and Bruges in Belgium.

96
Three rendezvous with history
“Three times in my career, I felt like I was experiencing a his-
toric moment at Accor. The first time was when I had to man-
age converting to the euro in 2001. At the time, I was head of
sales at the Novotel des Halles. It wasn’t easy for a sales
manager to handle such a change! We weren’t prepared for
it… This assignment turned out to be a wonderful opportunity and an
amazing source of motivation. It was a very important moment for me
because it was a historic moment for Europe, and I’m an out-and-out
European. Another key period was when I went to Hong Kong in
September 2001. The arrival in Hong Kong was very particular because it
was just after the terrorist attacks on the Twin Towers in New York. It was
a strategic moment because Accor had just bought the Century group. I
arrived there, the only employee of the Group, with a particularly heavy
international context and a difficult local one, as in every takeover situation.
In a way, I was the Group’s ambassador and my job was to go beyond my
position insofar as I represented the Group’s corporate culture. A third
example is the period of the SARS epidemic, which brought a good part of
Asia to its knees in 2003. In Hong Kong, all the hotels went from a 90%
occupancy rate to 5%. We stayed and did whatever we could… There was real
solidarity between Accor employees in the region, which meant everyone felt
very proud to belong to this Group.”
GUIDO MILNER, an Italian,
is the general manager of the Sofitel Westlake Hangzhou, China.
From Phnom Penh palaces

to a liberated Romania
“A few weeks after I arrived in Phnom Penh, in Cambodia, I was told, ‘King
Sihanouk wants to see you’. We were specialized in protocol, we were going
to handle all the official meals, so he had to see who was going to have
access to all the royal palaces. We entered King Sihanouk’s private pavil-
ion by the rear. He was seated on a chair that looked a little like a throne,
with the queen next to him. He got up and shook my hand, in the French way.
He asked me questions about France, the regions, French cuisine, truf-
fles… rather specific, subtle questions… The two-year contract was really
an incredible period. We always worked under unbelievable conditions, in
fabulous places, but without any electricity at all! It was a little like going
back to the eighteenth century. You had to rise to the occasion. But we
thrive on stress. Next, there was Bucharest, in Romania, in 1995. It had been
several years since Ceaucescu had been deposed, but there was still pres-
sure from the secret police. But you could feel the beginnings of freedom,
you could talk a little to people. I saw the city grow and modernize amaz-
ingly in two years. All our personnel had the strength and courage to
emerge from totalitarianism. As time went on, I saw people increasingly
open up and thrive.”
FRANÇOIS GUILLOCHER is the chef at the Sofitel Hyland, Shanghai, China.

97
LITTLE STORIES BETWEEN FRIENDS
Forty years of professional life. Marriages, lives built abroad,
solid friendships. A host of little stories make up everyday
life. Put end to end, these anecdotes and memories form the
history of the Group and have forged the solidarity of all its
employees. A quick tour of the Accor world…
Monk for a day

“I’ll never forget one of the conventions that I had
organized, where we were all made up and dressed
as monks. Our meals were served in wood bowls
and it all ended in a wild dance with Gérard
Pélisson and the president of Air France at the
time. I had opened the convention with a parody of a sermon by
an abbot bringing up the cofounders. Gérard Pélisson hadn’t
recognized me and asked in no uncertain terms who the nut was
who allowed himself to talk about him like that. Nearly 30 years
later, at the party held for my retirement, Gérard gave me a
package. It’s was a monk’s habit. You can imagine the emotion I
felt.”
JEAN-PIERRE MALET was one of the Group’s pioneers
and was head of the Mercure hotel network.
Mixed feelings…
“During an Accor convention in the early 1980s, Gérard Pélisson
was discussing a development project for the Group, explaining that
he had ‘mixed feelings’ [using the English expression] about it.
Seeing some incomprehension in the audience, he asked them with
a smile: ‘You don’t know what mixed feelings are? Let’s see, I’m
going to use a personal example to explain it. Just imagine that I take my
mother-in-law to see the cliffs of Étretat in my brand-new Bentley. When we get
there she asks me if she can try the car, uses the wrong gear, goes into reverse
and falls off the cliff. And looking down on the wrecked car, I experience the most
striking example of what mixed feelings are. Get it? Okay, then let’s continue…’”
PIERRE-MICHEL KAUFMANN was communication director for the Accor Group.

98
A surprise gift
“I don’t know how to describe the years I spent
on the Ibis teams. We were all aware of having
been part of an extraordinary epic. Everything
moved at breakneck speed, sometimes too
quickly for someone like me with a legal back-
ground. It’s true that at Formule 1, for example, construction
sometimes started even before we got the building permit,
but that was the prerequisite for success. It was a period
when ideas merged, when we all worked relentlessly but
where a party mood prevailed. Humor, conviviality, the pleas-
ure of working together and having fun were all there even
during our most serious conventions. I was even floored the
day when for my birthday I was given an enormous package.
One of my colleagues was inside and he popped out like a
Jack-in-the-box!”
A fatal Monday morning CATHERINE BERTINI is corporate legal director of the Accor Group.
“At the time, the offices were in the Novotel in

Lesquin. One weekend, we learned that a cus-
tomer had just died. So as not to frighten the
clientele, we put the body in the room of Stanislas
Rollin, the financial director, which he ordinarily
used as an office. Every weekend, he returned to
Paris to be with his family. On Monday morning,
Stanislas Rollin went into his room without us
having the time to warn him about what was in
it. Horrors! He found a dead man on his bed. You
should have seen his face – we still laugh about it.”
JEANNINE HONNAERT
was Paul Dubrule’s first secretary (account contributed
by Louis Deretz).
A precious intern
“One day, in 1979, Gérard Pélisson asked me to come into his office.
‘Olivier, you’re going to get a bonus.’ ‘Very good,’ I replied, surprised. ‘No,
I’m not going to pay you any more, you’re going to get an intern as a
bonus,’ he said to me. It turned out that this intern was a certain Gilles
Pélisson. He was 18 years old. At the time, part of my work was to collect,
the first day of each month, between exactly 8 a.m. and noon, the results of each hotel’s
activities of the previous month. We did this by telex except for a few hotels in Africa. It
was more complicated there. So I very quickly caught on that if your name was Gilles
Pélisson, it was easier to get this precious information. ‘May I say who’s calling?’ ‘It’s Mr.
Pélisson.’ ‘Oh yes, I’ll give it to you right away’.”
Novotel, Hotelia, Internet, Sofitel, OLIVIER WEILL
has held many positions, notably in finance and operations.

99
OPENINGS
NOT LIKE ANY OTHERS
Opening a hotel is often a test of strength and a source of major stress because you
are never really ready and very few openings take place under ideal conditions.
That’s life… But sometimes, certain openings remained etched in your memory
when the unpredictable pops up, when obstacles seem endless or the conditions are
really unusual. Unfinished construction, no water, an undesirable manager, some-
times you have to call on Mother Invention, shut your eyes, screw up your courage…
and take the leap.
Waiting for the first customer

“I remember the opening of the Novotel Lille Lesquin. I can
still see my son and daughter, waiting for the first customer.
They were sitting opposite each other in a small office just to
the left when you went in. They kept moving the curtain
aside to see if a car had arrived.”
PAUL DUBRULE SR.
(account contributed by Louis Deretz).
The Sopranos in New York

“Just before the opening of the Novotel in New
York, the president of the powerful hotel
employees union called me in for a meeting.
‘Just sign here at the bottom of the page and you
won’t have any problems,’ he told me. I refused.
I resisted arson, threats and personal intimidations but it was
absolutely impossible for us to open. On inauguration day, we
were supposed to welcome a group of 120 veterans accompa-
nied by their wives in evening dress. I told the retired general
about the situation. He contacted a friend, who happened to be
the mayor of New York. Two hours later, the problem was
solved and we finally opened. But during the evening, the
water tower on the roof was mysteriously opened and water
poured down through all the floors. After that, we had 24
weeks of strikers picketing the hotel.”
From Nancy in France to New York, by way of Brazil, DANIEL COCCOLI
has taken part in the Group’s development throughout the world.
Airlift over N’Jamena A manager wanted by Interpol
“In 1983, I was working for Devimco, our hotel
“It was 1977. The minister of tourism had just fired the team of the pres-
purchasing group at the time. We bought and
tigious Montfébé hotel in Cameroon, bought from the Sheraton chain.
delivered all the material for the hotels, from a
We had 48 hours to take over this hotel. Welcomed like a minister with an
dessert fork to the carpeting, everywhere in
escort at the airport, I found myself alone at the head of a 200-room
Africa and the Middle East. We had renovated
hotel. They finally sent me a manager. To introduce him to the officials and
and opened the Novotel in N’Jamena in Chad. We did it by
the local community, I organized an evening at the hotel. Everyone who was anyone in
exporting and delivering in parts all the equipment. We even
Yaoundé came to this cocktail party where there were 200 guests. At the party, the
supplied the French soldiers with wine from Marignane!”
Swiss ambassador found me and told me that my future manager was a crook wanted
JEAN-MARC LOUSTALET is deputy managing director by Interpol and that he was supposed to arrest him if he walked into the embassy! I was
of Accor Services.
in a panic and decided to find the man in question, whom I had just picked up at the
airport. I came right out and told him that I knew everything. Enraged, he denied it all.
The next day, he flew back to Europe. I had come to Yaoundé for what was supposed
to be four or five days and I wound up spending six months there…”
After having spent many years developing Novotel, especially in Africa, ANDRÉ MOTTE
ran Lenôtre, Hôtels Arcade and Courtepaille.
OPENINGS
NOT LIKE ANY OTHERS
A wonderful journey
“Accor has been a wonderful and exciting journey for me. The
first thing that pops into my mind is the pleasure we have work-
ing together. We couldn’t devote so much time and energy to
working, traveling and managing an enormous amount of stress,
if there wasn’t this shared pleasure and joy to compensate for it. I
started as a waiter before becoming a porter, a yield manager, a
financial manager, then development manager for a few years.
One of the highlights of my career was the opening of the Novotel
Hyderabad, in November 2006, first because it was the first hotel
opened in India, and second because Gilles Pélisson came for the
inauguration. It was a very strong sign for the Indian market of our
commitment to the country, but also a strong sign for the whole
team here. His arrival really motivated us. I think that I’m lucky to
be young and working in a region as dynamic as Asia-Pacific. I
believe that the years to come will be very stimulating for us and
will change the Group’s future in the region.
GAURAV BHUSHAN, born in India, is senior vice-president

in charge of development for the Asia-Pacific region.
Keeping a close eye

Free!
on a hotel “Before joining the Accor Group, I had my own
“In 1973, Gérard Pélisson lived in the 20th arrondissement in Paris. From his small restaurant in Paris. You might think that
balcony, he had a direct view on the Novotel Bagnolet, which had just opened. this kind of place, because of its size, would cre-
Every night, he took his binoculars and counted the number of rooms that ate a friendly atmosphere for the customer. And
were lit up in the hotel. Our president had just invented a new long-distance you’d be wrong. Between running the kitchen,
management method. Thanks to his binoculars, he knew, in real time and managing deliveries and doing the accounting, I didn’t have a
with total accuracy, what the hotel’s occupancy rate was. Gérard Pélisson paid second for the clientele. It was not until 1989, when I sold my
enormous attention to the Bagnolet project. It has to be said that this 600- business and became F&B manager at an Ibis hotel in La
room hotel was a major economic challenge for our Group, which had, until Défense, that I could finally focus on the heart of my profession:
then, only opened hotels with a maximum of 110 rooms. If Bagnolet hadn’t been customer service. This may seem paradoxical: I worked in an
a success, the whole future of the Group would have been open to question. hotel with 184 rooms but I never felt as available for the clien-
Fortunately, we had a very good occupancy rate almost right away. We had tele as I did then. This large structure, with its flawless organ-
even been helped, unintentionally, by the CGT union, which had called a strike ization, allowed every employee to mobilize his or her energy
in all the sector’s hotels. So the clientele rushed to the Novotel. The union’s for specific tasks. I didn’t have to worry about accounting any-
headquarters were in a neighboring suburb and when Georges Séguy, the more. I was free to practice my restaurant profession full time.”
CGT’s general secretary, came to the hotel for lunch, we always thanked him SALAH OUMOUDEN is chief operating officer for Accor hotels in Morocco.
for that wonderful strike!”
HENRY PERRET was the first manager of the Novotel Bagnolet in 1972.
He went to high school with Gérard Pélisson.

102
Traveling with your eyes open
“What I learned during all those years of travel was that tack-
ling Asia as a monolithic continent would be a mistake. I like
the diversity, the richness, the contrasts and incredible
potential of these regions. I make it a point of honor to travel
‘with my eyes open’ because each regional difference has to
be respected. My first contact with the Group dates back to the Novotel
Darling Harbour project, in Australia, which led to my taking the helm of
Accor Asia-Pacific. When we created this hotel branch, no one believed in
it. People called the buildings white elephants: projects doomed to failure.
In fact, we were visionaries and in the 1990s Darling Harbour was the cat-
alyst for tourism in Australia. We found ourselves in a golden age and are
now experiencing extraordinary growth with the explosion in China and
India. The years to come will be full of challenges. And it’s up to us to meet
them!”
DAVID BAFFSKY, born in Sydney,
is chief operating officer of Accor Asia-Pacific.
I acknowledge that
I am my uncle’s nephew
“This sentence is an extract from my deposition at
the police station in Douala, in Cameroon. It was
in December 1978. I had been taken there by the
police after a jealous employee had denounced
me because he thought I had come to take away
local people’s jobs. I was interrogated by the Cameroon
policemen for two or three hours. I described my whole back-
ground to justify my presence in Cameroon. I was 22 years
old at the time and I was doing a hands-on internship required
by the business school I was attending. My job was to be a
night manager for the opening of the Novotel Douala.”
GILLES C. PÉLISSON is Accor’s CEO.

PASSIONATELY…
Enthusiasm, involvement, motivation… Those are the words
often used in companies where people feel good about being
there. But it’s a giant step from there to talking about passion!
This is true, however, for the many employees whose life at
Accor goes beyond a professional interest. Many of them have
spent their whole working life in the Group, some have
returned after a detour elsewhere. Others have been able to
experience a genuine passion, both personal and professional,
in the Group and even more importantly, have shared it.
Sharing
enthusiasm too
“There were times when we
opened 20 or 30 hotels a year, in
the mid-1970s, during the period
of expansion abroad, to Brussels,
Antwerp, Amsterdam and farther
afield, for example the French West Indies. That
meant that my business trips, instead of the tra-
ditional Paris-Orléans route, turned into Paris-
New York or Paris-Point-à-Pitre… Except for our
trips abroad, we mostly traveled by car at the
period. We could stay months all the same in the
same hotel to put together and train the teams.
There was really a lot of enthusiasm, if not, we
couldn’t have done all that. We were aware that
we were taking part in something extraordinary,
with very motivating creative work. It was great!
In addition, communication was very easy
between the founders and the employees, which
was unusual. Even when the company became
really big, the ease of communication never
changed, things could be settled by a single
phone call with the presidents. Getting us to
share this incredible enthusiasm was one of the
Group’s strongest values.”
From the Novogrill in Angers to the Novotel New York,
CLAUDE MOSCHENI opened a great many hotels and had
operational responsibilites before becoming the head of
the Novotel, Sofitel and Mercure brands.

104
Educating the palate
“Wine is really fantastic but understanding only
comes with time. It takes 10 years of apprentice-
ship, educating your taste and a real determina-
tion to understand wine. There’s nothing inborn
about it… I’ve always liked entering competi-
tions, it’s also a way for me to challenge myself, to have that
opening of the mind on the world of wine. That was how I
became the best sommelier in France, the best sommelier in the
A plumber, jasmine,
world. I took part in a championship in Tokyo, then in a gift for your mother-in-law
Montreal, both of which I won… Accor gave me support the “Being a practical life counselor is really the pro-
whole time I was in competition. At Lenôtre, I took care of fession I like best, even if I stayed in the hotel
selecting wines for all the brand’s stores and the Lenôtre cater- business for a long time. It’s even a calling, that
ers. I traveled to the vineyards, I drew up the wine list, the of helping the other employees in a very concrete
work was really perfect for me… I also took on certain assign- way by handling their concerns and solving
ments for the Accor Group, notably for great Mercure wines. It’s minor everyday problems. It’s simply accompanying them on a
an amazing concept because it made it possible to democratize personal level. Whether it’s via the Internet site or on the
high-quality vintages so that everyone can enjoy them.” phone, employees can ask us anything they want: legal and
tax advice, where to find childcare or a doctor, a plumber or a
OLIVIER POUSSIER, honored as world’s best sommelier in 2000,
vice-champion of the world in 1995, ticket for a plane trip or a show. As time goes on, we create an
best sommelier in France in 1989 and 1990. information file and become really resourceful in handling
every kind of situation. Sometimes, there are tricky questions
– ‘what is the season for jasmine?’ – or exotic ones – ‘where
can you get tiaré flowers?’ We have to find ideas for arranging
Santa’s helper ‘my older daughter’s wedding’ or ‘a gift for my mother-in-law’
“I’m the son of pastry chefs. As a child, I spent
or ‘finding a houseboat rather than a sailboat’. No request is
Christmas Eve putting dwarfs and spun sugar
impossible. All we need is enough time…”
mushrooms on Yule logs. At the time, I envied my
TANGUY TUAL has been a concierge for companies since 2001.
cousins who were celebrating the holiday but,
looking back, this precocious apprenticeship
gave me a 10-year advance in this business. To sum up my
career: I went into the “stables” and I followed the trends. The
people you meet are critical. What I am I partially owe to my
‘coaches’. In 1995, I was running the Martinez luxury hotel in
Cannes when Accor asked me to take over the Lenôtre firm.
The name alone brought visions of luxury and beauty. Without
a moment’s reflection, I said ‘yes’. Today, it’s my turn to have
a ‘stable’. I’m always on the lookout for young talent and I pick
them out so that I can help them develop. It’s a profession
where you have to like people. Where knowing how to share
and transmit know-how is fundamental.”
PATRICK SCICARD has been chairman of the Board
of Directors of Lenôtre for 10 years.

105
PASSIONATELY…
You have nonstandard ideas!

“ ‘Go ahead, go for it. We’ll see what happens
later’. This leitmotiv has followed me throughout
my career at Accor. This confidence and free-
dom of action and experience has its reverse
side: it’s tough, you have to work really hard…
But it gave me wings. It’s amazing how it liberated my energy.
In 1975, when I joined the Group, I was 23 and had just got-
ten my diploma when, after finishing an internship, I was
asked point blank: ‘We’d like to put you in charge of the
Group’s cash flow. Would you like to do it?’ I didn’t have the
means or the experience, just a pencil and an eraser. I didn’t
hesitate for a second. I had some incredible moments, like not
having enough money in the till to pay wages and having to
negotiate, myself, a short-term credit of several million French
francs to be able to pay. Or the time when I was alone in New
York one August 15 [a holiday in France] faced with an army
of American lawyers to finalize the acquisition of Motel 6. The
Americans kept saying to me: ‘You have nonstandard ideas!’
There were crazy moments but they were amazingly intense.”
ÉLIANE ROUYER has held many positions in finance
in the Group and has run, since 1992, the financial communication
and investor relations department.
A shower of stars
He had to go shopping with Princess Grace, satisfy the
whims of Ivana Trump, take Peter Townshend of the Who
sightseeing, but his great day was the one when he wel-
comed his idol, Mick Jagger! He knows more secrets than
the celebrity press, but he also knows how to keep them. A
Frenchman of Moroccan origin, Mohamed Raki has been
the “institutional” porter of the Sofitel Minneapolis in
Minnesota in the United States for 25 years.
MOHAMED RAKI, porter at the Sofitel Minneapolis,
Minnesota, United States.

106
A whole world A transmitter of culture
Abderahman Belgat, nicknamed “Abdou”, is the living proof It’s hard to believe but the man who, sitting on his straw mat, drinking his
of eclecticism at Accor. This warm, cultivated and passionate tea in the courtyard of his house with his bottle of gas right on the
multicultural personality started in tourism as a GO at Club ground, his sheep tied to a tree and all his children playing barefoot in the
Méditerranée. After a career spent in the most beautiful lux- sand around him, is also able to run a department with 50 employees
ury hotels in the world, he moved to the Middle East, while and serve a thousand people dinner at an international congress. Demba
remaining open to the world and its many different cultures. Diop, the chef of La Citronnelle, the gastronomic restaurant of the Sofitel
DR. ABDERAHMAN BELGAT is general manager of Accor hotels
Teranga in Dakar, Senegal, knows how to present a nouvelle cuisine-style
in Saudi Arabica and Kuwait. fish terrine with its sprig of dill delicately placed on the upper right of the
plate and its lemony sauce as well as cook his mafé (a meat stew with
peanut sauce), nicely spiced and eaten right out of the pot at home.
Demba Diop is like that, he knows how to adapt to and juggle several
Sports, politics and worlds. When he was getting his first spurs in the restaurant business, he
remembers having spent the entire night in the kitchen perfecting dishes
the hotel business with the French chef of the period. And there’s no mistake about it, this
“In 1972, when I met Louison Bobet, we immediately liked chef is a master of French cuisine. Through a skillful alliance, there is no
each other. Both of us came from Brittany, we were both one more multicultural than Demba Diop, born in Fouta Toro, with two
high-level athletes and Louison asked me to work on very dif- wives and 11 children, or more cast in nouvelle cuisine with the French
ferent assignments: bookkeeper in his thalassotherapy cen- touch, capable of satisfying the most discerning palates. He is a typically
ter in Quiberon and trainer of his soccer team, the Stade Quiberonnais, Senegalese synthesis blending global thinking and local action. He is not
with which I won the West Brittany Cup. After the merger with the far from the celebrated mix of anchoring and opening dear to the
Jacques Borel International group, I continued to lead this double exis- Senegalese poet, Léopold Senghor.
tence, which became a triple one in 1995, when I was elected Quiberon’s
DEMBA DIOP is the chef of the gastronomic restaurant at the Sofitel Teranga, in Dakar,
city counselor. I then came up with the idea of creating the first city coun- Senegal (account contributed by Fabrice Hervieu-Wane).
cil for the young people in France. For a long time, I was really concerned
about integrating young people into a city’s political life. I also envisage
creating a training center for young computer technicians in the country
where I was born, Mali. The Accor Group has always been happy to let me
carry out these operations. Supporting the employees’ personal accom-
plishments is definitely part of the company’s policy.”
MAMADOU DANTE is head accountant for the Sofitel in Quiberon.

He is also deputy mayor, in charge of tourism and economic activities, for the city.
The freedom to create Gold medals in Sydney

“When I met Philippe Brizon at a dinner party, we talked a lot about archi-
tecture. We shared the same vision on a lot of points, and when he asked me You can have two lives and be as passionate
to play a consultant’s role for the bid for tender launched for Courtepaille, I about one as the other. And Michael McCann is
agreed right away. I immediately started an independent collaboration. I the living proof. An employee in the hotel
had already created several companies, and I find that it’s fundamental to reservation department of Darling Harbour, in
continue nourishing yourself with other projects, other milieus… For me, this is an Sydney, Australia, he also has another life,
absolutely indispensable condition for creativity and anticipation. When Philippe Brizon that of a high-level athlete. During the Olympic Games in
and Gilles Pélisson asked me if I wanted to supervise the team working on Novotel, I 2004, he was in Athens, Greece, busy running across the
accepted provided that I could retain this freedom, which in the end allowed me to enrich hockey field with his friends on the Australian team. And
my work at Accor. They understood and that’s how the ‘Research and Style’ cell came into they won! Everyone at the Novotel in Darling Harbour fol-
being. We had agreed to hold a meeting six months later to take stock. But our work was lowed every second of his exploits.
so dense and exciting right from the start that we never needed that famous meeting.” MICHAEL MCCANN , is an employee in the hotel reservation department
in Darling Harbour, in Sydney, Australia.
MICHEL GICQUEL is the director of the “Innovation and Design” department.

107
ONE PLANET
Every afternoon when she goes to the Novotel where she works, Roberta runs into a
group of 10-year-old children in the street with nothing to do. She knows that all that’s
needed is a room so that they can go to school. Razvani, an employee at the Sofitel,
lives near a magnificent beach that the village’s inhabitants have used as a dump. Their
children play on the sand littered with refuse. He figures that mobilizing a team of
30 people for two days would be enough to turn the beach once again into a thing of
beauty. Of course, keeping it the way nature intended would require preventive actions.
Daniel lives near a mining center. His brother, a nurse, has just told him that he’s wor-
ried about the rise in AIDS cases now that the media no longer pays much attention to
the problem. He is thinking about talking to his colleagues at Ibis tomorrow, especially
as one of them has a close relative who has the disease…
▼
Ait Ourir Children’s Village in Morocco, supported by SOS Children’s Villages and Accor.
ACCOR ONE PLANET

110
Over 150,000 Accor employees means over 150,000 ways of
living each day in a world where they come in contact with
people and different situations. The question is not one of
numbers or statistics but of reality directly or indirectly expe-
rienced on a daily basis. Being attentive to the environment
and the well-being of men and women is the foundation of
solidarity and sustainable development, which has been
among Accor’s goals for many years. The Group however has
followed its own path on this issue, based on the vision and
action of its employees, in each and every country. No study
or communication plan can replace this direct and many-
sided experience, this active presence in the social and eco-
nomic fabric.
▼
Mercure Sarakawa, Lomé, Togo.
JUNE 1992
Rio de Janeiro,
opening of the Earth Summit
Journalists from around the world present that day had mixed
feelings. Of course, all of them felt that the event was out of the
ordinary: the organizers succeeding in giving it a certain feel-
ing of solemnity. There were 118 heads of state in attendance,
including the most important ones in the world, a vibrant
appeal from the secretary general of the United Nations men-
tioning for the first time the absolute necessity of taking con-
crete steps in the name of future generations. But in the wings,
there was skepticism, notably from large companies. Although
most of them showed real, or at least polite, interest, the ques-
tion for the moment was to not miss a communication oppor-
tunity. The multinationals were afraid of once again being
▼
Mercure & Residenz Frankfurt Messe,

Germany.
named as the guilty parties. They had trouble, like the rest of
the world moreover, to clearly define “sustainable develop-
ment”, that technocratic term that many felt was doomed to be
ephemeral.
ONE PLANET ACCOR

111
Intuition,
but something more…
Paul Dubrule and Gérard Pélisson followed the Earth Summit’s final reso-
lutions with interest. For some time, they had felt that the movement was
one of great scope, irreversible and that groups like Accor would be on the
front line. Both of them observed with great acuity the micro-phenomena
that started to appear in society and that heralded a strong trend. In an
interview given in 1993 when the Employment Pact was signed in France,
they stated that “as a world leader in the tourism industry, Accor asserts its
responsibility as a corporate citizen, in its social, economic, cultural and
ecological environment.”
It was intuition, but something more than that. When the very first Novotels
were being built, the two founders had laid down the law: if the land had trees
on it, the location of the hotel had to be modified and the trees not cut down.
The reason makes perfect sense: young spindly trees take at least 15 years
to attain maturity and beauty.
When the hotels were built in the countryside, the goal was to open up the
reception and restaurant areas to nature.
Ten years in advance

In 1994, Thierry Mueth created the Group’s very
first environment department to develop a coher-
ent and committed policy on the subject. Only
three other CAC 40 companies in France had an ▼ Mercure Sarakawa, Lomé, Togo.
environment director at the time. Of course the
WWTC, the international professional tourism
organization, included training and the environ-
ment as an essential element of its work, but
there was not a single notable initiative. The
repercussions of the Rio Summit were clearly
taking their time to appear.
In the Group, an environmental project had
already started two years earlier: selective waste
collection, which had even gotten the municipal-
ities, for whom it was still not a priority, moving. So
in Bordeaux, all 17 Accor hotels had mobilized to
set up sorting before the infrastructures even
existed. Moreover, Paul Dubrule, president of
“Entreprise et Progrès” created, in 1999 with
Thierry Mueth’s help, the prize for the best annual
report on the environment, before the publication
of this report became a legal obligation for com-
panies listed on the French stock exchange.
ACCOR ONE PLANET

112
▼
The photovoltaic panels of the Ibis Paris Porte de Clichy Centre, France.
Breaking the existing codes

A real environmental policy was set in motion and entailed innovation and a break with
existing ways of thinking, notably for hotel construction. Energy, a tricky subject, is a
good example. Solar energy seemed much too complicated or too costly to implement. But
a painstaking pedagogical approach bore its fruits. In 2001, 17 hotels in France were
equipped with solar panels, making Accor the largest user in terms of square meters, all
industries combined. Today, there are 41 hotels using solar energy, including the Ibis Paris
Porte de Clichy, which directly produces electricity through its photovoltaic panels. Hotel
construction gradually adapted as well. The Olympics Games hotel complex in Sydney was
built in partnership with the WWF, Suitehotel inaugurated a “green” construction site and
the first “High Environmental Quality” constructions were erected in 2004. A “virtuous
circle” was put into gear and the system launched coalesced in the Earth Guest program.
▼
Ibis Nantes La Beaujoire, France.
Time,
an inexorable factor
The founding acts
The reason Paul Dubrule and Gérard Pélisson were so much in advance The conditions for a successful environmental policy were rapidly laid down, always
on the environment issue is perhaps because they quickly understood extremely rational and pragmatic: they had to be understood by everyone involved, which
the importance of the time factor in the hotel business. The Group is a meant concrete actions that provided real added value.
medium and long-term actor on its environment. A hotel is built to last at The first initiatives are a good illustration of this approach, such as the publication in
least 40 or 50 years so it has a major and long-lasting impact on its sur- 1995 – which drew a great deal of attention – of an entertaining comic book on waste sort-
roundings. First, on the aesthetic and architectural level. Gilles Pélisson ing. The establishment of an environmental charter was also the basis of a proactive pol-
is moreover the first to acknowledge that this dimension has not always icy, developed in the field and not dictated by management, clearly showing 15 concrete
been taken enough into account in the Group. But also as concerns eco- actions to be implemented at each hotel. It was certainly not easy, far from it: it was often
logical, environmental and social balance. The negative impact of necessary to go to each hotel to convince and train the teams, but the movement was
tourism has been a concern of the cofounders from their very begin- launched, first in France, next elsewhere in Europe and then throughout the world. A
nings. Paul Dubrule stated in 1974 that “the environment was the raw definite sign of success: not only is the charter still in effect in over 3,200 hotels, but it now
material of tourism.” In 1992, the Group’s annual report stressed the has 65 actions to its credit. The approach was also easy to evaluate, which was an advan-
necessity of adapting to each country in which Accor was present. tage. Each region, each country communicates the number of actions undertaken, so
Partnerships also reflect the attention given to the damaging effects of each of them is accountable.
tourism: with the WWF, the support of the Nausicaä program for pro- This global approach, ranging from the day-to-day management of hotels to the use of
tection of the oceans, the conservation of a country’s architectural and nat- solar energy, initiated by Thierry Mueth, quickly became a reference, copied in the busi-
ural heritage… Gérard Pélisson had recalled in 1994, “Doing nothing or ness world, because it was realistic and concrete. Out of 600 companies, Accor received,
letting things happen is more costly than acting” in 1998, the prize for the best environmental policy.
ONE PLANET ACCOR

113
The earth
welcomes us,
After a decade of action, Earth Guest, a program created in 2006 by
Hélène Roques, sustainable development director, has reasserted the
Group’s fundamentals: the fact that Accor’s businesses and sustainable
development are inseparably linked.
The goals are extremely simple but incredibly ambitious: maximizing the
positive impact and minimizing the negative impact of the Group’s
activities by extending this program through solidarity actions. To do so,
Accor uses all the tools already in place, including the hotel environ-
mental charter, fruitful and innovative partnerships and very detailed
follow-up indicators. But the most important tool of all is the irre-
placeable involvement and enthusiasm of its employees. They make it
possible to successfully implement the “Ego” and “Eco” projects, to use
their in-house names, i.e., actions designed to protect people and the
environment.
Accor did not choose the simplest path, that of supporting a single
major cause, but instead decided to stay in contact with every type of
reality, every emergency situation. It is impossible to draw up an
exhaustive list of every action carried out worldwide, but the Group
does have eight priorities: the protection of children, support for local
development, the promotion of a healthy diet and the fight against epi-
demics for the “Ego” projects, and the preservation of water and energy
resources, waste management and the protection of biodiversity for
those of “Eco”.
we welcome
the world…
Preserving the environment
The worldwide production of energy has doubled in 35 years and the pres-
sure of man on nature has strongly increased, resulting in an erosion of bio-
diversity: 25% of all mammals and 13% of plant species are threatened Supporting local development
with extinction. So the use of natural resources must be managed to limit One inhabitant out of five on the planet does not have access to drink-
the impact on the environment. This is a difficult task when you wish to able water. Twenty percent of the world’s population is illiterate. No
maintain the same level of services. So the solution is to turn to innovative hotel, no business anywhere in the world could imagine being an island
ideas, tailored to each individual situation. Recovering rain water, reduc- of prosperity isolated from its immediate environment or a fortress
ing flows, keeping watering and laundering at a reasonable level, replac- against poverty and social problems. Aid to local development is not
ing standard light bulbs with low-watt ones, diminishing the amount of just a humanistic choice but a necessary one. Recruiting locally, equip-
time they are lit, reducing CO2 emissions… every gesture helps. At the ping an hotel with a wastewater treatment plant, financially supporting
other end of the chain, waste management has been recognized as a pri- job creation and training, favoring local producers and fair trade are
ority for the Group, which has set the ambitious goal, for 2010, of keeping ways for an economic actor to support local development and help
its lead in waste sorting and recycling and extending its program of reduc- the environment.
ing the quantity of waste produced.
ACCOR ONE PLANET

114
Protecting children
Daring to confront the plague of sex tourism involving children is the clear and
unambiguous choice made by Accor, which has been a partner since 2001 of
the international NGO ECPAT (End Child Prostitution,
Pornography and Trafficking of Children for Sexual
Purposes). The travel agency network CWT and the
Accor hotels in Thailand were behind this initiative. It
Earth Guest Day, is a difficult battle that requires not only heightening
customer awareness but training employees to
a day identify situations where they must refuse access to
on our planet their hotel. Billboarding, brochure distribution,

educational kits, no action, no vigilance is super-
fluous. The Group has implemented action pro-
On April 22, 2007, International Earth Day, something happened on the grams and made this commitment official by signing
Accor planet. Teams the world over mobilized that same day to celebrate the “Code of Conduct for the Protection of Children
the Earth Day program and carry out the emblematic “Eco” and “Ego” from Sexual Exploitation in Travel and Tourism”. Created
actions. In 69 countries, thousands of employees demonstrated their per- by ECPAT and the World Tourism Organization, this code
sonal commitment to sustainable development. The event relayed and establishes the principles of an active policy that fights against this plague.
organized by each country produced impressive results. Over 20,000 trees Eighteen countries in which the Group is present have already signed the code
were planted in North America, an ecological ark to fight against the and this is just the beginning.
encroaching desert was built in Ivory Coast, animal species were pro-
tected in Austria, Netherlands and France, a march for the defense of
children was organized in Thailand, a soccer match for disadvantaged Fighting
children was held in Lyon, a volunteer day was organized in 35 Latin
American cities. In France, Spain and Portugal, chocolate was sold by against AIDS
Compagnie des Wagon-Lits to finance a literacy project, care centers for
For the last few years, Western public opinion has let the dangers of AIDS
children with AIDS were renovated in South Africa and India, a Gustino
take a back seat. The result is that the silent ravages that it causes in pop-
balanced meal program was launched at the new head office in Paris,
ulations, notably in emerging countries, have almost been forgotten.
natural sites were cleaned in Tunisia,
Companies have their responsibility cut out for them in this area because
Réunion island, Saudi Arabia and
AIDS as well as malaria and tuberculosis can affect employees the world
Hungary. On all continents and in all
over, as well as their families. Because these diseases decimate young
its businesses, the Group’s concern
adults, in 2006 Accor signed a global commitment of companies to fight
has been to control energy use, econ-
AIDS. This action, initiated by the Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS,
omize water, limit and manage waste
Tuberculosis and Malaria (GBC), of which Accor is a member, encourages
and be attentive to children’s needs.
companies to invest more in countries where they do business. Accor’s
programs to fight against AIDS also extend to the workplace and involve
prevention as well as treatment.
ONE PLANET ACCOR

115
Daring
solidarity
Solidarity is not an empty word for a company. Of course, it would be
▼
A school for women in India.
easier to talk about corporate sponsorship, a more traditional area in
which the types of actions carried out are now codified. Talking
about solidarity is more daring because it shows a global attitude
that is more overreaching than just a catalogue of good deeds.
By definition, solidarity connects the destiny of each individ-
ual to that of all people, in such a way that each person must
deal with the problems encountered or caused by other
groups in the community. Solidarity is distinctly different
from aid or charity because it implies that you feel really
concerned about the problems you are fighting against.
Being attentive to others does not only involve the material
dimension. It also means being committed and looking at
things differently. For example, Accor supports the Greffe de
Vie foundation, which promotes organ donations and favors
research, and has also gotten involved in the fight against
multiple sclerosis, a chronic neurological disease.
Changing viewpoints…
Solidarity means daring to look directly at what is around us. And that
is what the teams at the Novotel Strasbourg Centre Halles did, break-
ing a taboo by organizing, for the last two years, a diner for 40 homeless
people. This initiative definitely changed people’s mind-sets. It was a
tough subject to tackle, not part of what we usually think of as a hotel’s
job, but for which an immediate local action was found. And this is a won-
derful way to define solidarity.
Changing your viewpoint can also mean knowing how to get closer. The
media coverage of poverty sometimes makes the suffering of local pop-
ulations abstract and virtual. Because it is right there, Accor sees real-
ity on a daily basis. The employees don’t react to numbers and statistics
but to urgent, vital needs. Some of them describe what they’ve seen
and done in these pages but we would have liked to have had the space
to let all of those who are involved throughout the world speak.
▼
The Children’s Village of Ait Ourir in Morocco.

An extraordinary experience
“Come and work in one of the 28 Accor hotels in Strasbourg and you’ll see that you
won’t be just a professional in the hotel business. You’ll also get involved, every day, in
solidarity actions for the poorest people. Since 2001, we’ve increased these types of
actions. We also very concretely got involved in helping women who are victims of vio-
lence. As soon as the Red Cross asks us to, we find them rooms in our hotels. But the
▼
most extraordinary experience is definitely the gala dinner we organize for the home- Julia Carré and the children of Louga in Senegal.
less every year in our restaurants. The whole team takes part in the reception. We give
them the same attention and service as our customers. And when I gave a speech at the
end of the meal to thank them for coming, there was total silence. They listened to me Opening your eyes on the world
very attentively and I could see the gratitude in their eyes. It will remain one of the most
wonderful awards of my career and I above all think that it definitely changed the view- “In the village of Louga, in Senegal, the women had gotten used to get-
point of all of us on exclusion. It’s really something that I had to wait to join the Accor ting up at 4 a.m. and walking seven hours a day to bring back drinkable
Group to get involved in this type of solidarity action.” water for their families. Ever since the Group’s 13 London hotels mobi-
lized to start up a partnership with Plan, an international NGO for devel-
JEAN-PHILIPPE PELOU-DANIEL is the manager of the Novotel Strasbourg Centre
Halles, and coordinator of actions carried out with the French Red Cross in this city. opment focused on children, the villagers’ daily life has really changed.
We collected no less than 14,600 pounds sterling to install drinking
water in Louga and to totally renovate the school. Several classrooms
were built as well as toilets and a fence so the children could have a
recreation area. Fund-raising has been an exciting experience. In each
hotel, we are developing more and more initiatives to encourage
employees and customers to make a gesture: collecting small coins,
organizing soccer matches for charity, setting up yard sales where the
employees can donate new objects that they don’t need. We also set up
an in-room TV news channel, totally dedicated to our project to heighten
customer awareness. Despite my lack of interest in sports, I even took
part in a 10-kilometer [7-mile] race in London with some of the Group’s
employees. We created an Internet site to communicate on this action and
thanks to our the enthusiastic crowds, we collected 1,300 pounds ster-
ling. I would recommend that all hotels participate in this type of project
to unite the teams by having them contribute, together, to changing the
life of the most disadvantaged people. Personally, I feel much more
aware of areas like ecology and North-South solidarity, which I didn’t
really pay attention to before. I actually went to Louga and I could see the
direct impact of my efforts on the children’s daily life. The youngest ones
recited their math lessons to show me that they had worked hard at
school… It was an extremely gratifying experience.”
JULIA CARRÉ is sales manager in charge of seminars and banquets at

the Sofitel Saint-James in London.
▼
Jean-Philippe Pelou-Daniel and the team of the Novotel Strasbourg Centre Halles, France.
ONE PLANET ACCOR

117
When an individual initiative
becomes a national program
“The idea came from Assan Bargach, general manager of the Sofitel in
Marina Smir. Part of the Moroccan population doesn’t know how to read
or write. To help them insert themselves professionally, he met with
the Moroccan government to submit his very ambitious project: having
large companies in the country participate in a literacy program
designed not only for their employees but also for the whole Moroccan
population. And that was how the global policy “National Initiative for
Human Development” came about, thanks to the determination of one
employee in our Group. In the framework of a pilot operation, Accor
was the first company to put this policy into practice. Since June 2006,
we’ve funded the training of 230 of our employees. We also got involved
in teaching 500 women in the north of the country who had until now
never been to school, to read and write. In the very near future, we’ll cre-
ate a third training program: professionalized literacy, concentrated on
the hotel business so that the people we hire learn all the necessary
skills. Thanks to these initiatives, Accor has formed very privileged
relationships with the Moroccan unions. Now let’s hope that the other
companies in the country follow our example…”
TIJANIA THÉPEGNIER is human resources director of the Accor Group

for Morocco.
▼ A grocery for the disadvantaged in the United States.
Giving means sharing

“A ‘Ticket’ given, a meal shared: the formula is clear and really sums up the
concrete and immediate nature of our food aid plan, carried out for over
four years with the Red Cross. This is how we collected more than 600,000
euros, which were for the most part turned over to groceries for the dis-
advantaged. This operation has thrived in Austria, Greece and the Czech
Republic. The operation permitted poor children to attend a soccer match
with the Olympique Lyonnais team in France. It was a dream come true for
the 250 kids who were on the field, hand in hand with their idols. I’ll never
forget the expression on the face of the child who gave the starting kick. That
alone justifies all the efforts we’ve made in the framework of this operation.”
JULIE GRÉGOIRE is marketing director of Accor Services France.
ACCOR ONE PLANET

118
Operation Smile:
Giving children back their smile
If you stay at the Sofitel Métropole in Hanoi, you’ll be able to have a unique
experience for just a few cents: a visit of the old city in the hotel’s vintage
sidecar. This excursion is rich in meaning because it helps finance an
extraordinary cause: a simple gesture that can change a child’s destiny. With
$75 and 45 minutes, volunteer surgeons can perform a simple operation to
eliminate facial malformations and give children a chance to have a better
future. Launched in 2003 in hotels in Vietnam, this partnership with the NGO
Operation Smile quickly created a great deal of enthusiasm in hotels in
Singapore, Malaysia and Japan because it literally changes a child’s fate.
▼
The construction of the Sonho de Criança crèche in Brazil. Together, the hotels, their employees and their customers enabled 1,700 of
these children, in 2006, to eat, speak and laugh like other children in the
world.
Changing your life is possible
“Yes, it’s possible to escape misery when you live in a favela. And no, it’s
never too late. That’s really what we wanted to prove with the “Sonho de
Criança” (“A Child’s Dream”) operation, which is truly emblematic of the
way we conceive the social role of a company like the ‘Ticket’, Accor
Services here in Brazil.
“The project began with the construction of a crèche in a favela, a slum
in São Paulo, for 130 children. But the goal was more global since in the
evening the crèche became a training and literacy center for the parents.
We favor programs that offer a direct qualification so that the partici-
pants can immediately get a job allowing them to pay rent and manage
their finances. Starting with a concrete project – the crèche –, we could
act on exclusion in two ways: the insertion of the family and taking
charge of the children. So a whole community is transformed. We are
working on other solidarity projects, especially for the elderly and com- ▼
Sut before his operation.
puter training. It’s an operation that has mobilized not only the whole
Group (the hotel sector took charge of the technical conception of the
building) but also our employees, partners and suppliers.
“I’d like to point out that the in-house involvement is really exceptional,
well above the average. We are working, for example, on a “solidarity”
Christmas that is mobilizing over 3,000 employees. We even often have
to turn down some of the volunteers! There’s an in-house atmosphere
that’s very favorable to solidarity: conviviality and creativity remain very
▼
strong in a warm and sincerely enthusiastic ambience, which proves that Sut after his operation.
solidarity isn’t just a question of financial resources, especially in a
society like that of Brazil where needs are very great. ▼ The program “A Tree for a Child” in Indonesia.
“The secret of success is to encourage the individual initiatives
of volunteers and then support them and help them
implement these initiatives.
Promoting sustainability
ÉLIANE AÉRÉ has been working at Accor Services Development must go hand in hand with sustainability. This is
Brazil for the last 20 years. She is now human
resources director and also runs the Accor
the case for the program “A Tree for a Child”, which is part of
Instituto in São Paulo and devotes a great deal a long-term vision of aid for children in Indonesia. The prin-
of her time to solidarity actions. ciple is that fast-growing trees are planted to fund cleaning
up the environment and building schools in poor villages.
The children are educated and grow up in a healthy envi-
ronment. The program includes a follow-up in the field and
owes a great deal to the personal commitment of two
employees at the Sofitel in Jakarta, Prayut Cherdchuwong
and Nattarach Burat. It is an exemplary action in the literal
sense, i.e., an example to be followed everywhere in the
developing world.
ONE PLANET ACCOR

119
VIEWS AND STYLE
What would traveling architect’s logbook of nearly 4,000 hotels look like?
What impressions would he keep of these places of passage? A few of
them are unique and sometimes legendary. Others are links in a network.
But all of them have a story to tell. From the pulsing beat of the major
capitals to the serenity of the seaside, this log would certainly contain
lines and volumes, the secret of teak framing and references to Le
Corbusier. These pages would reveal the thousand fiery reflections from
the windows of tall buildings and the sun setting on a bamboo and paper
pavilion. We could almost hear the cry of seagulls and the echo in a sitting
room and see the luminous shadow of a multi-pane window.
We would above all remember the rooms, those places that are both
unknown and however so intimate, in the strongest meaning of the word,
kinds of blank pages where everyone prints the familiar contours and
objects of his life or, on the contrary, reinvents himself for a few days.
Behind each door, each individual puts together an “elsewhere”: familiar,
surprising, practical, full of splendor or comfort, but always with style. At
the end of his trip, the traveler will have in the end composed a unique
palette in which each color signifies an emotion, a mood…
ACCOR VIEWS AND STYLE

122
PROJECTING THE UNIMAGINABLE,
or how a hotel
is conceived…
“The excitement of the place is one of the myths of the hotel
business. A hotel has a presence. You can love it and talk
about it in very personal, affectionate terms as though you
were talking about a person. Some hotels have become a
legend because of their shape, others their atmosphere.
Architecture is an art because it can capture the ‘genius’ of a
place. So anchoring a hotel in a given culture – its role in the
city, its uniqueness – is essential. What links us to a hotel is
emotional, somewhat irrational, but at the same time fol-
lows an implacable logic. Because we also judge a hotel
according to whether it functions, whether the bathrooms
have hot water. There are buildings that are luxurious but
impossible. A hotel is complicated to build. You have to take
account of thousands of flows, interests, people coming and
going every day. Service has to be as discreet as possible.
Everything has to be accurate to a fraction of an inch! But the
hotel is also a dream, a legend, a memory... It’s hard to have,
at home, a drawing room with an 8-meter [25-foot] high
ceiling, where you’re served coffee as soon as you settle into
an armchair. The architect projects the unimaginable. The
‘back of the house’, which is invisible to visitors, is also indis-
pensable. What the writer André Malraux said about the cin-
ema totally applies here. You could paraphrase it by ‘The
hotel business is an art, moreover, it is also an industry’.”
JEAN-PAUL VIGUIER
An internationally renowned architect,
Jean-Paul Viguier notably designed the Sofitel Chicago Water Tower,
which received the Chicago Best Building Award in 2003.
VIEWS AND STYLE ACCOR

123
Architectural
heritage
The hotel is not an architectural “parenthesis” but
a living element of the city. Whatever its style, its
period, it is an integral part of the landscape and
evolves with the city. The Group’s hotels are so
diverse that they touch all the forms of our culture.
What must be preserved is not only a historical
heritage but also daring architectural wagers for
tomorrow. This entails respect for history and con-
cern for local cultures, a spirit open to the imagi-
nation and creation. An invitation to a iconoclastic
and surprising round-the-world trip…
French Manhattan, Sofitel New York,

▼
United States
To integrate this avant-garde hotel designed for Accor
into a typical red brick neighborhood, the New York
agency Brennan Beer Gorman (BBG) banked on daring
with the glass, limestone and concrete curves and lines of
this tower that thrusts up above 44th Street. In the end, it
is an architectural triumph and a hotel with a very
Manhattan ambience, but with a French touch, that fits
perfectly into New York’s cosmopolitan tradition.

124
▼
A “cartoon” building, Sofitel
Jin Jiang Oriental Pudong, Shanghai, China
This tower has an unmistakable cartoon aspect to it, a
“Spirou or Betty Boop buildings”, as the journalist Francis
Ramert calls them. It’s true that the hotel looks some-
what like a person standing, with a nose and a hat. The 47
stories of the Sofitel Jin Jiang Oriental Pudong are
capped with a rotating panoramic restaurant with a view
over all Shanghai. This tower, typical of contemporary
Chinese architecture, conceals an interior that embodies
French refinement.
▼
A queen’s dream, the Sofitel Saint-James,
London, United Kingdom
Queen Victoria had wanted London to be modernized. The
city was a huge construction site for years, but her wish
was granted. The city was transformed, with magnificent
buildings like that of Saint James, which was home,
behind its neoclassical façade, to the very British head
office of the Cox’s & King’s Bank, the property of the
English crown, before becoming one of the most fashion-
able hotels in London in 2002.
The ocean liner hotel, the Sofitel Paris

▼
La Défense, France
The architect Marie Parente has punctuated the silhou-
ette of a ship’s prow of the Sofitel at La Défense with
lines of glass and ocher stone grooved with metal. A
glass band circles the building’s base. At the crossroads
of a futuristic Paris and a more traditional neighborhood,
the hotel, which opened in the year 2000, is harmoniously
integrated into the site.

125
Futuristic China, Sofitel Wanda Beijing
▼
Opened in August 2007, this 23-story hotel was build to
5-star standards, with 417 rooms including 43 suites.
We can mention, among the many features, a ballroom,
the Le Pré Lenôtre restaurant and a Lancôme spa. Its
daring design does not go unnoticed in this new area of
the Chinese capital, which, however, is at the cutting
edge of the latest international architectural trends.
Innovation does not only concern the façade, but has had
a hand in technology and environmental protection as
well. Chinese modernity and the French art of fine living
are combined in this luxury showcase.
Perfect osmosis,
Novotel Reading Centre, United Kingdom
The Novotel Reading Centre has 178 rooms, all
designed following the Novotel 4-star principles. Style,
comfort, relaxation and work are in perfect synergy, all
in an ultra-contemporary environment.
▼
The audacity of volumes,

Ibis Bristol Centre, United Kingdom
Located in the heart Harbourside, the Ibis Bristol
Centre took advantage of the renovation of the neigh-
borhood to put forward its contemporary architecture
and interior design in the image of the brand. ▼
126
Past and present, Novotel Bucharest
▼
City Centre, Romania
With the obligation of identically rebuilding the façade
of the former national library, the Novotel Bucharest
City Centre is a concentration of the latest trends found
in the brand’s new-generation hotels. The concept of
“natural living” is the key word and creates an extremely
warm atmosphere.
The first 4-star hotel in Romania, it opened its doors in
August 2006, offering well-being and relaxation.
A record hotel, Novotel Citygate,

Hong Kong, China
Built on the island of Lantau, Novotel Citygate offers a
marvelous view of Hong Kong bay. The two architects,
Steve Leung and Yasumichi Morita, who were both honored
by several prizes including the Asia Pacific Interior Design
Awards (APIDA) in 2004, decided to combine a minimalist
and contemporary ambience with functionality and
aesthetics. ▼
▼
The absolute myth, Sofitel Old Winter Palace,
Luxor, Egypt
A great hotel of legend that makes all travelers dream
and that continues to inspire today’s writers and artists.
Built in 1886, the Winter Palace of Luxor had been
designed to attract the European nobility. The memory of
princes and other notables, diplomats and archeologists
still haunts this English colonial-style luxury hotel with
its very Victorian charm, where an English-style tea is
offered in gardens whose luxuriousness is rare in Egypt.
A tribute to Khmer art, Sofitel Royal Angkor,

▼
Cambodia
The Sofitel Royal Angkor, in Cambodia, was designed in
2000 along the model of the ancient city on piles of Siem
Reap, located nearby. Khmer art, blended with a touch of
French colonial style, was the inspiration for the Thai archi-
tect Choochat Polakij.
In search of lost time,
Mercure Cabourg Grand Hôtel, France
The name of the writer Marcel Proust is inseparable from
the Grand Hôtel in Cabourg, created during the heyday of
seaside vacations on the Normandy coast. Its “fin de siècle”
style is decidedly international, according to the criteria in
fashion in Europe at the period. After a major renovation, the
“Mercure Cabourg” has recovered all its allure while keep-
ing its historical character replete with all the charm of the
Belle Époque… ▼

128
The Austro-Hungarian golden age,
▼
Mercure Museum, Budapest, Hungary
In the heart of Pest, the Mercure Museum hotel bears wit-
ness to the variety of influences that have enriched the
Hungarian capital with a singular atmosphere. It is a blend
of the East and West, with extremely original and eclectic
styles. The two parts of the city are a UNESCO world her-
itage site.
Culture and refinement, ▼
Sofitel Métropole Hanoi, Vietnam

At the start of the twentieth century, two Frenchmen with
the spirit of adventure had a French colonial-style hotel
built on the former swampland of Hanoi. The hotel
became the meeting place for “good society” but also,
later on, for illustrious journalists and authors like
Marguerite Duras. Completely renovated in the early
1990s, the Sofitel Métropole Hanoi is a legendry building,
rich in history.
Mercure Grand Golden Hotel, Jeddah,
Saudi Arabia
The Mercure Grand Golden Jeddah is located between
the industrial area and the most vibrant places in the
city of Jeddah, also known as Al Balad in Saudi Arabia.
The interior decoration is that of a classic 4-star hotel,
but marble and gilding personalize it and unquestion-
ably give it a little bit of typical French flavor.
▼
▼
An ancestral art of living, Sofitel Impérial
Mauritius
Built in 1991, along the Flic en Flac coral reef beach, the
Sofitel Impérial on Mauritius island is a work that com-
bines, appropriately, French, Indian and Oriental influ-
ences. Ventilation is a real science on these islands. The
architecture is based on the idea that it is very hot and
that the air must constantly move through the dwelling.
The tradition of using framing made of teak, which is
found in India, Thailand and Tahiti, is specific to this part
of the world.
Traditional architecture, Novotel Phuket,

▼
Thailand
The traditional Thai house with its pointed roofs to lead
rainwater away from the interior and its ventilated ter-
races is perfectly adapted to its environment. The coun-
try’s more ambitious buildings have been inspired by
Chinese and Buddhist architecture. Facing the Andaman
Sea, the Novotel Phuket resort blends all these influ-
ences with a touch of modern comfort.
▼
The perfume of the Nile,
Sofitel Old Cataract, Aswan, Egypt
Generations of Agatha Christie fans have dreamed about
it, but this mythic hotel really exists. In 1889, Thomas
Cook, the renowned organizer of trips to Egypt, had the
Grand Cataract of Aswan, which is one of the legendary
hotels, built. On a pink granite rock above the Nile and
its feluccas, the Arabic-Moorish-inspired building is also
evidence of the country’s Victorian past. Lucky mortals, an
impressive number of royalty and personalities from
around the world have stayed in this extraordinarily
subtle Oriental palace.
Novotel Saint-Petersburg Centre,
▼
Russia
The first hotel in the Accor Group in Saint Petersburg,
the Novotel Saint-Petersburg Centre has 233 rooms
and nearly 195 employees. The architects of the
Mamoshin studio decided to cleverly represent the
spirit of the Italian gardens, to harmonize with this
neighborhood already marked by the Italian
Renaissance. Modernity however is certainly not
absent: comfort, space, innovation and contemporary
design have their place in a hotel of this category and
take part in offering exceptional service in the center
of an enchanting city.
A Havana ex libris, Mercure Sevilla

Havane, Cuba
▼
When the Sevilla Hotel opened in 1908, it immediately

became one of Havana’s most fashionable spots. A
masterpiece of Spanish colonial architecture, the
architects were inspired in part by the Moorish style of
the Alhambra palace in Granada, among others. The
hotel is emblematic: Al Capone, Graham Greene, Gloria
Swanson, Errol Flynn and Josephine Baker were
among the guests who came to breathe in the fra-
grances of the famous roof garden of this old Cuban
luxury hotel.
131
Sofitel Palais Jamaï, Fez, Morocco
Role-playing goes along with hotels. You’re no longer
completely yourself. In such a magic place, you become
Mercure Praha Old Town, Czech Republic the director of your own sojourn. Oriental architecture with
The staircase is extraordinarily light and refined. It is its closed palaces and interior courtyards does not toler-
already modern but nonetheless decorated. Everything ate the approximate. As Islam prohibits images, zelliges
started in Prague, an intellectual city that was a precursor [nonrepresentational designs in Moroccan art] are passed
in many areas: cubism, music, literature… The most down orally. Their patterns are governed by a very com-
famous employee at the head office of the Insurance plex geometry. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, this palace
Company of the Workers of the Kingdom of Bohemia was was the jewel of a group of residences owned by the high
undoubtedly Franz Kafka, who worked there from 1908 to dignitaries of the Jamaï family in Fez. This palace, straight
1922. Designed by the architect Alfons Wertmuller, this out of A Thousand and One Nights, built in 1879, was trans-
former institution of the Hapsburg Empire was entirely formed into a hotel in the 1930s. The Sofitel Palais Jamaï
rebuilt behind its neobaroque façade before reopening as remains the most admired architectural element of the
a Mercure in 2002. old medina.
▼
▼

132
▼
Sofitel Buenos Aires, Argentina
▼
A day, a night, staying in a hotel like this means appro-
priating a place. It belongs to us for a few hours and
becomes our temporary palace. The Sofitel Buenos
Aires, right in the center of the elegant Retiro neighbor-
hood, is an architectural ensemble in pure Art Deco
style, built in 1929 by the architects Hector Calvo,
Amadeo Jacobs and Rafael Jiménez for a powerful
shipowner of Montenegrin origin, Nicolàs Mihanovich.
This immigrant, who arrived in Argentina at the end of the
nineteenth century, was an industrialist and patron of
the arts, a pioneer in river shipping, who wanted to look
down over the city so that he could survey his fleet
crossing the waters of the Rio de la Plata, commissioned
a tower. The Torre Bencich was Buenos Aires’ first sky-
scraper and the first reinforced concrete construction. A
powerful presence in the city’s urban landscape, the
tower underwent a huge renovation in 2000 carried out
by the Daniel Fernandez & Asociados architecture firm.
The aim was to turn it into a luxury hotel with 144 rooms
and suites decorated in its entirety by Pierre-Yves
Rochon, in the Art Deco style, to harmonize with the
building’s architecture.

133
▼
The axis that makes Chicago turn
Chicago, like most American cities, has streets at right
angles to each other. One exception is the Sofitel Water
Tower, built on the angle of one of the rare diagonal
streets in the city, from which its triangular shape comes.
Clear, smooth and luminous glass

Chicago’s buildings are predominantly black in color, like
the legendary and overpowering skyscraper that is
Sofitel’s neighbor, the John Hancock Center. A study in
complementarity and contrast of the pure and impure, of
yin and yang: the building’s two façades are covered in
clear glass. Jean-Paul Viguier believes that the idea of
the “smooth” appearance is essential, perceived as a
form of energy.
An oval plaza as a link with the city

The site was small and square. A skyscraper built on it
could be as high as 200 meters [656 feet]. But the build-
ing would only be just over half that height, and have 33
stories. Its base did not cover the entire plot. You have to
know how to resist the temptation to take everything
available. There is an oval plaza at the tower’s base, which
has become an outdoor terrace and serves as a link to
the city. ▼

134
MODEL
AN ARCHITECT’S EXPRESSION
the Sofitel Water Tower
▼
Model presented by Jean-Paul Viguier.
in Chicago
As architecture is an art, Accor has made itself the
creator of architectural works. The purpose of
the Innovation and Design department, created
in 1994, is to promote these “magnificent
objects” that arouse contemporary admiration.
A phantom cone Since that moment, the “Accor competitions”
One’s glance quickly turns away from a building that have led to the birth of the New York Sofitel’s
reveals itself in its entirety. That is why this hotel contains curves, the lobby in the shape of a circular arc of
an imaginary cone that rises from the oval plaza. Its vol- the Sofitel La Défense-Grande Arche and an
ume determined the height of the building and its gra-
dient, as well as the 12-meter [39-foot] high overhang, icon: the Sofitel Water Tower in Chicago. The
a manifestation of the “impossible imaginary”. The Water Tower neighborhood takes its name from
point of the prism cut by this virtual cone is fascinating, the only building that was spared in the great
seen from below. Passersby think they are inside the
fire of 1871. In 1998, the decision was made to
cone. Those on the upper levels feel like they are sus-
pended above the city. build a luxury hotel in the downtown area.
Jean-Paul Viguier, winner of the competition,
remembers the tough battle between four
renowned architects. The jury finally selected an
avant-garde building that is a reflection of
Chicago, an inspired metropolis. It was a bril-
liant choice that was amply honored as a survey
carried out in the United States to select the 100
most beautiful architectural creations built in
the country put the Sofitel in 83rd place, right
after the White House.

135
HOTEL BARS,
or in praise of diversity
You don’t have to be a writer and be called Ernest must above all be a sort of multiform cocoon that protects us
Hemingway to like hotel bars. Alongside the traditional from noise and the furor of the modern world. Bars are the
whiskey-wood paneling-cigar ambience are settings that best reflection of the extraordinary diversity that hotels allow
adapt to the most diverse desires and moods. Cozy, chic, eth- us to experiment in. We are lucky enough to live in a period
nic, British, high-tech, historical, contemporary design… where blending and mixing are the rule, rather than the dic-
with or without music, the hotel bar is a bubble that is both tates of style or rigid codes. A “Grand Siècle” style can sweep
protected and open, public and private, like an intimate us out of the present as well as the subtle plays of light cre-
parenthesis in the bustle of a city. It is perhaps with its bar that ated by avant-garde technology. The Accor Group has the
a hotel reveals itself the most, by creating a place where tremendous luck of being able to offer in the most diverse
everyone can do what he likes. You can choose to be alone or sites around the world an incredibly rich palette. But the
let your festive mood run free without interfering with the question is not one of set pieces of décors and moods. Hotels
other guests’ space. So that either possibility is feasible, are not museums or conservatories. They are alive and con-
details are important: lighting and color as well as how the tinue to evolve and modify themselves. To use a saying dear
space is laid out and the choice of materials. It doesn’t mat- to Michel Gicquel, the hotel must impose nothing, it must
ter if the décor is classic or avant-garde, a successful hotel bar propose everything.
▼
Mercure Ouarzazate, Morocco.
▼
Sofitel Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Novotel London City South,

United Kingdom. ▼
Sofitel Plaza Xiamen, China. ▼
Sofitel Los Angeles, United States.
Sofitel Trocadéro Dokhan's Paris, France.

▼
Sofitel Saint James London,

▼
United Kingdom.
Mercure Frankfurt
▼
Neu-Isenburg,
Frankfurt, Germany.
Novotel London
▼
City South, London,

United Kingdom.
the spirit of
the premises
“Like at home,
but better!”
A hotel room is a trip in itself.

You discover materials, forms
and colors, you experiment
with lighting, sounds, an inti-
mate geography… You expect, of
course, to be offered beauty,
comfort, elegance, well-being…
But all the talent of the finest inte-
rior decorator isn’t enough. The
traveler must feel that behind the
décor there is a space thought out for
him in the smallest detail. That each
object, each space reflects the attention
paid to him, the desire to transmit an atmos-
phere, a way of appropriating the premises, in
short, a genuine style.

138
▼
Sofitel On Renmin Square Xiàn, China.
First of
all space
Novotel’s first rooms measured 24.5 sq.m. [264
sq.ft.]… and still do. But they have considerably
changed with their time and the customer pro-
file. In the beginning, they had a 140 x 190 cm
[standard double] bed, that is now 160 x 210
cm [queen-size]. The room seems even larger
and lighter. The walls haven’t been pushed back
but the spirit of the place has changed. The
nesting bed that provided two extra sleeping
accommodations has given way to a much more
comfortable convertible sofa. The large pieces
of linear furniture have become flexible ele-
ments. As stays are now shorter, closets take up
less room. Flat screen have replaced the much
bulkier older television sets. And one of the
most important changes is that over time, space
has become modulable. Customers spend more
and more time working in their rooms, but don’t
want a bedroom-cum-office. This does not pres-
ent any problem: the desk element, a flat surface,
pivots. For the business person, it is clearly a
desk. But it can also be a drawing table for chil-
dren or a storage element for parents.

139
“All man’s unhappiness
comes from a single thing,
which is not knowing
how to remain at rest
in a room.”
Blaise Pascal, extract from Discours sur
les Passions de l’amour
Sofitel Palais Jamaï, Fez, Morocco.

▼
Prototype F1 room.
Etap Hotel concept room.

▼

140
A room of Ibis Clermont-Ferrand,
▼
France.
one’s own
A room, whether it is simple or luxurious, small
or large, in dark tones or bright colors, is always
an intimate place. This is also true for the hotel
room in which the traveler makes a stop for a few
days or even just a few hours. He is in neutral ter-
ritory but must feel at home in a place where
everything is done to make him happy. But the
function of a hotel room has changed. For many
years, a closed, protected world where you
might sometimes feel isolated, it is now consid-
ered a genuine living space, open to the world.
The traveler must be able to rest and sleep but
also work in it and sometimes even entertain in
the room…
In the early nineteenth century,

the train stopped at nightfall,
all the passengers got out and
spent the night in nearby inns.
We’ve been sleeping in trains
for over a century: the first
sleeping cars were built in teak
and were followed by the
renowned Pullmans of the
1920s. From the Orient
Express to today’s Talgos (here
on the Paris-Barcelona Joan
Miró), everything is arranged
so that the traveler sleeps
soundly. Pleasant dreams!
▼
▼
Sofitel Lisboa, Portugal.
▼
Joan Miró hotel train car, Spain.

Mercure Fontana
Motel 6 Dallas Addison, Texas, United States. Stuttgart, Germany. Suitehotel Lille Europe, France.
▼ ▼ ▼
141
“The charm of traveling is coming into brief contact with innumerable
and rich settings and knowing that each one of them could be ours
and continuing our path regardless, like a great lord.” Cesare Pavese, Il mestiare di vivere.
Refinement and luxury

Who hasn’t dreamed of one day choosing a
hotel as one’s home? Too often, however, the
hotel room, even when it is luxurious, remains a
synonym of comfortable anonymity for the trav-
eler, a place that he leaves almost immediately
after unpacking his luggage. A place where you
go to sleep to leave the next day in better shape.
Nevertheless – and that is the contradiction of
the start of the third millennium – even the
most hurried travelers now like to take their
time. And they like to approach the hotel like a
home, a home of their dreams. So luxury hotels,
which have for time on end offered the same
luxury and the same comfort, are changing. The
traveler who wanted, 20 years ago, to find iden-
tical comfort everywhere now wishes, once
again, to be charmed. For this reason, each
Sofitel is unique, in harmony with the spirit of its
location, telling a specific story and decorated by
the very best interior designers. The décors may
be flagrantly luxurious or refined, classic, ethnic,
totally urban or exotic, everything depends on
where the hotel is located. What is undeniable is
that an increasing number of customers take the
inspiration for their own apartments from the
hotels they visit. A distinct evolution has come
about: the hotel was the place where you were
supposed “to feel as good as in your own
home.” Now, it’s a space that we would like “to
have for ourselves”.
▼
▼
Sofitel Saint-James, London, United Kingdom.

142
▼
Novotel New York, United States, concept room

working boards.
The restaurant of the Novotel New York, United States.

▼
IMAGINING
THE FUTURE
We are at a turning point today, at the dawn of a new era. The
industrial revolution created the habitat with dedicated
rooms as well as bathrooms. With the oil crisis and the sharp
drop in certain industrial sectors, expectations have changed.
We want more open spaces that respect our biorhythms,
rooms where we can recharge our batteries or simply be
alone. Today where the habitat is mostly already built, we
must work on concepts of places that are easier to heat and
maintain, with less space, less waste. There are spaces that can
▼ Concept room designed for the Novotel New York,
United States. be appropriated differently according to the moment or the
mood.
Volumes and lighting must be totally flexible. Everything
must be versatile, fluid. We must rethink spaces, integrate
new techniques like LEDs that last 10 years and think more
about the environment. Even the elegant Parisian building
designed by Haussmann in the nineteenth century can adapt
perfectly to all types of modifications.
But flexibility does not mean that you can please everyone,
that you can attract every type of clientele. A space is only of
interest if it can be understood, if we can see how to use it.
There must be no stress. Objects must talk, their shape must
show what purpose these objects serve, hence the usefulness
of color codes, materials…
Having exercised his talents in the sports and art world, MICHEL GICQUEL
hates compartmentalization and rigidity. A genuine “trend sensor”,
he launched his own interior design company before creating
the “Innovation and Design” cell at Accor.

145
The tallest revolving door in the world,
▼
in the Guinness Book of Records, at the Novotel
Citygate, Hong Kong, China.
The design
experience
And if design at the hotel was one of the last ways
of experimenting with new sensations, new life-
styles? For many years relegated to a purely aes-
thetic and decorative role, interior design was
considered an elitist, even eccentric fantasy, only
likely to interest cultivated amateurs. The twenty-
first century has swept away these prejudices and
has recognized interior design as an essential
factor of progress. What finer goal than the
search for well-being, the constant renewal of
forms to be better adapted to our body, our
senses, our life-styles…
In this context, the hotel becomes a genuine

cultural venue, even perhaps an “acculturation”
venue in the noble sense of the term, which
allows the customer to experience a new rela-
tionship with his living space and environment
for a few days. We are certainly far from simple
decoration. In the end design is a way of bringing
the conception of the hotel to its logical conclu-
sion, of pursuing the rational and poetic play
between space, furniture, lighting, materials… In
short, design deepens the “intimate” dimension of
our relationship with the living space, an experi-
ence that the hotel alone can offer today.
Breakfast room,
Etap Hotel, Birmigham Center,
United Kingdom.
▼

146
▼
Sofitel Chicago Water Tower, Illinois,
United States.
Sofitel, Los Angeles, California, United States.
▼
▼
Novotel Nice Centre, France.
▼
Novotel Marne-la-Vallée Noisy-le-Grand, France.
▼
Atmosphere,
atmosphere
The hotel isn’t just for sleeping. It’s also a living

space where you have your meals, where you
meet people over a drink. Novotel proposes a
different formula for each country, adapted to
local needs. For example, in France, the Novotel
Café, a genuine “mosaic space”, is composed of
several warm and light-filled living areas to
Pop culture
relax, work, have a drink or a meal. The décor is
original and varied. You can eat at any time
round the clock, seven days a week, a snack or
a full meal, alone or with company and sit
wherever you like at a given moment. You can The phenomenal success of the Pompidou
choose from the decidedly contemporary bar Center’s exhibition on “the pop years” once again
that is extremely convivial with its curved lines shows the fascination this cheerful and optimistic
and luminous and colorful animation. The period holds… Design is of course affected by
“relaxed area” is perfect for quick service. There this new influence of pop art à la Andy Warhol. At
is also a restaurant with traditional seating and Accor too, bright colors and round shapes have
a cozy corner with a quiet, intimate atmosphere. made a dynamic comeback. Interior designers
And as for what’s in your plate, it tastes as good have interpreted this strong trend to adapt it to the
as it looks because the menu has been created various spaces in certain of the Group’s hotels.
with the help of Lenôtre’s expertise. This approach is a handsome tribute to one of
Novotel’s first catch lines: “Everything goes
faster, everything is more cheerful!”

148
▼
Ibis Lisboa Saldanha, Portugal.
Ibis has also returned to pop

daring: here, the Ibis Dubai World
Trade Centre, United Arab
Emirates.
▼
Suitehotel Berlin Potsdamer
▼
Platz, Germany.
So chic
SoBoutique…
Sometimes just a single item brought back from a
trip is enough to recreate the colors, fragrances
and sensations that captivated us. And that item
is not necessarily a Swiss cuckoo clock or a straw
basket. Souvenirs can also be decidedly brilliant,
modern, elegant and joyful and can recall the
spirit of the hotel that welcomed us. Because if the
place charmed us, why not have a small piece of
it in our dining room or bedroom? With
SoBoutique, there’s no longer any need to over-
stuff your suitcases to reawaken these memories.
This collection, first launched in the United
States, then in Europe, brings together beautiful
objects sold in Sofitel hotels around the world.
They have all been created by talented designers
and may be purchased by phone or on line out of
Mercure Palermo Centro, the catalogue (www.soboutique.com).
▼ Palerme, Italie.
Black and white décor with this

checkered vase found at the
Sofitel Chicago Water Tower
and that evokes certain films
from the 1930s.
This striking vase brings back

all the atmosphere of a London
stay, found at the Sofitel
Saint-James, London, United
▼
Kingdom.
the Accor
palette Color: noun. Sensation perceived by the eye, a prop-
erty attributed to light, to objects, of producing
such an impression. Exploring the Group’s
colors means attempting to render all the
dimensions, all the moments and all the
emotions of Accor’s diversity, for its
hotels as well as its services. It also ▼
means discovering an unsuspected Novotel Oasis Beijing, China.
cultural and human wealth, a voy-
▼
Novotel Rockford Palm Cove Resort, Cairns,
age that encompasses all time peri- Australia.
ods and all continents.
Sofitel Métropole, Hanoi, Vietnam.

▼
In Asia, green symbolizes spring and goodness. And in Muslim

lands, it is the color of luck and hope
. Chemically, it is a color that
is relatively easy to obtain – many plants can be used to provide green
coloring – but extremely hard to stabilize and to fix. That is why in the
Middle Ages green represented chance, games, destiny. Duels took
place on a green meadow in the feudal world. Jugglers, buffoons and
hunters dressed in green. In the sixteenth century, gaming
tables
were covered with green cloth. In the seventeenth, the tables used by
boards of directors, where the fate of enterprises was played out, were
topped with green felt. And for theater people in France, until recently,
green was a cursed color: Molière was wearing a green costume when
he died on the stage. But in modern-day societies, green is the color of
freshness and nature . We often dream of being outside, in the
paradise
greenery. Moreover, isn’t on earth depicted as lush
and green?

150
▼
Sofitel Royal Golf El Jadida, Morocco.
Novotel Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Novotel Suvarnabhumi Airport,

▼ Bangkok, Thailand. ▼
▼
Mercure Lille Aéroport, France.
▼
Sofitel Plaza, Hanoi, Vietnam.

151
▼
▼
Mercure Ouarzazate, Morocco.
Sofitel Nicolas de Ovando,
▼
Dominican Republic.
Novotel Rim Pae Rayong, Thailand.
▼
Sofitel L’Amitié, Bamako, Mali.
▼
Mercure Nelspruit, South Africa. ▼
▼
Sofitel Old Cataract, Aswan, Egypt.
▼
The mythic cars of the Train Bleu.
Sofitel Palm Beach Djerba, Tunisia. ▼
Gold… like the Golden Age, a gold medal, the golden

sun, not to mention the sea with its golden reflections.
And if the yellow that resembles it is sometimes treated
badly, it is the color gold that has in the end taken on all
of yellow’s positive symbols, because gold evokes the
sun , light, warmth and, by extension, life, energy
and power. Gold gleams, shines, lights, warms. We
attribute divine powers to it: it was often used
to depict the sky in religious paintings. Gold
dazzles and creates desire, but you mustn’t
overdo it. Jewelers are well aware that their most
sophisticated customers often prefer silver and
white gold to the yellow variety. In Asia, gold is a
sacred color, that of Buddha and therefore – the
ultimate luxury – that of contemplation. And let’s
not forget that silence is golden.

153
If there were only one color it would no doubt be red . It is the color of
fire and blood, and above all the color of love. Until the nineteenth century,
in France, the bride’s gown was often red, especially among the peasants
who decked themselves out in their most beautiful clothes on this blessed
day. A beautiful and rich
dress obviously could not be anything but red.
Moreover, speaking about the color red is almost a redundancy.
▼
Le Pré Catelan restaurant,
Coloratus in Latin and colorado in Spanish mean both red and colored. Sofitel Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
As for Russia, there is only one word for red and beautiful – krasnoi.
And Moscow has long been proud of it “beautiful square” – “The Red
Square”. Those in love have made it their favorite color. Red roses to
declare one’s passion, red velvet to wear without the least timidity and
glossy red apples to eat to our’s heart’s content. Red and festive
light, joyous or intimate, theatrical
, beautiful as a sunset that
inflames the heavens and transports us to the closest planet of our
dreams. As Alberto Giacometti wrote, “the sky is only blue by conven-
tion, but red in reality”: exactly the opposite of the Red Sea.
▼
Mercure Porto Gaia, Portugal.
The temptation of a “Bouche

▼
glacée” signed Nathalie

Rykiel for Lenôtre.
▼
Sofitel Xi’an, China.

154
▼
Sofitel Marrakech, Morocco.
Novotel Prague,
▼ Czech Republic.
▼
Mercure Grand Hôtel Nantes
Central, France.
▼
Novotel Cairo 6th of October,

Egypt.
Bushman musician at the All Seasons

Karratha, Australia. ▼

155
▼
Sofitel Los Angeles,
California, United States.
▼
Mercure Sydney, Australia.
▼
Sofitel Thalassa, Porticcio, France.
▼
▼
Résidence La Falaise
Accor Thalassa Dinard, France.
▼
Motel 6, Dallas, Texas, United States.

156
▼
Sofitel Guaruja Jequitimar, Brazil.
▼
Ticket Restaurant production unit.
▼ Sofitel Athens Airport, Greece.
The Romans hated blue : it was the color of the barbarians. Classic Latin did not even have
any words for this color, which was so difficult to fabricate. And in antiquity, only the Egypt
of the pharaohs respected blue, the sky’s color and that of the canopy of heaven, the
symbol of immortality. In the West, tastes in colors took a long time to change. In the Middle
Ages, the sky in religious paintings was more often black, red, white or gold before it became
aluminous blue. Suddenly, it became the color of the divine and subsequently that
of kings. In 1720, a pharmacist in Berlin accidentally created the famous Prussian blue and,
at the same period, indigo began to be imported in great quantities from the French West
Indies. During the romantic era and well before blue jeans existed, the color blue was
in fashion with young Europeans. It has since become the Westerner’s favorite color. Blue,
the color of vacations, swimming pools that are the delight of children, divine blue, the blue
of thalassotherapy, soothing and serene blue.

157
Novotel, Budapest Centrum, Hungary.
▼
The earth, said the poet Paul Éluard, is “blue like an
orange ”… and obviously, it shines. Is that why
it is so hard to reproduce the beautiful orange col-
ors found in nature? Saffron was first used to obtain
the color then, toward the end of the Middle Ages,
“Brazil wood” – a tropical essence from India
and Ceylon (which moreover gave its name to Brazil
later on). The word did not appear in the West until
the fourteenth century when the first orange trees
were imported. In Colombia, where oranges are
still green when they are picked, orange is referred
to as the “zapote color” from the sapotilla, a
delicious fruit with shiny flesh of a very particular
orange color. In the West, a bracing orange
unquestionably became the emblematic color
of the 1970s, a color that delighted Swedish design-
ers. Now we give it all the virtues of gold and
the sun: warmth, joy, energy, health. Cheerful
orange, fiery and joyous orange in the Ukraine,
where it has become the symbol of freedom.
▼
Novotel, Göteborg, Sweden.

158
▼
Novotel Barcelona Cornella, Spain.
▼ Pavillon Élysée Lenôtre Paris, France.
▼
Lenôtre macaroons.
▼
▼
▼
Sofitel Santa Clara, Colombia.
Sofitel Athens Airport, Greece. ▼

▼
Sofitel Palm Beach, Marseille, France.
In France, all cats are gray at night, as the old

saying goes, but that has never prevented the mice
from playing… Because there are all sorts of
grays: bright gray, soft gray, refined gray,
▼
Novotel, London Exell, United Kingdom.
grays that inspire respect and elegance, strong
Novotel, Roissy Aéroport
grays that remind you exactly where you are: right Charles-de-Gaulle, France. ▼
in the age of modernity. Of course, people often
ascribe a sad, boring and melancholic nature to
gray. Historically, this is an injustice. Did you know
that in the Middle Ages, gray, which often repre-
sented the sky, was the symbol of hope? Painters
have always used all its nuances, creating the
most subtle monochromes in gray to bring out
the other colors. And if one more argument is
needed to defend gray, it may be said that it is the
only color that can claim to be intelligent – just use
your gray matter.

160
The Sofitel restaurants
▼
have received prestigious
awards: stars, chef’s caps,
etc.
Sofitel Amsterdam The Grand,

Netherlands.
▼
Sofitel, Wroclaw, Poland.

▼
Caviar delight, Novotel

Marseille La Valentine,
France.
161
THE STORY OF THE BRANDS
Like the Group’s men and women, the brands also have a story to tell. A
brand name is a little like a hallmark, which craftsmen in times past
placed on their creations as a way of personally guaranteeing their qual-
ity. Today the brand has become a disconcertingly complex territory.
Countless gurus and experts periodically announce the advent of the
reign of the brands, or, on the contrary, their doom in the longer term.
Creative people, sociologists, semiologists and linguists play the role of
good or bad fairies who hover over the cradle of new brands. Accor and its
brands moreover appear in innumerable case studies and other surveys
as exemplary models. However, in brands too, Accor struck out on a new
and unusual path, expressing itself where no one was expecting it…
▼
Gérard Pélisson and Paul Dubrule

in a meeting in the 1980s.
ACCOR THE STORY OF THE BRANDS

164
“Because
it wasn’t green…”
If you ask the cofounders why they picked blue for Novotel, their
answer is startling: “because it wasn’t green”.
Wit aside, they had understood that a brand only means something
if the product behind it meets consumer expectations, and that the
brand’s driving force is simply the most detailed and subtlest knowl-
edge of its customers. So brands have constantly evolved in order to
constantly adapt. This was Novotel’s strength at its creation and it
is still the Group’s strength today, when it launches a major reposi-
tioning of its brand portfolio to cover all types of offerings. Forty years
after its creation, the market has proved the cofounders right. The
hotel business is now right in the middle of a marketing explosion.
After a long period characterized by the regrouping of brands, there
is, today, the creation of new types of hotel products and the repo-
sitioning of existing brands.
This new approach is not just a fresh coat of paint but a genuine cre-
ation of new concepts and the invention of new offerings that fit new
life-styles. This is the only way that a brand can exist, provided it
finds its place, because today’s consumer is extremely demanding.
From which comes a second requirement inseparable from renewal:
the clarity of the positioning and real readability of the brands. This
is one of Accor’s current repositioning tracks and it was one of the
cofounders’ goals right from the start: the brand must express what
it proposes, the number of stars, the category of services, the clien-
tele targeted, etc.
For the last 40 years, each of the Accor brands has been writing its
own story…
THE STORY OF THE BRANDS ACCOR

165
The blue brand
The "Accor case"
Trying to find a simple label for the Group’s name has
given more than one brand specialist a headache. Is it the
parent brand? Not really, because Accor is younger than
most of its “children”. Is it an umbrella brand? No,
because both Accor and its brands have a strong and
defined identity. Is it a supra-brand? Not that either,
because the brands’ territory is autonomous and deter-
mined. An endorsement brand? Not at all because
Accor’s involvement and commitment goes far beyond
▼
just a label.
The launch of an Accor comic Perhaps the best handle would be “source brand”, a
book, in 1987, set corporate
brand that provides credibility, authenticity and coherent
communication on its head.
values. Or perhaps it could be called a “fractal brand”
A drawing from La Marque
Bleue, by Pascal Fournier
because all the Group’s values are contained in each of
and Pascal Dubuck, its parts. But Accor’s originality doesn’t stop there…
GIP, 1987.
▼
The “StratAccor” game with its “money”
decorated with bernacles, signed by Paul
Dubrule and Gérard Pélisson, in 1985.
1983 1992 1997 2007

An improvised mix and match
The necessity for a group brand became obvious for Paul The top two proposals for the logo were Accor, illustrated with red
Dubrule and Gérard Pélisson after the merger with Jacques balloons, and Aurore, accompanied by wild migratory geese.
Borel International in 1983, so that all the Group’s different The drawbacks of Aurore were instantly obvious. Anglophones
components would be recognized. The choice of name was, of pronounced it like “horror”, a term that was not very flattering for
course, a major challenge for a group present throughout the a group that was selling service. But after the specialists had
world, on very different markets. This time, there were no in- completed their task, the final choice was made using a common
house competitions or ideas scribbled on a paper napkin. A sense method typical of the cofounders: the two proposals were
British agency specialized in the matter was selected to look posted in the lobby of the head office in Evry, and everyone who
for a name. The rich tradition of inns, with their colorful names came in was asked to check off their choice. It was an approach
in a large range of subjects – flora, fauna, geometry, colors, that would give communication specialists a heart attack
mythology, history – provided food for thought. The brief, as because one and all could express their opinion: employees,
usual, was pragmatic: a clear, easy-to-remember, international suppliers, visitors. The height of sacrilege: those queried dared
name that could be near the top of the list in phone directories to mix the two ideas. So the winner was Accor, but with the
and therefore ideally begin with one of the first letters of the geese… a choice that turned out to be very inspired.
alphabet.
▼
A unique approach for a major brand, in 1997, the cofounders left their
mark on all the Group’s hotels and head offices and signed “the Accor
spirit”. It was the first time that the renowned photography studio
Harcourt put its talent at the service of a company.

166
A bit of semantics
In theory, everyone will say that the word Accor doesn’t
really mean anything except for phonetically referring to
“accord”, which exists in both Romance and Germanic
languages, or the French adjective accort, which means
courteous. The famous French dictionary Littré includes
a verb, accorer, whose definition is “to assemble the
pieces of wood of a boat to finish its construction”, which
fits in nicely. But Accor has other pleasant translations
outside France: in Portugal, a cor, or color, in Italy, “cor”,
▼
Corporate communication isn’t a poetic form of “by heart”.
necessarily austere. For proof, the
Mama Goose family, the mascot
created in 2007, will touch all
publics…
2007
Advertising campaigns.
1998 2001 2004
A paean from a lover of bernacles The case of the vanishing bernacles

Are there any greater travelers than these sustained effort, have powerful wings and unfail-
The three Accor logos are remarkably continuous and
migratory birds that symbolize Accor? Everyone ing determination. Another of their extraordinary
each seems to pay tribute to the previous one by purify-
that approaches them, scientists, breeders and characteristics is having an internal ‘compass’
ing it and strengthening its impact. The number of geese
amateurs, is fascinated by them. A breeder who that lets them feel the earth’s pull and orient
did diminish, to the consternation of goose lovers. It
loves bernacles talks about his passion: “Every themselves. The ‘lead’ bird of the formation, the
went from nine to three and then what looked to be two.
since I approached bernacles during my child- one that is facing the wind, decides on the itiner-
But in fact, there were still three because the new logo
hood, I’ve loved them. They are marvelous, socia- ary to be followed. When the goose flying in front
subtly plays with the birds’ silhouettes. This brings to
ble, affectionate birds with a very strong, very is tired, another bird sets the ‘instrument panel’
mind the Dutch artist M.C. Escher, who invented multi-
pugnacious character. During migration, the and takes its place. Their social structure allows
ple combination figures in which shapes gradually
bernacles form groups of hundreds of birds, then the group to function very harmoniously. When
reveal others.
rise in ‘strings’. They’re different from other birds conditions are difficult, these birds keep their
So despite appearances, there are really three berna-
because of their exceptional physical strength. composure. Each day, the geese offer me a les-
cles, with a stronger and more dynamic profile, which
They’re the champions of speed and horizontal son in serenity…”
some people interpret as “day and night” geese. And of
flight. They bore through the air! Their long peri-
course, the Accor blue that so thoroughly incarnates the
ods of continuous flight require that they make a
Group’s values is still there, the color of freedom, move-
ment, travel and peace. Blue is also the world’s favorite
color.

167
An obvious choice
A demanding DNA
If the choice of the name Novotel now seems obvious, to the
point where no one even thinks about its origin, the situation
was quite different in 1967. It is clear that the idea, as often
happens, popped up spontaneously, but brand awareness
was created in a totally new way for the milieu and the time.
Whereas its competitors were mostly lobbying at the ban-
quets of the high and mighty, Paul Dubrule and Gérard
1972 1975 1979
Pélisson introduced the concepts in a totally unusual manner:
press relations, press releases, folders, mailings, flyers, stick-
ers and even graphic guidelines. Innovation, rupture and
adaptation: the brand’s DNA is fixed.
1967 1977 1995 2007
New concept, new name… Pop-up folder for the inauguration of Novotel
New York, in the United States, 1984.
▼
Ami [‘friend’], or even Motel Ami, was Paul Dubrule’s first choice for his
▼
new hotel chain. The slogan was even ready: “Your Ami [‘friend’] on the Matchbooks with the color of the first Novotel
road”. The name was short and began with an A. Unfortunately, Citroën 1980 logo.
had just trademarked the name of its new car, Ami 6. Finally, it was dur-
ing a a dinner among friends that the “Novotel” idea popped up. The
suggestion was a good one, even if certain people were afraid it would be
The means at hand
confused with Sofitel. It was a contraction of nouveau [‘new’] and hotel,
Real graphic guidelines grew out of the logo and were
simple, international and phonetically harmonious. Brigitte Martin-
Dubrule, Paul Dubrule’s sister, who was working for a Paris advertising applied to everything, from stationery to bars of soap, but the
agency at the time, was put in charge of communication. For the logo, the budget was inversely proportional to inventiveness: there
brief was quite clear: as the concept was avant-garde, the logo had to be was no four-color printing (too expensive), but primary
reassuring. So the name was to be written in Gothic letters like the inns
blue, no photos (a fortune) but supports that were a lot more
of times past, but Novotel had something new, a real “logo block”. The 1993
three stars were there of course so people knew what kind of a hotel it ingenious: giant stickers for family cars, which forced the
was. A little slanted roof covered the first part of the N in Novotel. For drivers to keep their cars clean at all times, flyers that friends
many years, a vertical mast with a “Motel” sign stood on the parking distributed along the sides of the highway, at the airport, at
lots.
gas stations and especially, a lot of press releases that were
very effective because local and national journalists were
eager to discover this really original new hotel.
▼
Gaston Lagaffe took a pause

to create a comic book
for customers, in 1987,
Franquin, Dargaud.

168
▼
The Children’s Corner.
Forty years later,

a little more semiology…
What remains today from the 1967 “nouvel hôtel”-new
hotel-Novotel? Those who like semantics will be happy:
novo, the Latin prefix, has become a term used in very
high-tech. It originally designated “everything that is re-
newed, re-freshed, re-started.” It is the name given to
the new synthetic molecules that researchers constantly
fine-tune to become ever more efficient. Those who pre-
fer poetry will recall that the “Dolce Stil Novo” has always
represented the highest form of literary expression dur-
2007.
ing the Renaissance in Europe.
“Designed
for Natural Living”
The magnificent campaign shook up the professional
milieu: for the first time, a hotel chain dared to use a
communication based on emotion, without any declam-
atory slogan. The signature was a daring program that
broke with the timid codes of the sector: “Designed for
Natural Living”. It was not just an exercise in style but
the continuation of Novotel’s total metamorphosis into
the heart of design, comfort and well-being. It was a
grassroots movement that was not that dissimilar to the
codes of the famous iPod. Here too, technology was no
▼ ▼ longer an obstacle but a way to give daily life back its
Novotel guide and key holder, 2001, Dolfi, an adorable mascot, but enchantment. Design was no longer ostentatious or
and advertising campaign in 1980. especially the symbol of the Novotel
aggressive but expressed sharing. The Novotel cus-
revolution: children stay for free in
tomer, like the iPod fan, is an individual who doesn’t care
their parent’s room.
about labels, who is going to look for what he likes, what
“nourishes” him. ▼
The Apple corner.
▼ The advertising campaign in 2007.
A squarer image
The new logo brought Novotel directly into modernity: it
was in lower case, very round and rejuvenated, in a bright pri-
mary blue. It displayed a great deal of creative freedom such
as the collection of Novotel guides that sum up in themselves
the graphic evolution of the last few decades proves.
An additional step was taken in 1993 with a new logo that
was a clear break with the old one and that had more depth.
The original blue became a bit warmer but the new lettering
was clearer, more readable and still elegant. The square
introduced a more international graphic code and suggested
the concept’s rigor and standards. This squarer base was off-
set by the introduction of the famous sienna-colored line that
can be interpreted in a number of ways: the moon’s crescent,
a ray of light, a smile in the night, like a lighthouse for trav-
elers perhaps. In any event, it was an extra touch of ele-
gance, poetry and warmth, and even a bit of femininity in the
brand’s masculine blue world.

169
Pure Hotel concentrate
The story sounds like a gag straight out of the
movies. Paul Dubrule and Gérard Pelisson,
looking for a name for their new 2-star concept,
gave Yves Paulmier, Ibis’s first chief, a clear
1980
brief: “signs cost a lot of money, so find a short
name, and one that clearly says that it’s a 2-
star”. They were satisfied beyond their wildest
dreams because it was one of those rare logos to
have lasted over 14 years. Perhaps it was thanks
to the affectionate link that the brand created, a
brand with just the right note, and amazing sim-
plicity. ▼
“Hotels the way we like them”,
1982 1980
Ibis campaign, in 2006.
You’re never as well served as…

The hunt began in-house, following the principles the Group
liked so much. After all, there was no shortage of imagination.
After a competition, it seems that the best idea far and away
was Ibis. It had four letters, two made up of a single line, two
dots, two stars, a name that was easy to say in any language.
1989 1994 2000

2007
A hint of an impertinent cartoon…
The concept was appealing and so was the logo. It looked a When the customer sets the prices!
little like a cartoon with its tuft of grass and two slightly Marcel Aymé once said: “If business was properly done, it
exotic flowers that clearly announced that Ibis was a 2-star would be the customer who set the prices.” With its unbeat-
hotel. The colors were bright: red for energy and green for able value for money, Ibis dared to take the author at his
chlorophyll, nature, plants. The name’s meaning quickly got word and confidently launched its campaign in 2002 that
lost in the shuffle. Was it a bird or did it have something to made the competition gnash its teeth: “Sleep at our house,
do with the hibiscus? When the logo was redone in 1994, it and the next day set your own price!” It was a daring wager
acquired greater depth and more impact. that paid off and until this day, no other brand has tried it.
A secret weapon? Ecology from day one The hot air balloons of
the brand’s advertising
The secret of the concept is to constantly redo the subtle Perhaps because the brand is just the right size, Ibis is a gen- campaign, in the 1980s.
equation between the service level offered and an excep- uine “green” brand and a pioneer in ecology and sustainable It was natural that Nicolas
Hulot used the two Ibis
tional price on the market. The formula is a remarkable development. Many initiatives were launched in the 1990s in balloons for his television
innovation, the “servuction”, which gives the customer all the energy saving, waste sorting and the preservation of the program Ushuaia.
This partnership has
elements needed for optimal service. There is no room serv- environment. It is moreover, the first ISO-certified hotel
continued as the brand
ice, but a choice of food available at the reception desk in the brand. now sponsors the Nicolas
space of just a few minutes. Hulot Foundation.

170
Passion Pink
Mercure is perhaps the most personalized of the Accor
Advertising campaign, 1989.
▼
brands, the one that created, through passionate hotelkeep-
ers, the most singular and intimate link with its customers, but
▼
Wine menu.
also with its geographic and cultural environment. Not
everything was rosy, however. It is known that the brand had
been created in 1973 by a “dissident” of Novotel, who tried
to duplicate the model, without the financial rigor or the
concept’s modernity. The Mercure chain was bought by the
Group in 1975. What happened afterward proved not only
that Mercure was not Novotel’s rival but that the two brands
were able to develop a very strong identity.
Matchbox with the brand’s colors, Blue or pink?
1973. ▼ The first thing you notice about Mercure after its logo
is of course the color pink, not a pale pink or washed-
out old rose, but a very bright pink. Was its purpose to
give the brand more gentleness and femininity? Was it
because pink was a young modern color at the period?
Was it because pink was the complete opposite of
1981 1982
Novotel’s institutional blue? Perhaps the answer is all
1985 three…
A meaningful name A logo in the first person

Once again, the name Mercure did not come out
All the handwriting experts agree: how the first letter of
of inspiration or chance. Mercury [Mercure in
a name is written is a very strong assertion of one’s
French] was the Roman god of travelers, not to be 1994
personality. Mercure’s has therefore asserted itself
confused with his Greek cousin, Hermes, who
with the evolutions of the brand without ever being
was also the god of thieves. In turn, the Gallo-
untrue to itself. The very elegant M has become larger,
Romans added to Mercury’s attributes, making
the pink now coexists with another color that irre-
him the god of trade, craftsmen and “contracts”
sistibly evokes the divine nectar and the art of fine liv-
that involved two people. What better auspices
ing.
for a contract of trust that the hotelkeeper, who is
both a craftsman and a tradesman, proposes?
1999 A residence in the heart of the city
One of the brand’s great strength’s, inscribed in the
logo, is also expressed by the chain’s concept. By
opening its doors to the personalization of hotels,
Mercure has very skillfully given the brand coherence
and elegance. With an artistic evocation (Louis
M Gallery: hotels 2001
Lumière in Lyon) or a wink at the construction site
with a story to tell (Cartoucherie), the Mercures open up the city and the
Some hotels are never forgotten. They tell the
region to the traveler. Mercure wines have added the
traveler a story in which he comes across Proust,
finishing touch to this transformation by presenting
Kafka, Joyce and other renowned names. They
the local treasures of the grape. Oenology, gastron-
bear witness to the Middle Ages, the fantasies of Art Nouveau
2006
omy and signed objects all make hotel living a pleas-
or offer breathtaking landscapes. These singular hotels are
ure above and beyond all else.
now part of the M Gallery collection, the finest of Mercure.

171
Soft Hotel, So Fine Hotel, Sophisticated Hotel, all of
them evoke gentleness and refinement. Sofi, wis- When luxury is inspired
dom in Greek, was even the early name of the
magnificent shah of Persia. Sofitel has often
Luxury has changed. The new trends and behaviors show that the luxury of
set the tone in the upper upscale sector,
tomorrow will be primarily based on unforgettable experiences and sensa-
with its Thalassa hotels, for example, or its
tions. The new calling of the Sofitel brand is to reinterpret, reenchant,
architectural boldness. But today, it is
this”art de vivre à la française” with excellence, to create unique moments,
redrawing the luxury sector itself, with the
to transform each detail into a moment of pure pleasure, elegance and
launch of two new sister brands: So by Sofitel
refinement. The latest Sofitel logo perfectly expresses this dimension,
and Sofitel Legend.
which is both timeless and at the forefront of the
most recent trends.
1981
So by Sofitel
Luxury, creation and contemporary design: a new
1992
cosmopolitan generation no longer settles for
looking at them from afar, it also wants to be part
of them by partaking in the unique experiences
2000
offered by the finest hotels. Having made the
entire planet its home, cultivated and demand-
ing, aware of all the latest trends, this urban
nomad clientele a step ahead of fashion was sim-
ply waiting for a new hotel range so chic, so con-
2001
temporary, that it could only be called So, by
2003
Sofitel, of course.
2007
Living with
the French touch Legend, the myth
The first logo was a simple capital S, as modest
as the original name, the Societé financière No formula can ever define a luxury hotel. It is a place where
d’hôtellerie, created in 1964 by a subsidiary of magic works its wonders, where you breathe air that “literally
the Banque de Paris et des Pays-Bas. It was transports you out of yourself and for the better,” to quote
only in 1981 that the famous “daisy” that already Marcel Proust. Sofitel Legend allows you to experience the
evoked the influence of and the rise in the most exceptional and luxurious moments of your trip, propos-
range appeared. In 1992, it was the artist Yan ing a collection of dream hotels, with services worthy of these
Pennor’s who made over the logo, giving it both myths. The Old Cataract, so dear to Agatha Christie, Winston
volume and lightness. In 2001, it became the Churchill and François Mitterrand, the Métropole in Hanoi and
ellipse and the “sun” with its two colors that the Jamaï Palace in Fez, straight out of A Thousand and One
bring to mind French-style luxury: a dark, velvety Nights…
blue and the bronze of the gilding at Versailles,
evocative of the golden age of the Sun King.

172
The taste of pleasure
A name that melts in your mouth like a macaroon! Lenôtre
encompasses a whole program, that of gastronomy of course,
but also of experience and a profession that is a true craft
because the sense of taste, as Gaston Lenôtre once said, the
real one, that of the palate, is only acquired by eating good
food. But Lenôtre does not rest on unchanging tradition – it
also has a good dose of daring. Is its reputation partially built
on its sublime macaroon? Then why not invent the macarré,
which has been a tremendous hit? Everyone loves the mille-
feuille? Then turn it into a savory treat. The latest daring
to date: the Yule log, in the shape of a parallelepiped.
The motto of its founder, Gaston Lenôtre, is astonish
the taste buds while demanding the finest quality.
A classic that hides its hand 50 years old

With such a name, you would think that the logo but not a single wrinkle
wasn’t of great importance… The name has incar- From Paris to the other end of the planet, the brand
nated the excellence of French gastronomy ever since has grown with its market. But the fundamentals
Gaston Lenôtre opened his first shop in Paris in 1957, haven’t changed. If the strawberries aren’t perfect, the
and then opened his laboratories and kitchens in the town of chef will take strawberry desserts off the next day’s menu.
Plaisir (coincidentally, “pleasure” in French) in 1968, near Repeating gastronomic feats like catering the World Soccer Cup
Versailles, where another Le Nôtre (this time in two words), the in 1998 or the Olympic Games in Athens is easy as pie, provided that qual-
architect and landscape artist of Versailles, also incarnates ity is always maintained in every gesture, and extra hands are brought in as
France’s heritage. But the brand is fundamental, because it is needed. With Sonya Rykiel, Philippe Starck and Lolita Lempicka, Lenôtre has
a synonym for quality. become the first caterer to join up with great names in fashion and design
for its original creations. The development of its shops abroad, especially in
A very French accent Asia and the Middle East, has permitted it to be on top of the newest trends,
Foreigners love to pronounce the long o in Lenôtre, so typical interpreted French-style, of course.
of a chic French accent. The logo created after Lenôtre
entered the Group in 1989 used a rainbow as a circumflex over
the o. The logo designed in 1997 expresses the brand’s pres-
tige reinforcing the visibility of the word Paris in it. The typeface
is classic, but this classicism is revisited. Time-worn codes –
never use blue for a food product – are cast aside and the O is
slanted.
1979 1989
▼
1997 A Lenôtre reception, at the Orangerie of Versailles, in 2003.

173
When passion remains…
The legends that keep their promises

In the beginning there was a young Belgian engineer, Georges
Nagelmackers, who created the Compagnie des Wagons-Lits in 1876 to
operate night trains with comfortable cars. Then there was the Orient
Express, the brainchild of a utopian folly: opening up Europe by linking Paris
to Istanbul and proposing, for the first time, restaurant cars. A new form of
travel was born, and would continue with other mythic trains like the Train
Bleu, the Malle des Indes and the Trans-Siberian. To welcome this cosmo-
politan clientele, the Compagnie des Wagons-Lits set up luxury hotels
throughout the world and a travel agency network.
The TGV [high-speed train]’s heritage

Luxury trains faded into history with the arrival of the airplane, but
their legacy was over 125 years of know-how in food service onboard
trains. The Compagnie des Wagons-Lits has perpetuated this mem-
ory in its new logo that is centered on the W of Wagons and highlights
the excellence of its service, symbolized by a star.
Always inventing
This brand’s raison d’être is to continuously propose new experiences
on trains, with the creation of onboard bars (Tout & Bien in France) as well
as restaurant services specific to each country.
1876 1920 1925 1930 1939 1960 1969 1993 2001

174
Ticket: a common noun;
synonym: Accor Services… A little etymology…
The word “ticket” does not, of course, belong to Accor but its Unlike what some people might think, the word “ticket” is not
commercial use in the form of Ticket Restaurant is a registered an Anglicism but comes from the old French estiquet, the ori-
trademark of the Group. In certain countries like Brazil, people gin of étiquette, which the Anglo-Saxons changed into ticket
don’t say Accor Services but “the Ticket” to designate the com- and spread throughout the world. In France, it officially des-
pany. Sometimes nicknamed the “tickson” at Accor, in France it ignated admission cards to the 1886 World Fair, then gradu-
is an excellent example of a semantic and almost affective asso- ally extended to all areas of everyday life. First called Société
ciation of a product with a brand… Crédit-Repas Ticket Restaurant, the Jacques Borel company
took less than a decade to impose the term Ticket
Restaurant. The acronym TR was later used in-house
and on small posters, but the general public con-
The famous red ball quickly tinued to use the full name or the nickname “ticket
appeared on the tickets,
its international versions
restau”.
and of course in advertising
campaigns.
▼
The ‘red ball’ effect

The famous red ball on top of the TR logo was a means of
authentication. When you put your finger on it, the color
changed. The red ball can be interpreted many ways: red for
dynamism, vitality, circulation, a sphere symbolizing a per-
fect shape and conviviality. With the new Ticket Restaurant
logo launched in March 2007, the red ball has moved higher up,
for more lightness and dynamism.
Advertising campaign in Argentina,

A family of brands
▼
in 1997. The Ticket Restaurant has given birth to a large number of

▼ Accor Services cards.
offspring, adapted to other needs of companies and society.
The brand has created a family of products all with the same
patronymic, “Ticket”, recognizable in all of them. Limitless
development can even be imagined, as the market of serv-
ices to companies and collectivities is so vast. The brand has
continued to develop around three focuses: the use of new
technologies to make it easier to use services, modification of
legislation to permit new offerings and lastly the capitalization
of Accor Services’ expertise.
The first logotype 1976 1980 2007

in 1961

175
A trailblazer
Constantly daring!
It took impertinence, not to say shrewdness, to combine
“suite”, one of the most luxurious words in the hotel busi-
ness, with an accessible offering. At a time when everyone
said that everything in the sector had already been
invented, Accor found a new source of inspiration in
the United States, with an affordable and truly
new concept in Europe for hotel stays in total
freedom, where hospitality is the byword. A
sign of the times, the conception of the logo, a
genuine “contemporary ethnographic” cre-
ation, is just like the brand, which seeks out
the latest sociological trends.
A very anticonformist street

marketing campaign on the theme
of the bathrobe was simultaneously
launched in 14 European countries
in 2007. Here, London.
▼
Suitehotel Lille Europe, France.
A free brand Audacity down to

Suitehotel’s logo block has of three terracotta-colored the slightest details
lines in an amber square accentuated with a relief. The Advertising, marketing, interior layouts, the original idea
name is in handwriting, a simple and elegant way to of breakfasts with “Good Morning”, the brand dares to
establish a more personal relationship. Two colors that leave the beaten track to attract a young clientele that
complement each other convey all the art of a top-of-the- does not have its elders’ preconceptions, always going
range simplicity that is never elitist. The three lines are in further in adapting to contemporary urban life-styles.
fact a Feng Shui trigram that means “kindness and travel” Who other than Suitehotel would have dared to proclaim
and that is found in the rooms’ wood trim. The quality of the that its hotels were open to everyone, even heterosexu-
welcome and the relationship with the customer is not a als? Or show a woman executive obviously appreciating
slogan but a raison d’être. Suitehotel’s welcome is unfail- all the charms of a so-called “business trip”? This
ing regardless of the customer’s profile, the reason for refreshing freedom of tone is a minor revolution in the
his stay, professional or leisure, or very often a combina- hotel business, where the hotel totally adapts to the cus-
tion of both, the way he is going to use the hotel… tomer and not vice-versa.

176
Hit the road Jack ! Every since Jack Kerouac wrote about “road culture”, the
American art of traveling has become a myth with its
icons, the wide-open spaces, Highway 66, California, big
cars and… Motel 6. The United States is a country where
Motel 6 means an inexpensive place to stay, an ideal stop
for any kind of trip, a country where a rock group
records a hit “from a Motel 6” and all good travel stories
include a stay at Motel 6. The brand’s slogan for the last
seventeen years, “We’ll leave the light on for you” has
almost become part of the national heritage. The proof
is that when an electricity outage paralyzes a Motel 6
for a few hours, it sometimes makes the front page of
major newspapers. Myths are sacrosanct!
1987 1998
Santa Barbara, of course…

It was on a square in California, in Santa Barbara, to be
exact, that the first Motel 6 opened in 1962. Some tourists
still visit it as though it were a monument. The two
founders had decided to combine the word motel and the
price of a room.
The name was nearly Motel 4, but the profit calculations ▼ ▼
The brand’s sign in 1998. The Motel 6 campaign in 1997.
were a bit too tight for comfort. Motel 5’s arithmetic was-
n’t quite right but Motel 6 was right on the money. Its two Star publicity
colors, red and blue, could be seen from a distance. It was One day, the head of Motel 6’s ad agency heard someone
a simple and effective formula, even if it didn’t take into on the radio with a very folksy voice, telling a story to chil-
account inflation, which was almost unknown anyway in dren. He told himself that the brand that would have
the United States at the time. In the early 1960s, an LP enough nerve to wager all its communication on this guy
cost $3 – half the price of a room, and a Coke 20 cents. At would beat all records. The brand was Motel 6 and they
constant prices, a Motel 6 room still costs the same today, did indeed beat all records for brand awareness. The
or about 40 euros for the least expensive rooms. The owner of that appealing voice, Tom Bodett, whose face
Motel 6 phenomenon has, of course, created a lot of imi- never once appeared, became one of the media’s most
tators and Motel 8s and the like are regularly launched. But popular personalities, and his fame has lasted these
no one has been able to copy it and every attempt has 17 years… longer than one well-known cowboy.
failed…

177
The hotel near you
The idea of an étape [stopover] is enticing for the traveler. The
word brings to mind rest, a halt, a place where you recharge
your batteries. The original idea was to create a brand that
could welcome existing hotels. The partner franchisees had
asked the Group to develop new hotels guaranteeing that
there was a market ready to be had. The word also calls out
to hikers and it is not just a coincidence if the chain attracts
1993 1995 2003
an increasing number of guests who have embraced
‘green’ tourism. Proximity and imagination have been two
major elements of the Etap Hotel brand since its creation. In Europe the Etap Hotel logo is comprehensible at
Of course, outside France, the word “Etap” does not have any first sight, with one exception, Poland. The particular
special meaning.. Outside Europe, the Etap Hotels have slant of the horizontal line of the “t” turns the name
adopted the Formule 1 name, more widely known. into “Ewap Hotel”. So Poland was authorized to mod-
ify the logo. “The exception that confirms the rule.”
2007
▼ Etap Hotel Coutances, France.
▼
The étape [stage] is an integral part of the Tour de France,
which is period of strong communication for the brand, an offi-
cial supplier for the Tour since 2006. The brand even created
a version of its animal mascots drawn by the illustrator
Messerschmitt, here a likable fox.
Soft and tonic
The new logo launched in 2003 is “softer”
but more dynamic, with a lighter blue, easy
to see at night. The lozenge is rounded at
An original creation the corners, like Australian traffic signs,
and the name of the Group is placed in an
When it was created, the Etap Hotel logo opted for simplic- inset that is also rounded. At the top is a
ity. A familiar name that shows honest simplicity and that detail that instantly identifies the brand, a
stands out from other brands. colored “plume” that has given free rein to a
Like its name, the Etap Hotel concept goes right to the heart number of interpretations: fireworks, a fan,
of what a hotel is meant to be, with an extremely diversified a diamond, a volcano, a tassel. And the
clientele who all have in common a rational approach to rounded letters might even bring to mind a
their hotel budget. That is what the brand offers them, along plump pillow!
with a guarantee of seriousness, rigor and very widely rec-
ognized professionalism.

178
The power of the brand
“A reference, an exemplary success, inimitable…” Admiring professionals like
▼
to use superlatives to describe the Formule 1 brand. More prosaically, a whole Prototype of the façade
generation of young adults and students who have discovered another way to with the new logo for France.
travel, genuinely democratized, far from the depressing choice between youth hos-
tels and small sometimes sordid hotels, couldn’t agree more. The new product
was created by Paul Dubrule, Gérard Pélisson and Robert Larrivé. The develop-
ment of the brand and the network was turned over to Jean-François Bourgois
and Jean-Claude Luttman, who created the name Formule 1. In theory, this for-
mula for success is comprised of the lowest prices on the market, a striking 2007
color and a name with a strong collective connotation. But the reality is far more
complex… Since its creation, the logo has not had
any major retouches, a record in itself!
1985
Noble and popular

The name the Group chose for this revolutionary chain is as
successful as the concept itself, being both extremely pop-
ular, as it unites all the generations in the same passion for
a spectacular sport, but also noble, because Formula 1 is at
the top of the motor racing hierarchy. Moreover, the name
immediately reveals the brand’s position, 1 star, while pair-
ing it with a synonym for victory.
Remarkable efficiency
The logo block seems simple. Yellow, the most luminous
hue in the color spectrum, predominates. Red injects it with
even more dynamism and brings to mind the speed of the
Ferraris and other red racing cars. The black supports the
yellow and further accentuates the contrast.
▼ The very symmetrical whole is supported by a horizontal
Drawing taken from the comic book,
block that evokes the black and white checkerboard flag of
La Marque Bleue, by Pascal Fournier the racing circuits, the one that means victory, performance.
and Pascal Dubuck, GIP, 1987.
▼
The Formule 1 sign, Coulommiers, France.

Even faster: F1
The F1 acronym already existed in the famous Formule 1
“cube” that became the new name in France. F1 hotel is
simpler and easier to remember. The brand’s basics have
been kept but the acronym is easier to use and to vary. The
relationships between the colors are more subtle but retain
the same strong contrast and originality. Being a part of the
very contemporary universe of low-cost hotels is reaffirmed
with a bold touch of modernity. The room concept has been
totally rethought for a younger and more diversified clientele.
Formule 1 Madrid Alcorcon, Spain.

▼ 1999 2005 ▼
Advertising compaign, 2007.

179
Accor Thalassa
beyond simple well-being
Health from the sea
The story began in France, in 1867, in Arcachon, where
A philosophy of balance
a certain Dr. La Bonnardière intuited the extraordinary Over the last few years, the way well-being
benefits of seawater. He combined two Greek words, is conceived has changed radically in the
thalassos (sea) and therapi, to invent the con- same way as the relationship between
cept of thalassotherapy, of which France mind and body: alternative medicine,
quickly became the leader. The first sports, inner balance, fitness, spirituality.
modern thalassotherapy institute We are all pulled between exhortations
was created in 1964 by Louison from all directions to acquire well-being
Bobet and his wife Marie-José. and the search for durable benefits and a
Among its first customers healthy life-style.
were athletes, then busi- Based on over 25 years of experience
nessmen and film stars. and know-how, Accor Thalassa has
invented, today, a pioneering offer-
ing that breaks with the traditional
vision of a fitness stay by taking
up well-being in all its forms:
physical, emotional and intellec-
tual.
Sofitel Thalassa Biarritz
▼
Miramar, France.
1984 For a new

“way to live”
Ionée, the prototype name of this new pro-
gram, takes all these dimensions in charge as
well as offering advice and follow-up after
the stay, which is proposed to eliminate the
effects of stressful urban life. From nutrition to
aesthetics, from relaxation to fitness, from
seawater or thermal benefits to physiother-
apy, all the resources are called on to create an
authentic and personalized partnership. All
of it, of course, in dream locations because
An Accor reference that is also a component of pleasure and well-
being. It is more than a “cure”, it is a new way
Accor opened its first center in 1973 in for customers looking for balance to take
Oléron in France. But it was with the pur- their life into their hands.
chase in 1984 of Quiberon that the kick-off
was given to the development of Accor
Thalassa: that of know-how unique in the
world in thalassotherapy and thermal spas,
on magnificent sites, genuine havens of
well-being in the four corners of the planet.
Luxury, calm and voluptuousness: with
Accor, thalassotherapy became the market
reference in quality and services, accessible
to a broader public, with the guarantee of
flawless expertise, thanks to a scientific
committee composed of 15 medical experts.

180
Pullman, when the business
trip surrounds itself with
comfort
All Seasons,
a pillow as logo
The All Seasons logo breaks all the codes by using an object
that is the very symbol of comfort and well-being, a plump
pillow. By eschewing traditional logos in blocks or squares,
All Seasons demonstrates its difference, that of modernity,
empathy and affection. Supple and soft, the All Seasons logo
is decked out in a very refreshing, modern and sparkling green
Pullman Xiàn Beijing, China.
▼ that fits the brand’s image of small
cozy downtown hotels to a tee.
With its new top-of-the-range brand, Accor sat-

isfies all those who cultivate the taste for and the
art of traveling, for leisure or business. Pullman,
of course, evokes the luxurious “hotels on
tracks” invented in the nineteenth century to
transport a cosmopolitan clientele in comfort-
able surroundings. By resuscitating the brand
that evokes the ultimate in comfort, updated to
the most contemporary and demanding stan-
dards, it is a new archetype of the modern hotel,
as warm as it is “connected”, in all the mean-
ings of the word, a perfect balance between
serenity and conviviality.

181
T H E AC C O R G E N E R AT I O N S
1967
The entrepreneurial spirit flows in the veins of the cre-
ators of the first Novotel, which opens in Lille Lesquin,
in the north of France.
The concept of this ‘all-electric’ hotel is revolutionary.
During his years in New York, Paul Dubrule, 33 years old
“Success is never in the present and a native of Lille, analyzed the success of the hotel
moment nor in cold analyses. chains for businesspeople that were appearing in the
It comes from yourself.” United States. Born in Lyon and 35 years old, Gérard
Paul Dubrule and Gérard Pélisson Pélisson is an engineer who graduated from the École
Centrale and completed his education at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Armed
with the American dream, they see that as far as hotels
are concerned, Europe is virgin territory. Everyone tells
them that they’re bound to fail…
52
▼
Martin Luther King proclaims:
▼ ▼ “I have a dream.”
France dances along with The first Novotel opens in Lille, France.
Les Demoiselles de Rochefort…
… while Paul Dubrule and

Gérard Pélisson create
the first Novotel.
▼
▼
The lounge of the first Novotel, in Lille, France.
Society reinvents itself in a tumultuous world. The war

in Vietnam brutally divides the American public. One
result is the founding of hippie communities in
California. While France hums tunes from Les
Demoiselles de Rochefort, flower power aesthetics will
soon pollinate fashion and design. A little machine with
an immense future – the automatic teller machine –
makes it first appearance in Great Britain. Color televi-
sion arrives in France for the coronation of the shah of
Iran. Prof. Christian Barnard’s team successfully per-
forms the first heart transplant.
T H E A CCO R G E N E R AT I O N S
184
BY JACK ALTMAN
The name Novotel has already become a sign of suc-
« THE TIMES cess. The Lille hotel, with its 62 rooms, is presented as
the “first link in a chain of 100 hotels.” Without any per-
THEY ARE sonal wealth, but with ambition and thanks to clever
A-CHANGIN’… » Bob Dylan, 1964

financial packages, the two entrepreneurs spread their
wings outside the city centers, along the French high-
ways. The ‘revolution’ of May 1968 explodes just as the
Colmar Novotel opens. Once the whirlwind has passed,
a relieved France puts all its energy into business. All
In 1967, the journalist and author Jack Altman was living in that’s left to do is to snatch up investors.
Chicago where he worked for TIME MAGAZINE. He recounts…
The 1960s in the United States were wonderful and terrible.

The country triumphantly sent a man to the moon in 1969 but
was at the same time at war in Vietnam, the most humiliat-
ing conflict in all of American history. African-Americans had Novotel is talked
about in the press.
made the greatest progress in the recognition of their civil
▼
rights since the Civil War. But this was at the cost of bloody
52
riots and the assassination of the militant leader Malcolm X
in 1965, then of Martin Luther King, the champion of non-
violent methods, in 1968. John F. Kennedy was elected in
1960 and was the youngest president in American history –
people knew that something new, something special was
going to happen. When this handsome and brilliant man told
▼ Paris, 1968, the students rebel. Novotel makes ink flow in the press.
them: “Don’t ask what your country can do for you but what
you can do for your country,” this was not perceived as just
a sleight of hand, but as a call to action. Black and white mil-
itants fought against racism together in the schools in the With the Colmar Novotel,
the first links in the chain
south and the factories in the north. Young people joined the
▼
are created.
Peace Corps and crossed the seas to transmit their knowl-
edge to developing countries.
It was “cool” at this time to be American. But for at least half
of the American people, the most important event was
unquestionably that day in 1960 when the pill went on sale
and the emancipation of women became a real possibility. Young people in major Western capitals revolt and pro-
Bob Dylan captured the rebellious spirit of the period in songs claim their desire for freedom. In Paris the month of May
like The Times They Are A-Changin’. And while the melodies witnesses the construction of barricades and the throw-
ing of paving stones. The musical Hair opens on
of the Beach Boys and the Mamas and Papas were as dreamy
Broadway. Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey
as what they were smoking, the more talented Jimi Hendrix
depicts a “fictional” future. “Prague Spring” is crushed by
and Janis Joplin sank into the hard stuff and died young. In Soviet tanks. With the increase in purchasing power and
1968, in Chicago, Abbie Hoffman and his gang did to the growth of public transportation, tourism has become
President Lyndon B. Johnson – with as much energy and per- an industry. The car, the refrigerator and the television
haps less ideology – what Danny Cohn-Bendit and his friends set are the symbols of consumerism.
1968
were doing, in Paris, to President Charles de Gaulle.
185
1969 THE
Banks dive right into this flurry of economic activity. As
Europe modernizes, an ‘industrial’ hotel group is being
invented in a country whose old-fashioned facilities
date back to another era. The capital of the Société
d’investissements et d’exploitation hôteliers (SIEH) –
TIME
OF BY PEDRO DE SOUZA
PARADOXES
Novotel’s development corporation – increases to over
6 million francs (915,000 euros). A third Novotel is inau-
gurated in Marseilles. Like the two other Novotels, it
has – what luxury! – a bathroom and television in each Of Portuguese origin, Pedro de Souza is now a
room. journalist for the Brazilian magazine VEJA. He
remembers when he arrived in Brazil…
Supposedly we can read the future in cards, a crystal ball or

coffee grounds. But how can you describe the past? The mem-
ory of time gone by, of our youth, is poorly adapted to the
hackneyed words of everyday. Events are revealed, and con-
cealed, behind a myriad of details. It was the 1970s. An exile
from a dictatorship of another age, I had moved to Brazil.
Fully equipped Novotel Plane trips were expensive, there weren’t any PCs, or NGOs,
rooms, with bathrooms
▼
and televisions. ▼ ▼ or AIDS. The Berlin Wall was still standing, and the Vietnam
First steps on the moon.
War that had stoked the revolution of Western youth would
be over soon. In Latin America, the return of rule by force
had been ferocious. Pinochet had people tortured and killed,
even the singer Victor Jara, but the refrain of one of the songs
of the Chilean Left, “El pueblo unido jamas sera vencido!”,
would ring out again a few months later on the other side of
the Atlantic, in Lisbon. The “Carnation Revolution” put an
end to the first and last colonial empire… In Paris, people
were building: the engineers of the Tour Montparnasse and
the “Trou des Halles” were looking for happiness in the sky
and below ground that had been lost on the surface. The
controversial “gas factory” where the Pompidou Center found
a home became a symbol of the “mass production” of leisure
and culture: plane tickets were still expensive but visits to
major exhibitions and the sales of paperbacks and records
exploded and the Walkman and video made their appear-
ance. The university opened its doors to a growing number of
high school graduates. The future was rosy despite the bur-
den of the 1973 crisis. Where can we find our youth again if
Man has walked on the moon! During a test flight, the the coffee grounds are worthless? If you allow me, I will look
Concorde breaks the sound barrier for the first time. for it in women, free in this new understanding between the
Electric guitars ring out for three full days at the sexes that the 1970s nevertheless bequeathed to us.
Woodstock festival. The first ATM appears in the U.S.
Hundreds of thousands of people march against the war
in Vietnam. Richard Nixon is elected in the United
States, Georges Pompidou in France and Willy Brandt in
West Germany. Arpanet, the Internet’s forerunner, is
created.
186
1971
This is the start of the colloquium and seminar decade
The future belongs to visionaries: the new town of Evry, for the world of business. With seven new hotels, the
in the Paris region, is just a huge beet field at the time. creation of a hotel chain moves from dream to reality.
The Novotel that will be located here will be 20 min- The Novotel Holding International subsidiary starts
utes from Orly international airport. Four months after work on the first hotels outside France. The number of
its opening, the hotel has a very healthy occupancy rate! franchisees who signed a specifications sheet, grows.
Paul Dubrule and Gérard Pélisson choose Evry for the The model of the hotel chain from the United States
Group’s future head office. Four more Novotels and the takes hold and spreads. It is time for the Group to
first Novogrill, in Angers, will be opened this year as develop structures equal to its ambition. Realizing it
well as the first franchise, in Reims. has acquired real know-how, Novotel develops its
expansion strategy.
▼
Construction of a Novotel ▼
The first microprocessor
in Evry, south of Paris, the
appears.
Group’s future head office.
▼
Grill Novotel restaurant.
Novotel builds a solid reputation in the

▼
Brazil, one of the new organization of seminars for the world

destinations for travelers. of business.
▼
The Boeing 747 takes to the sky. ▼
The feminist movement takes to the streets: bras are

tossed in the air above mini and maxi skirts. Earth Day
mobilizes 20 million Americans. The Boeing 747 makes
its first commercial flight. Norway announces that it has
found oil in the North Sea. Salvador Allende is elected The world’s population tops 4 billion people. Intel mar-
president of Chile. Brazil wins the World Soccer Cup for kets the first microprocessor. The first stock market
the third time. The first New York marathon takes place. index for electronics is created – NASDAQ. And the dol-
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn is awarded the Nobel Prize for lar is devaluated. In Spain, Franco names the crown
Literature. prince Juan Carlos as his successor. Bangladesh pro-
claims its independence and clashes with Pakistan,
which, at the end of the year, goes to war against India.
1970
John Lennon records Imagine.
187
1973
A gargantuan project, a huge risk and a heavy invest-
ment. “But where is Bagnolet?” some financiers sneer.
A 600-room Novotel is built on wasteland formerly the
While trade intensifies, a 3-star hotel network is being kingdom of scrap metal dealers, just east of Paris, on
created at lightning speed. Two years is all it takes the road to Roissy-Charles-de-Gaulle airport, which is
between locating a site and opening a Novotel. By the under construction. When it opens, the hotel will be a
end of the year, there are 23 hotels including two out- flagship Novotel. An enormous illuminated sign show-
side France: in Neuchâtel in Switzerland and in ing the time and temperature lets drivers know it is
Brussels. Novotel announces that it will grow at the open. This same year, Novotel-SIEH innovates, opening
rate of 15 to 20 new hotels a year. The chain gets ready its first thalassotherapy center: the Novotel Oléron
to cross the Channel, to Coventry, Nottingham and then Saint-Trojan.
Bradford. The British market will be a slow but hand-
some conquest because the concept is simple and the
demand is there.
▼
The oil crisis spreads
▼ throughout Europe.
Novotel Brussels Airport.
A large-scale project: « Tout va plus vite,

the Novotel Paris Porte
de Bagnolet.
tout est plus gai ».
▼
Service offered:
▼
shoe shine.
▼
The construction of the

Tour Montparnasse in Paris.
In Paris, the Tour Montparnasse – all 209 meters [686

feet] in height and 58 stories of it – is inaugurated. The
first scientific pocket calculator is put on sale for $395.
The Volkswagen Beetle smashes the sales record of the
Model-T Ford: 15 million cars. Grappling with the IRA,
Great Britain decides on the direct administration
of Northern Ireland. Denmark joins the European
Community after ratifying a national referendum. Nixon
faces the worst political scandal in American history: Ceasefire agreement in Vietnam. The first genetically
Watergate”. The UN meets in Stockholm on the envi- modified organism hatches in a laboratory while the
ronment. The scanner is invented. world’s ecological conscience rises to the surface. The
Persian Gulf States decide to double the price of crude.
1972 It’s the first oil crisis. Juan Peron is elected president in
Argentina. French chefs become stars with the intro-
duction of ‘nouvelle cuisine’. The time seems ripe for
building big hotels in Paris. At this point, there is only
one single 600-room hotel in all of France.
188
The 2-star revolution is underway with Ibis. The first
hotel of what will become the first economy hotel chain
1975
Novotel is now the leading French hotel chain, and the
in Europe opens in Bordeaux. Ibises are built near Novotel-SIEH Group, the leading hotel company in con-
Novotels, which will lead to the creation of hotel areas, tinental Europe. Brazil is home to the new company
where each customer chooses according to his wallet: Novotel Hotelaria e Turismo. Immediate outlook: the
a brand-new idea. Ibis is run by the Sphère company, opening of the Novotel Murumbi São Paulo. Novotel
developed with the Compagnie La Hénin and the opens its first hotel in Africa with the Novotel Pointe-
Novotel-SIEH shareholders. This year, the 14 restau- Noire in the Congo and inaugurates the Novotel Fleur
rants of the Courtepaille chain with their straw roofs d’Epée in Guadeloupe. In France, the acquisition of the
join the Group. In the next 10 years it will open 100 of competing 3-star Mercure chain becomes a reality. It is
them throughout France, without ever betraying the a strategic buyout: the Group can now offer a wider
spirit of its inventor Jean Loisier. choice to its customers.
▼
The Ibis hotel in Rennes, France. ▼
Club Novotel card.
Soyuz and Apollo

meet in space. ▼
▼
The Novotel Group takes over
the Courtepaille restaurant chain.
The Roissy-Charles-
de-Gaulle airport
starts service.
▼
▼
The Novotel Oléron

Saint-Trojan, France. ▼
Novotel Pointe-Noire in the Congo. Mercure joins the Group. ▼
Richard Nixon, bogged down in the Watergate scandal, The Americans have finally left Saigon: the Vietnam War
resigns. In March, the Roissy-Charles-de-Gaulle airport is over. The Suez Canal opens for the first time since the
starts service. German tourism is back. The “Carnation Six Day War. Spain and Portugal discover democracy.
Revolution” takes place in Portugal. End of the Yom The United Kingdom says “yes” to the Common Market.
Kippur War. OPEC ends the oil embargo. In June, an 18- Soyuz meets Apollo. Russians and Americans shake
year-old Swedish tennis player, Björn Borg, wins the hands in space. By signing the Helsinki Agreements, the
French Open. The Little House on the Prairie and Happy U.S.S.R. commits to respecting civil rights. Andrei
Days make their television debut in the U.S. Sakharov receives the Nobel Peace Prize. Sony launches
the first Walkman.
1974
189
An explosive year. Brands thrive at every level and
especially internationally. The hunt for local partner-
1977
Novotel celebrates its 10th anniversary! As of June 30,
ships begins to bear fruit. Novotels open in the the Group is running 146 hotels and 34 restaurants and
Netherlands, Spain, the Cameroon, Bulgaria, Iraq and has 6,625 employees. Expansion continues with a grow-
Venezuela. A year earlier, they could be found in seven ing interest in thalassotherapy and certain leisure
countries, but this year, the number is 19. One direct hotels, among others in France’s overseas departments
result of globalization is that a travel agency, Novotour, and territories. The 600-room Novotel Sofia Europa,
takes up quarters at the Novotel Paris Bagnolet. designed along the lines of the Bagnolet hotel, is inau-
gurated in Bulgaria. But the most impressive develop-
ment are the hotels in sub-Saharan Africa in Togo,
Gabon, Cameroon and Ivory Coast.
The Novotel Morumbi is only the
▼
The Novotel Girona in Spain
is the 100th hotel opened by first step in Accor’s development
the Group in Europe. in Brazil.
▼
Novotel changes its logo for its 10th

anniversary. The stars disappear and the
lettering becomes rounder. ▼
▼ The triumph of Nadia Comaneci.
Novotel opens in
the Cameroon. ▼
▼
Star Wars
is a huge event.
Star Wars and Saturday Night Fever are huge hits. Disco
is in its heyday. Right in the middle of Queen Elizabeth II’s
Jubilee marking 25 years of her reign, however, the punk
Creation of Apple Computer. A few months later, Bill revolution shakes England. The Concorde crosses the
Gate registers Microscoft as a trademark. The United North Atlantic in 3 hours and 26 minutes. Total darkness
States pulls out all the stops for the bicentennial cele- reigns for 25 hours in New York due to a massive power
bration of its independence. During the Olympic Games blackout. A historic handshake between Menachem Begin
in Montreal, the world goes crazy over a Romanian gym- and Anwar al-Sadat makes a hope of peace in the Near
nastics virtuoso, Nadia Comaneci. The Viking 1 probe East a possibility. Leonid Brejnev is elected to the head of
lands on Mars, revealing unsuspected landscapes. The the Supreme Soviet. In Central African Republic, Jean-
film One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest wins five Oscars. Bédel Bokassa proclaims himself emperor.
Release of the most-sold album of all time: Hotel
California (The Eagles).
1976
190
1979
Outstanding events: Novotel-SIEH opens its first hotel
Novotel-SIEH opens in Amsterdam. The prestigious in the Middle East with the Novotel Abu Dhabi in the
Alpha, the largest hotel in the city, has been acquired by United Arab Emirates and attempts a first significant
Novotel Nederland. The Group will soon become the step in the American market. The Hôtel de France, a
leader in the hotel business in the Netherlands. French “French-style” hotel located in Minneapolis, Minnesota,
cities are not without their Novotels: almost all the joins the network. This luxury hotel with 300 rooms,
major ones have one. The construction of Mercure and three restaurants, a bakery and a pastry shop on the
Ibis hotels continues. In total, there are 120 Novotels, premises will be used as a model for the construction
32 Mercures, 26 Ibises and 21,760 rooms. At this point, of a chain in the United States. It will be quickly fol-
the Group is generating sales of 1,061.8 million francs lowed by the purchase of a site in Houston, Texas. In
(161.9 million euros). Rollout intensifies in Germany, addition, in November, the Minhal group turns over the
Brazil and Africa. management of the Roosevelt hotel, with 1,100 rooms
in New York’s Grand Central Station, to Novotel-SIEH.
▼
“New York,
New York…”
▼
The Novotel Alpha in Amsterdam,
Netherlands. 52
▼
Louise Brown is the first
test tube baby.
▼ Signing of the Camp David Agreements.

The Mercure Courchevel
▼
in France.
▼
The first hotel in

the Middle East:
the Novotel Abu Dhabi.
The first elections are held at the European Parliament.

The World Climate Conference focuses on the discovery
of the greenhouse effect. The shah flees Iran, which
renames itself the Islamic Republic. The first march for
Karol Wojtyla will be the new pope under the name John homosexual rights takes place in Washington. Margaret
Paul II. In the U.S., President Jimmy Carter deregulates Thatcher becomes prime minister of the United
air transportation, accelerating the democratization Kingdom. The Deer Hunter wins the Oscar for best
of travel. Israel and Egypt sign the Camp David picture and best directing. Mother Teresa receives the
Agreements. The second oil crisis takes place. Louise Nobel Peace Prize. The Soviet Union invades
Brown, the first test tube baby, is born in London. The Afghanistan.
Cosmos hotel being built in Moscow will have 3,600 beds.
Western households acquire VCRs and hi-fis. The book
of the year is unquestionably The World According to
Garp by John Irving.
1978 T H E A CCO R G E N E R AT I O N S
191
Novotel-SIEH takes an interest in the luxury hotel sec-
tor and buys the Scribe hotel in partnership with the
Minhal group. The end of the year is marked by the
BY TOBY ROSE
takeover of Sofitel-UTH, the crown jewel of the French
hotel sector. Created in 1964, this 34-hotel chain is the
leader of the French 4-star market. In 1979, Sofitel had
SWINGING
EIGHTIES
bought the UTH (Union touristique hôtelière) chain with
its 13 hotels in Africa and Oceania. The Jacques Borel
International (JBI) board of directors agrees to sell
Sofitel to the Novotel Group but under one condition:
the two presidents and founders of JBI must remain Journalist at the London newspaper
the copresidents of JBI. EVENING STANDARD, Toby Rose is known
for his portraits of international stars.
The Eighties was a decade when English eccentricity showed

all its paradoxes. Possibly the most well-known contradiction
was when a woman became the head of the Conservative
party, which broke every Tory tradition. Mrs. Thatcher was
the most charismatic and influential woman politician ever
elected in history. Likewise, when on September 23, 1982,
Boy George appeared on Top of the Pops, singing Do You Really
Want to Hurt Me, the whole nation wondered, is it boy or a girl?
This true original created even more confusion by stating: “I
prefer a nice cup of tea to sex!” Thatcher and Boy George were
both icons of a movement. The blond bombshell guided Great
▼
The Sofitel Teranga in Dakar, Senegal. Britain through the “pitfalls” of the Common Market. She con-
▼ Beginning of the Solidarnosc years.
fronted the sooty miners in the most bitter industrial dispute
in generations. She coined the phrase “handbagging” when
Sofitel, the crown jewel of the French she chased the Argentines from the Falklands “with a bang ▼
▼ hotel sector. from her handbag”. At the same time she wooed the Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher,
the couple of the decade.
Hollywood charmer Ronald Reagan. Back in Britain, London
was the capital of the neo-Romantics, a movement born in the
Soho clubs and squats. Their attraction was part of the city, like
the Grenadier Guards and the Beefeaters, and punks made up
like girls. But as the unemployment lines grew longer, para-
doxes also invaded the working world. Totally obsessed with
Former movie star Ronald Reagan is elected president of share prices on Wall Street, the City’s Porsche-driving Yuppies
the United States. Jean-Paul Sartre, Alfred Hitchcock, selfishly throw their pounds around while industrial cities
Tito and John Lennon die. The Olympic Games in were turning into ghost towns. And then, as the decade ended,
Moscow are partially boycotted. The third oil crisis
England fell out of love with the Iron Lady whose new tax,
arrives. In Poland, trade union strikes in Gdansk herald
the poll tax, created the worst riots ever seen in Trafalgar
the Solidarnosc years. Windsurfing becomes a huge hit
with vacationers. The first laser disk reader is launched. Square in living memory, As for Boy George, he went out of
Inline skates are invented. The “sustainable develop- vogue and off the charts. For 10 years, the United Kingdom was
ment” concept emerges for the first time. in the spotlight, but this light didn’t shine on the whole coun-
try. The Eighties was certainly a period when the atmosphere
1980 of glorious Britannia cooled down, then became, once again,

very very hot.
192
1981
Novotel-SIEH, a company with registered capital of
Novotel-SIEH launches a takeover bid on Jacques Borel
International. After a tough stock market battle, the
66,820,700 francs (10,186,082 million euros), is listed on union is consummated and the merger is imminent.
the French Stock Exchange on the OTC market. The final agreement will be signed at the JBI head
Strengthened with a “top-of-the-range” chain, the office, on the 27th floor of the Tour Montparnasse. It’s
Group starts to expand Sofitel on a worldwide scale. a royal marriage. The JBI group is already an empire: a
The French will tackle the United States “from the top”: network of restaurants (about 20 brands), managed
the 4-star tier. The Group starts up its development in food services, purchasing groups and above all, the
the Near and Middle East with local partners. In Paris, world leader in the Ticket Restaurant (meal vouchers),
the Group opens the Scribe hotel after its renovation: a 165 million of which are issued per year, in eight coun-
true wonder. The Sofitel Frankfurt is inaugurated in tries, Brazil in the lead. Will there be a symbiosis
December. between JBI and Novotel-SIEH?
The TGV will link

European cities
in record time.
▼
Sofitel Savigny Frankfurt,

Germany.
▼ Jacques Borel International adds
a new activity: the Ticket Restaurant.
▼
▼
IBM invents the PC.
▼
▼
The Novotel-SIEH
company is listed on the
French Stock Exchange.
A short but severe recession hits the United States.

Dallas is the most-watched soap opera on the planet. Brazil plunges into a serious monetary crisis. A cold
Ronald Reagan and the pope are the targets of assassi- wave disturbs air and rail traffic in Europe. The English
nation attempts. In England, Prince Charles marries go to war in the Falklands. France holds its first music
Lady Diana Spencer. The Columbia space shuttle makes festival on the first day of summer. Time Magazine’s
its first flight. France starts up a high-speed train [TGV]. “Man of the Year” is a computer: IBM has invented the
François Mitterrand is elected president – the Left is in PC. There are nearly 300 million tourists wandering the
power. A “mysterious cancer” appears in the American globe. E.T. and Michael Jackson’s album Thriller each
homosexual community – AIDS. become a phenomenon of society.
1982
193
1983
Accor is born. A new entity has been created. It provides
millions of overnight hotel stays and over 200 million meals
per year. This breaks down into 440 hotels, including 30
under construction, 53,000 rooms, 1,500 public or institu-
tional restaurants, 35,000 employees, a presence in 45 coun- Accor develops the Thalassa International brand.
tries and sales of 8 billion francs (1.22 billion euros), 40% Accor’s business is burgeoning and planetary. In the
generated outside France. This colossus needed a new name hotel sector, it is expanding in all directions, including
and it will be Accor, easy to say in all languages, symbolic of Southeast Asia. In food, it encompasses Churrasco
the new union. It is associated with the flight of wild geese, (Germany), Seafood Broiler (United States) and Pizza
migratory birds that love the high seas. Resinter, the multi- del Arte, Arche and Freetime (France). In tourism, the
brand hotel reservation center, is created this same year. Group becomes the majority shareholder in
Accor is listed on the Paris Stock Exchange on July 19. Africatours. The first American Novotel opens in New
York on Broadway. In France, Paul Dubrule and Gérard
Pélisson are elected “Managers of the Year”.
▼
▼
The flight of wild geese becomes Paul Dubrule and Gérard Pélisson are elected ‘Managers of the Year’.
Accor’s emblem.
Being as beautiful and fit as Jane Fonda. ▼
Setting up of Resinter, the computerized

hotel reservation center. ▼
▼
The Novotel New York.
Apple’s Macintosh is the first personal computer

equipped with a mouse to click on icons. Phone cards
appear. American astronauts take a walk in space with-
out being attached to the Challenger shuttle. Indira
Gandhi is assassinated. The terrible famine in Ethiopia
Martin Luther King Day becomes a national holiday in begins. The Council of Europe advocates severe meas-
the U.S.. The aerobics vogue is launched by Jane Fonda ures against soccer hooligans. Carl Lewis wins four gold
and Sydne Rome. Dynasty comes on the screen to chal- medals at the Olympic Games in Los Angeles. Young
lenge Dallas. The laser disk player and compact disk people in the West “smurf” and listen to Prince sing
sweep over Europe. Cable makes it first showing there. Purple Rain.
1984
Arpenet becomes the Internet. Retirees start to explore
the globe. There are over 100 million Visa cards through-
out the world. Lech Walesa is awarded the Nobel Peace
Prize. Tintin, the globetrotter, the comic book artist
Hergé’s creation, is now an orphan.
194
1985
Growth and prosperity. Lenôtre, one of the crown jew-
els of French cuisine, joins forces with the Group. The Accor sails ahead at the rhythm of one hotel opening a
Accor Academy, the first corporate university in France, week and two or three restaurants. Mercure has set
will ensure the Group’s cultural identity. The acquisition itself the challenge of reaching 100 hotels by 1990. The
of the Vitatop fitness clubs turns out to be a short-lived Group acquires 94.4% of the Sphère company, which
venture. Accor launches new hotel concepts. Retraitel, runs the Ibis and Urbis hotels. Novotel makes a strate-
a combined hotel and retirement home that will gic decision: opening hotels in the center of major
become Hotelia in 1988, is a chain designed for the eld- cities. Buffet breakfasts make their appearance.
erly. But the star attraction of the year is clearly the Overflowing buffet tables cater to all tastes. All the
launch of a budget chain. Formule 1 hotels are truly great international hotels follow suit.
revolutionary.
▼
Formule 1, the first ▼
Twelve stars for Europe.
super-economy chain,
is launched.
▼
Advertising campaign. ▼
Gaston Lenôtre, the king
of pastry chefs.
The Ibis and Urbis

▼
hotels join the Group.

▼
The Accor Academy is

under construction.
Spain and Portugal join the European Community.

In Paris, Cristo wraps the Pont Neuf bridge. Launch of Europe designs a new flag: 12 stars on a blue ground. A
the smart bankcard. A hole is discovered in the ozone wave of terrorist attacks hits Paris. In the Ukraine, the
layer. Freud’s work is published in Chinese. Mikhail explosion of the nuclear power plant in Chernobyl creates
Gorbachev becomes secretary general of the an ecological and health disaster. Thousands of
Communist party in the U.S.S.R. He will institute glas- Americans cancel their trips to Europe. The Statue of
nost (transparency) then perestroika (reconstruction). Liberty celebrates its 100th anniversary. IBM comes out
The wreck of the Titanic is located. Japanese cars are all with its first laptop. The CD-ROM appears. Households
the rage. While Sylvester Stallone flexes his muscles in buy their first camcorders.
1986
Rambo II, humanitarianism is expressed in the song We
Are the World.
195
1987
It’s been 20 years since the first Novotel opened in Lille.
The “Blue Book” of ethics and management appears.
Under 38 different brand names, in 58 different coun-
Accor communicates for this anniversary. The comic tries, 62,000 people say “Accor” in 20 languages.
book La Marque bleue (“The Blue Brand”) presents the Promising partnerships are formed in Italy, Portugal
Group’s many brands. Novotel launches a commercial and Spain. After the Guangzhou Novotel is opened in
in four different languages. Over one million Tickets Canton, six other projects are launched in China. Accor
Restaurant per day are being used in France. In Brazil, pursues its expansion with Sofitel and Novotel in North
it’s the official launching of Parthénon, a new brand of America in a tough market. In France, the Group
apartment hotels. Major events include the openings increases its stake in Paquet cruises, the Café-Route
of the Chicago-Airport, Paris-La Défense and San restaurants get a facelift and the 200th Novotel opens
Francisco Bay Sofitels. Ibis and Urbis inaugurate their in Bayeux. But the champion will be Formule 1, which
200th hotel. ends the year with 74 hotels, 39 of them built in just
12 months in France.
An increased stake in Paquet

cruises. ▼
▼
A million Ticket Restaurant users per
day in France.
▼
The stock market crash panics Wall Street. ▼
Accor develops in
China.
▼
Opening of the first Atria
▼
The “Blue Book”
“Business Center” in Nîmes of ethics and
in France. management.
Alexandre de Mareneuve
▼
investigates for Accor in the ▼

comic book La Marque bleue. The Big Blue marks
a whole generation.
The earth’s population is now 5 billion people. Wall George Bush Sr. in the United States and Benazir Bhutto
Street awakens to “Black Monday” and the stock mar- in Pakistan are elected. Osama bin-Laden sets up the
ket crash spreads to the entire planet. The first hard al-Qaida network. In Paris, Ieoh Ming Pei’s pyramid is
rock albums blast in Moscow discotheques. A 19-year- inaugurated at the Louvre. Ben Johnson and nine other
old West German lands his plane on Red Square. athletes are ousted for doping at the Seoul Olympic
Germans are now the foremost travelers in the world. Games. America, then Europe, goes to war against the
The microwave oven shows up in kitchens. The cigarette. Computer viruses infect the Internet. The films
Brundtland report brings the idea of sustainable devel- Le Grand Bleu and A Fish Named Wanda are worldwide
opment to the public. The tilting train appears in Italy. successes.
1988
196
1989
A protocol agreement is signed with the Portuguese
Acquiring the budget Motel 6 chain whose head office is
in Dallas thrusts Accor into the number one position in
the budget hotel business worldwide in terms of num-
hotel group Amorim. Accor, which has the largest ber of rooms. The French group becomes a recognized
European hotel network, predicts that leisure is the player in North America. Motel 6 is the largest acquisi-
way of the future and draws up its plan of attack: cre- tion in hotel history: $2.3 billion for 550 motels. Luxury
ation of Épisodes, a travel agency specialized in short isn’t left behind either as Accor acquires a majority
stays in Europe, development of vacation hotels and stake in Lenôtre. Trade protocols flourish in Eastern
cruises, strengthening of the reservation system. The Europe, which finally opens its markets to the West.
Parc Astérix, in which Accor is the principal share-
holder, opens. Luxury hotels and casinos enter the pic-
ture through a partnership with Lucien Barrière.
Advertising campaign.
▼
Accor gets involved

Épisodes, a travel
in the opening
agency specialized
of Parc Astérix. ▼
in short stays. ▼
52
▼ Casinos enter the Accor Group: “Place your bets!”
▼
The Berlin Wall falls at the same Acquisition of the American chain Motel 6.
time as a whole epoch. ▼
▼
Iraqi armored
vehicles occupy
▼ Kuwait.
Lenôtre becomes an Accor brand.
The year marks a real turning point. The Red Army with-
draws from Afghanistan. Chinese students demonstrate After the euphoria, the markets calm down: prices
during the “Peking Spring”. In Eastern Europe, the Iron decline. But not in every sector: a Van Gogh sells for $82.5
Curtain opens, the Berlin Wall falls, the communist million. Nelson Mandela is freed in South Africa. A unique
camp collapses. France celebrates the bicentennial of the meeting takes place under the Channel: the two ends of
Revolution with pomp and splendor. Akihito becomes the the tunnel finally join. East and West Germany become
emperor of Japan. The first GPS satellite is put into orbit. one. After the Baltic states, Moldavia, Uzbekistan, Russia
Salman Rushdie is “condemned to death” because of and the Ukraine, Belarus becomes a sovereign state. The
his book Satanic Verses. Invention of the World Wide first McDonald’s opens in Moscow. The Cold War offi-
Web (www). cially comes to an end. When Iraqi armored vehicles
occupy Kuwait, the tension becomes international.
1990
197
1991
At the end of a turbulent takeover bid, Accor acquires
Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits et du
Tourisme (CWL). The integration of the mythic Belgian The Accor colossus has grown even larger. The Group’s
company founded in 1872 opens the Group’s prospects size has doubled once again: 2,098 hotels, 664 public
in the railroad sector and, in car rentals with Europcar, restaurants, 3,304 institutional restaurants providing
the European leader. The Pullman, Altea and Arcade 263.9 million meals a year. Apart from the growing suc-
hotel chains, with 36,000 rooms, are part of the dowry. cess of Ticket Restaurant (7 million users a day),
The CWL also has real estage, managed food services Accor’s range of service vouchers broadens: trans-
(Eurest) and travel agencies (Viajes Ecuador, Wagonlit portation, education, childcare, the issuing of the first
Travel&Business Travel). A new chain, Etap Hotel, vouchers in the United States… Activities merge and
makes its contribution to the Group’s offering in the complementarity becomes a key word. As for hotels,
“budget” hotel market. The conquest goes on… Accor arrives in South Africa with a Formule Inn hotel
in Johannesburg. The Accor Academy opens a branch in
Brazil.
▼
Compagnie Internationale
des Wagons-Lits et du Tourisme. Paul Dubrule and Gérard Pélisson with
▼
their assistants, Marie-Claude Escudiée

and Chrystiane Viallard on the cover of the ▼
Nouvel Économiste, in November 1991.
Novotel has its mascot,
A newcomer in the budget Dolfi.
category: Etap Hotel. ▼
▼
La chaîne hôtelière Altea The Accor Academy ▼
rejoint le Groupe. opens in Brazil.
The Earth Summit in Rio issues 27 “green” principles for

the planet’s future. An exotic seaweed invades the
Mediterranean coastline. The Maastricht Treaty for the
European Union is ratified. The World Fair is held in
Seville and the Olympic Games in Barcelona. Euro Disney
opens. Queen Elizabeth declares 1992 the “annus horri-
Things go from bad to worse: the Gulf War takes its toll bilis.” The pope lifts Galileo’s condemnation. The largest
on tourism. The United States, followed by the rest of shopping center in the United States sprawls over
the world, goes into a recession. The Iron Curtain, how- 316,000 square meters [78 acres]. The first digital cell
ever, falls with the Warsaw Pact. The Soviet empire is phone is made by Ericsson.
1992
dismantled and the U.S.S.R. officially ceases to exist.
When Slovenia and Croatia declare independence, a war
is set off in ex-Yugoslavia. Apartheid is abolished in
South Africa. Prince Sihanouk returns to Cambodia after
13 years in exile. But exactions begin in Rwanda.
198
CHRONICLES 1993
BY LAILA HAFEZ Accor, with six core businesses, is now divided into two
NEAR
major activity sectors: Hotels, Tourism and Travel on
one hand, and Corporate Services dedicated to compa-
nies on the other. Sofitel incorporates Pullman, Altea
becomes part of Mercure and Arcade of the Ibis chain.
EAST
The Egyptian journalist Laila Hafez is Paris bureau
The leisure hotels will sport the Coralia label. Accor
becomes the major partner of the Hungarian Pannonia
hotel group. The merger of the Accor Asia a division
and Quality Pacific Corporation, an Australian company,
chief of the weekly AL AHRAM, a Cairo newspaper. gives rise to the Accor Asia Pacific Corporation (AAPC).
In the Near and Middle East, the 1990s were also marked by
the fall of communism and the Soviet Union. These years, in
their turn, prepared the region for the events of the next cen-
tury. One of the significant results of this major event was the Historic handshake:
▼
Nelson Mandela and
triggering of the Gulf War that devastated the region’s tourism Frederik Willem De Klerk.
and economy. The failure of peace negotiations between Israel
and the Palestinian Liberation Organization opened the way
for the second Intifada in 2000. For the Near East, this decade
was one of broken dreams that left their mark on artistic and
intellectual life, especially in Egypt. Palestine: demonstrators in Gaza. ▼
But the world was moving forward. In 1993, Egypt opened up
▼ to modernity with the first Internet service for students and
Formule Inn
Johannesburg, researchers at Cairo University. Since 1996, the number of
▼
Afrique du Sud. ▼ Novotel treats itself to a new logo,
Web users has increased twenty-fold. These years also wit-
that of Coralia is created.
nessed the beginning of a reform that would turn the country
toward a market economy. At the same time, Egypt under-
took large-scale projects such as the creation of a second arti-
ficial valley in the south of the country, as well as those in
public transportation: the major beltways and the subway
built by France. Terrorism took a heavy toll and caused a sud-
den but temporary recession in Egyptian tourism. It is also
impossible to mention the 1990s in the Near East without
bringing up the Oslo agreement on peace in Israel and the The baby boomer Bill Clinton enters the White House.
assassination of its prime minister, Yitzhak Rabin. To con- The WHO gives the battle against tuberculosis top priority.
clude on a positive symbol, I would choose the “Reading for The single European market becomes a reality. In
Eastern Europe, Czechoslovakia is divided into Slovakia
All” project that has made it possible to open libraries in most
and the Czech Republic. Intel launches the first Pentium
of the villages and small towns in Egypt, which has promoted
processor. With the end of apartheid, Nelson Mandela
access to reading for the poorest children. It is a beautiful and Frederik Willem De Klerk share the Nobel Peace
image that I will keep from these years of change. Prize. Jurassic Park breaks all ticket window records.
199
A joint venture with the American group Carlson Travel
creates the second largest worldwide business travel
agency network called Carlson Wagonlit Travel. It has
4,000 agencies in nearly 130 countries. The actual
merger will take place in 1997. Accor is in debt: the
Group refocuses on its core businesses and starts a
1995
Accor becomes increasingly interested in the environ-
disposal program, notably in highway restaurants. ment and starts an awareness campaign for its employ-
Accor Afrique is created. The Asia-Pacific region is ees: waste treatment, water management and
booming at this time. Accor negotiates with Air France architectural integration of its properties into the land-
the purchase of Méridien but at the last minute and to scape. The Formule 1 chain, with its 311 hotels, cele-
everyone’s surprise, the French government decides brates its 10th anniversary. Following the sale of 80% of
to sell it to an English group. its public restaurants, Accor disposes of the Pizza del
Arte and Bœuf Jardinier chains. In the meantime, the
alliance with the British Compass group creates an
international giant in managed food services. Compass,
Eurest International and Eurest France have
88,000 employees in 38 countries.
The comic strip “He who
▼
sorts last sorts best”
wins the corporate
communication prize
at the Comic Strip
Festival of Angoulême.
▼
Inauguration of the
Channel Tunnel.
The Novotel Sydney at Darling

Harbour in Australia. ▼
▼
Signing of the partnership between Accor and
the Carlson Travel Group.
A Carlson Wagonlit
Travel agency. ▼
Austria, Finland and Sweden join the European Union.

The Schengen Agreements are signed and Europe’s bor-
ders vanish. The World Trade Organization replaces the
The “overcapacity” of hotel rooms in Europe and the GATT. The world economic climate improves but the cri-
United States is brought up. The Channel Tunnel opens: sis hangs on in Germany and France. Jacques Chirac is
long live Eurostar. The CFA franc is successfully devalu- elected president of France. The French-speaking
ated. Nelson Mandela becomes president of South Africa. Summit meets at the Novotel in Cotonou (Benin). The first
Sarajevo has been under siege for 1,000 days. The planet outside the solar system is discovered. Microsoft
Russian army goes into Chechnya. Brazil mourns Ayrton launches Windows 95. Sony launches Playstation.
Senna. The sale of genetically modified tomatoes is
authorized in the United States. Kodak launches the first
digital camera for the general public. Digital TV is
invented. The film of the year: Pulp Fiction by Quentin
Tarantino.
1994
200
1997
The year of great changes. Thirty years ago, Paul
Dubrule and Gérard Pélisson laid the first stone in the
edifice that would become a planetary empire. They
The customer is king. The Compliment payment and decide to step back. The Group sets up a management
loyalty card is launched in partnership with American board, with Jean-Marc Espalioux as chairman, and a
Express. Accor has become the leader of the hotel busi- supervisory board, cochaired by Gérard Pélisson and
ness in the Asia-Pacific region with 14 new Novotels, Paul Dubrule. The Accor 2000 collective project –
including four in Indonesia and a first hotel in Laos. “Succeeding together”- heralds globalization. Accor
Eleven openings are planned for 1997. Restructuring focuses on the development of new technologies. Accor
continues. The Sphère International company will now Casinos is created in partnership with the Lucien
be home to all the budget hotel business. Beaches, Barrière group.
relaxation and palm trees: Coralia and Accor Thalassa
join forces to organize the leisure of tomorrow.
The Novotel Bukittinggi in Indonesia.

▼
▼
With Accor Casinos, the Group becomes
the fourth largest gaming room manager in France.
Having a Tamagotchi
at home. ▼
▼ The Compliment payment card makes life easier.

Gérard Pélisson, Jean-Marc Espalioux, Paul Dubrule.
▼
▼
European frontiers
vanish with the Schengen
Agreements.
Hong Kong is
▼
returned to China.
In Europe, the economy and tourism are off to a new

start. Australia is still booming. The Asian crisis has
begun to make itself felt. The first free elections are held
in Palestine. The Olympic Games celebrate their cen-
tennial in Atlanta. The first outcry is raised against beef
and with it starts the mad cow disease psychosis. NASA A sheep named Dolly is the first genetic clone of an adult
announces that a meteorite from Mars might contain mammal. OGMs arrive in Europe with transgenic corn.
traces of primitive life. It appears that there is water on The Kyoto Conference focuses on reducing the effect of
one of Jupiter’s satellites. Japan produces the greenhouse gases. The European Union deregulates air
Tamagotchi, the first interactive electronic animal. transportation for its unified market of 350 million trav-
1996
elers. The world’s leading tourist destination is France.
Hong Kong is returned to China and Deng Tsiao Ping
dies. Tony Blair becomes prime minister of Great Britain.
The world says farewell to Lady Di. Harry Potter is born,
as well as the DVD.
201
For the World Soccer Cup, Lenôtre provides food for a
million athletes, guests and spectators. In the Paris
area, 400,000 rooms are booked through the Mondirésa
1999
The acquisition of the American Red Roof Inn chain,
reservation center, created by Accor. The first Accor with its 322 motels, strengthens Accor’s position as the
corporate advertising campaign is launched: “We build worldwide leader in budget hotels. Suitehotel, the con-
smiles.” On the international scene, Accor acquires the cept of the year, offers 30 sq.m. [323 sq.ft.] suites for the
Scandinavian Good Morning Hotels, as well as the price of a room – a daring bet. Wagons-Lits is number
Dutch Postiljon hotels and the French Frantour, a travel one in Europe in onboard food services. With the
agency network. Sofitel builds hotels in downtown Americans Colony & Blackstone, Accor acquires
areas of American cities. Motel 6 creates Studio 6. Vivendi’s hotel business (Demeure and Libertel) and
Accor now has 2,700 hotels in 140 countries, sells Europcar to Volkswagen, while continuing to pro-
115,000 rental cars, 11 million Ticket Restaurant users, mote it. Accor is awarded the Green Globe prize for its
120,000 employees and 84,000 shareholders. involvement in sustainable development. The Ticket
Restaurant is successfully launched in Romania.
▼
Business customers were immediately
sent to Studio 6. M. here, one in East
Brunswick, New Jersey, United States.
▼ ▼
The Suitehotel Lille Aéroport.
Accor, a major partner
▼
Advertising campaign. With Red Roof Inns, Accor goes even deeper
▼ in the World Soccer Cup. into the American myth. ▼
Under 20 days for a

▼
round-the-world tour
in a hot-air balloon
nonstop.
In terms of money, the tourist industry is the largest in

the world. Asia, Latin America and Russia are in the
throes of an economic crisis. The European Court of
Human Rights is founded. Peace looks possible in
Northern Ireland. America gets an eye and earful of the There are 6 billion human beings on earth. Jules Verne’s
Monica Lewinsky affair. France wins the World Soccer dream comes true – a round-the-world balloon trip
Cup. Gerhard Schroeder is the new German chancellor. without a single stop. The number of international trav-
Echelon is a worldwide eavesdropping network. Viagra, elers will soar from 650 million a year to 1.5 billion in the
the iMac and Smart arrive on the scene. Titanic has next 20 years. Air France is privatized. Microsoft is rep-
record-breaking ticket window sales. rimanded in an antitrust suit. The WHO states that the
1998
AIDS epidemic is uncontrollable in sub-Saharan Africa.
The Nobel Peace Prize goes to Doctors Without
Borders.
202
THE A vintage year. Globalization and new technologies stim-
ulate the Group’s growth. It’s the Internet revolution and
AWAKENING
the Accor real-time reservation website goes on line.
Thousands of hotels will now operate as a network. The
Group has a new crown jewel, the Sofitel New York. The
OF CHINA
BY GHEN YAN number one hotel group in Australia, Accor goes all out
for the Olympic Games with the inauguration of the
Novotel-Ibis “ecological” complex in Sydney. Brazil’s
service vouchers change from paper to a smart card.
The electronic restaurant card is launched in China. A
A historian and journalist, Ghen Yan is the author of L’Éveil majority stake in Courtepaille is sold. Olivier Poussier,
de la Chine (L’Aube, 2003) and coauthor of Écrits édifiants Lenôtre’s ambassador, is elected best sommelier in the
et curieux sur la Chine du XXIe siècle (L’Aube, 2004). world.
The twenty-first century should be that of China and even the

Chinese believe it. Moreover, there is no lack of supporting
arguments.
On the international scene, China feels more respectable The first reservation
site in real time:
and better respected: having considerably benefited from Accorhotel.com. ▼ ▼
The restaurant card appears in China.
globalization, it joined the WTO in 2001. In 2003, France
asked it to become a member of the G8 club and China will
be host to the Olympic Games in 2008. Foreign investors
and politicians are knocking at its door and are even count- The Novotel-Ibis Sydney Olympic Park complex,
▼
ing on its development to increase the rate of world eco- Australia.
The New York Sofitel, United States.
▼
nomic growth. Swept along by these positive impetuses,
China has even gone as far as joining movements promoting
the protection of biodiversity and the fight against the green-
house effect.
American hegemony, European construction and the peace-
ful emergence of China: geopolitically, China fits right in The earth
with the new landscape of the new century. Even the asser- lights up for
▼
the year 2000.

tion of its role as superpower played by the United States
after September 11, 2001 has been beneficial for China since
it has forced George W. Bush to moderate his anticommunist
fervor and turn to a realpolitik in his relations with China.
Domestically, China, which got Hong Kong back in 1997 and
Macao in 1999, has had an impressive growth rate. As for the
SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) epidemic in 2003,
at the time a real concern, it turned out to be transitory. The planet decks itself out to celebrate the year 2000. It
is an exceptional year for international tourism and short
China even offered a helping hand, in 2005, to the victims of
stays are booming. London is dazzled by the Tate Modern
the terrible tsunami in the Indian Ocean. What remains is the
and lolls in front of the London Eye. A new version of the
thorny question of Taiwan, supported by the United States, kickboard scooter makes its appearance in cities and
and that of civil rights, which has cast a growing shadow English fashion designers are all the rage. Over 180
over the regime’s future. heads of state meet at the Millennium Summit of the
UN. These nations’ athletes will compete at the Olympic
Games in Sydney. Vladimir Putin and George W. Bush
are elected president of Russia and the United States.
The last day of the twentieth century approaches...
2000
203
2001
Accor withstands the international crisis. After seven
years of double-digit growth. The Group makes sus-
Sofitel becomes the rising upmarket chain when it
opens 14 international hotels in some of the world’s
tainable development top priority in its operation deci- major cities, among them, Chicago, Washington,
sions. The year before, Accor bought into Go Voyages, a London, Marseille, Marrakesh and Buenos Aires. A
French specialist in plane tickets, before becoming partnership with Dorint forges a link with the Germans’
majority shareholder in 2002. Employee assistance pro- favorite hotel chain. Its hotel business positions in
grams, focused on personal balance at all levels of the China are strengthened when an agreement is signed
company, are expanding rapidly. Accor acquires with the Jin Jiang Group. Since 1998, Accor has been
Employee Advisory Resource Ltd., a British firm. Accor forming partnerships with the major travel actors – the
is in mourning: Christopher Newton, the general man- SNCF [French railroad company], Air France and, of
ager of Accor Services in the United States, is killed course, Europcar. Accor launches the Mouvango card
during the terrorist attack on September 11. with the Total oil group.
Accor acquires
▼
a major stake
in Go Voyages. ▼
The euro arrives.
The Novotel Dorint Am
▼
Aten Wall in Hamburg,
September 11, attack on the World Trade Center. ▼ Germany.
▼
Advertising campaign
in airports and train stations.
Partner of the Olympic Games
in Australia. ▼ Accor continues to
The Mouvango card in partnership with Total. ▼
build with the Sofitel
Chicago Water Tower,
United States.
▼
The third millennium has just begun and the entire

world is in shock. The World Trade Center has collapsed
after the worst terrorist attack in history. The interna- The euro, the single European currency, goes into cir-
tional economic situation worsens. The Americans go culation. There are 655 million Internet users worldwide.
into Afghanistan. In Europe, the antiglobalization The United Nations meets to discuss sustainable devel-
activists take a hard stand. A demonstration at the G8 opment. SARS shows up in southern China. Great Britain
meeting in Genoa turns into a drama. The first artificial celebrates the 50th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II’s
heart is successfully transplanted. The cell phone reign. Jacques Chirac is elected president for a second
becomes omnipresent. Television gets caught up in term in France. Brazil wins the World Soccer Cup. The
reality TV. Mars Odyssey probe reveals large layers of ice on the
red planet. The Iraqi disarmament crisis worsens.
2002
204
2003
A new hotel in the Accor Group opens every other day
around the world. The partnership with France Telecom Accor acquires 28.9% of the capital of the Club
aims at installing the Wi-Fi network – wireless Internet Mediterranée. The Group becomes a major partner of
access – in 1,300 hotels in metropolitan France by the the Olympic Games in Athens. A protocol signed with
end of 2004. Extending Wi-Fi to all of Europe and the the Barrière-Desseigne family and Colony Capital
other continents will follow. The Novotel room is totally makes the new Lucien Barrière SAS group a major
transformed: “Novation” rooms offer a new definition of actor in the European casino sector. The 100th hotel in
comfort. In Paris, Lenôtre opens the Pavillon Élysée, a Central and Eastern Europe opens in Vilnius, Lithuania
new venue devoted to gustatory delights. Accor makes in partnership with Orbis in Poland and the first Ibis in
an ever-greater commitment to respecting the envi- China opens in Tianjin. In this year alone, Accor inau-
ronment, sustainable purchases, sponsoring of chil- gurates 188 new hotels and Novotel launches Novotel
dren, the fight against sex tourism… Cafés, a restaurant concept by Lenôtre. The end of the
year will be marked by an unprecedented tsunami in
Southeast Asia, the most tragic event the Group has
ever experienced.
Many employees, their families and dozens of guests
perish in the disaster, notably at the Sofitel Khao Lak,
in Thailand.
Novotel in Vilnius celebrates

the new Europe. ▼
▼
Novation, the new Novotel room.
▼
Novotel Toronto North York, Canada. Accor buys shares
in the Club
52
Méditerranée.
Colombus Isle
Bahamas village.
Accor enters
▼
the fight again Lenôtre delights
▼
sex tourism. at the Pavillon Élysée.

The first Ibis hotel
▼
in China, in Tianjin.
Science advances
▼
Corporate
▼
with the mapping of

the human genome. advertising
campaign.
Europe is now a family of 25 nations. Poland, Lithuania,

Latvia, Estonia, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary,
Slovenia, Malta and Cyprus join the European Union.
President George W. Bush is elected for a second term.
American forces go into Iraq. European construction con- The Ukraine demonstrates for democracy. The birth rate
tinues: the European Convention adopts a plan for a con- worldwide is 2.62 children per woman. Athens hosts the
stitution. Researchers present the complete map of the Olympic Games. The landing of the Allies on the
human genome. Worldwide cooperation and prevention Normandy beaches celebrates its 60th anniversary. The
make it possible to contain the SARS epidemic. The year ends in tragedy: an earthquake causes a series of
Concorde makes its last commercial flight. California tidal waves resulting in the death of over 240,000 people
elects a new governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger. Lord of in countries bordering the Indian Ocean.
the Rings and Matrix 2 open in movie theaters around
the world.
2004
205
2005
Services for companies and collectivities register dou-
The Group’s management is restructured in January.
Serge Weinberg is appointed Chairman of the Board of
Directors and Gilles Pélisson Chief Executive Officer.
ble-digit growth. On the other hand, results in the hotel Over 3 billion euros in property assets and 433 hotels
business are weak and Accor’s stock market perform- are sold, 50% of the Group’s hotels are now owned by
ances modest compared to the competitors. Lenôtre the Group and franchised. The services branch is boom-
buys nine Fauchon stores. Colony Capital invests 1 bil- ing. The share price has strongly recovered. Ibis
lion euros in the Group to give hotel development new launches a new room concept, “Coquelicot”, the Ticket
impetus. Ibis goes off to conquer India. The Zam Zam CESU goes on the market in France and a major reno-
Grand Suites in Mecca will be the largest hotel in the vation campaign for the Sofitel hotels gets underway.
Middle East and Africa with 1,200 suites. Accor becomes a corporate sponsor of the Théâtre du
Châtelet in Paris.
A promising
development in
Japan, the Mercure
Ginza in Tokyo.
▼
▼
Serge Weinberg and Gilles Pélisson.
▼
Opening of the Novotel, ▼

Madrid Sanchinarro in Spain, Sofitel Los Angeles,
the 4,000th Accor hotel. United States.
The Zam Zam Grand Suites,
▼ in Mecca, Saudi Arabia.
New Novotel
advertising campaign
in 2006. ▼
▼
France at the Turin Olympic Games. ▼
Faced with the tsunami disaster, the world joins forces.

China has 1.3 billion inhabitants. The first World Fair of
the twenty-first century is held in Aichi, Japan. The Kyoto France finishes the 20th Winter Olympics in Turin in 10th
Protocol on climate change goes into force. Europe com- place with nine medals and enters the finals of the World
memorates the liberation of the concentration camps. Soccer Cup in Germany. President Jacques Chirac inau-
Pope John Paul dies and Pope Benedict XVI is elected. gurates the new Quai Branly Museum of primary arts in
The Airbus A380, the largest commercial airplane ever Paris. Jonathan Littell’s novel on World War II, Les
built, successfully takes its maiden flight. Germany says Bienveillantes, becomes a best-seller with nearly
“yes” but France says “no” to the European constitution. 250,000 copies sold. Al Gore makes an impact on eco-
logical consciences around the world with his film An
Inconvenient Truth, and denounces the industrial lob-
byists who slow down every move to fight against the
pollution of the planet.
2006
206
2007
The year 2007 marks the 40th anniversary of the opening of
2008 and
the Novotel in Lesquin and the creation by Gérard Pélisson,
Paul Dubrule and Maurice Simond of Novotel-SIEH, which
became Accor in 1983. It also marks a new identity for the
Accor brand and for some of the Group’s brand names as well
as two new business signatures, Accor Hospitality and Accor
Services. Asset disposal continues. Kadeos, a gift card and
tomorrow...
At Accor, tomorrow isn’t just another day. The future
check company, rounds out the Accor Services range. In the is imagined and ambitions are defined today. By 2010,
hotel business, a new brand, All Seasons, enters the the Group will have defined goals that have never been
European nonstandarized economy hotel market. Earth as ambitious or as coherent: 2.5 billion euros in invest-
Guest day is a concrete expression of the exceptional comments, 200,000 new hotel rooms, ethical and environ-
mitment of all the Group’s employees in favor of the planet. mental commitments put into action. Accor has given
Frédéric Anton, the young chef of Le Pré Catelan in Paris, itself all the means needed for its rollout in Asia and
receives a third star from the Michelin Guide. For the ninth Latin America. China is of course at the heart of this
consecutive year, Accor is the corporate sponsor of the Lyric development strategy, but India is there as well with
Arts Festival of Aix-en-Provence. 25 Ibises and 100 Formule 1 hotels on the drawing
board. As for Europe, it will be home to one third of this
development.
▼
Extraordinary growth in China.
Martin Scorsese is finally recognized in Hollywood.

▼
The coming years will also be marked by the reasser-

tion of the brands’ positioning. Sofitel is gearing itself to
very top-of-the-range with two variations, So by Sofitel
and Sofitel Legend. Mercure is also proposing MGallery,
a new banner for 40 exceptional hotels. Lastly, in 2008,
Accor will launch a new upmarket brand, Pullman.
Always innovating, always anticipating: more than ever,
these are the master words of Accor Services, which
will keep creating new products tailored to contempo-
Often cited as the most beloved personality in France, rary life-styles. Development will also continue at a
Abbé Pierre dies on January 22. The European family sustained pace, as in Russia and India.
grows with the entry of two new members, Bulgaria Accor tomorrow also means priority commitments:
and Romania. A record birth rate in France with AIDS and malaria prevention, the strengthening of the
800,000 births. Another kind of record for China, which fight against sex tourism, as well as the reduction of
posts a growth rate of over 10%. Director Martin energy consumption, waste recycling and the promotion
Scorsese’s film The Departed is crowned with an Oscar. of biodiversity. Because today is the first day of the
In France, Nicolas Sarkozy is elected president of the future.
republic with 53.06% of the votes.
207
There are still so many things to recount…
1: as in 1 franc, or 1 franc = 10 francs (at least…) Here at last is the secret of Accor’s success, which the
Group’s first banker, Maurice Lauré, revealed to Gérard Pélisson. If you have 1 franc, you can easily find
a partner who will invest 1 franc with you. With 2 francs, you can borrow 2 more francs, with 4, and so
on. In the end, it seems almost simple to create a group like Accor.
13: yes, Accor hotels can have a 13th floor. Even if 13 is unlucky in certain countries, other numbers have
the same fate, for example, 3 in India, 4 in China and 9 in Japan.
51%: this is the percentage of women in the Accor Group, long before the law on parity was passed.
54° C [130° F]: this is the exact temperature of the milk in Gaston Lenôtre’s recipe for croissants and it
is the secret of the marvelous puff pastry, along with the quality of the butter, of course.
103%: newcomers in the Group sometimes discover, to their astonishment, that contrary to the laws of
mathematics, a hotel’s occupancy rate can be higher than 100% as there are more than eight hours in
the day.
Accordians: nickname that the tribe of Accor employees have given themselves, a legacy of the
Novotelians and Borelians.
Ashtray: a hotel article that is the object of everyone’s desires, especially the famous blue Novotel ash-
tray in vitreous paste, an object that is very frequently ‘borrowed’.
Astrology: in certain cultures, it is considered a real science. The location of the Novotel Hyderabad in
India was chosen by a celebrated engineer who became an astrologer and who also picked the date of
the opening.
Collectionitis: Accor isn’t just a stock market investment because collectors go crazy on the Internet buy-
ing publicity items connected to the Group’s brands. The most popular articles: soaps, ashtrays, key hold-
ers, magnetic keys, matchbooks and of course all the guides, even the most recent.
Counterfeit: soaps, computer equipment, there’s no end to the number of products that have copied the
brands’ logos. The names of Nuovotel and Novo Hotel are also very popular.
Croissants: the emblem of French gastronomy, it is also the French touch given to breakfasts through-
out the world. Several tens of thousands of them are made daily. But those who prefer Chinese break-
fasts needn’t worry: they can start the day with traditional noodles…
E-co-no-mies: a sort of ritual chant or mantra of the cofounders, used especially during the construc-
tion of the first hotels. An example: as tile is expensive, they suggested saving 1.2 sq.m. [13 sq.ft.] of tile
by increasing the size of the bathroom mirror. Or, to reduce the cost of installing telephone cables, the
phone is placed on the desk in the rooms and not on the night table. The customers were told that it was
a more effective way of waking them up…
Evriacum: this was the name in the Middle Ages of a rustic and thriving village along the Seine, divided
into two feudal estates: Grand-Bourg and Petit-Bourg. There was at least one inn there, already tak-
ing advantage of the route that became the Royal Road between Fontainebleau and Paris. Évry, the
site of the first Accor head office, that everyone will have recognized, was therefore not really a new
town.
Feng Shui: principles that Westerners are rediscovering and that Accor applies in many of its hotels.
The new head office in Paris also benefited from the advice of specialists in this domain.
First: as in first customer. The very first traveler to enter the Novotel Lesquin was Jean Houzé. A
sales manager at the time, 49 years old, he had to travel very often in northern France. A loyal cus-
tomer until his retirement, he was the first “Big U”, big user, of the chain.
Found objects: of course there are plenty of unexpected objects that people have forgotten that are
found in the rooms, from diamond necklaces to original manuscripts. But the award for the strangest
has to go to the boa constrictor of a customer who had come from Africa. The serpent had found a hid-
ing place in a Novotel’s service shaft.
Golf: this sport had a decisive influence on the Group’s history as it was after a weekend when Gérard
Pélisson tried to teach Paul Dubrule how to play golf that the former decided that it would be better
to not see the latter outside the office. Is this perhaps the secret of the duo’s success?
Michelin map: the Group’s founding object. Paul Dubrule used the Michelin maps to crisscross
France, studying the dotted lines that indicated highways under construction and therefore the future
locations of access roads…
Rayon Bleu: Bicycling is a lot more than a sport...it's also a passion: that of Paul Dubrule, which he
regularly shares with the Group's employees on the occasion of the Rayon bleu, a cycling race organ-
ized for many years by Monique Place.
Snob: after the opening of the first Novotel in Lesquin, there was no place as chic or modern as the
Novotel to celebrate a wedding, launch a new car model or hold a cocktail party. Johnny Hallyday,
Michèle Morgan, soccer greats… The hotel’s guest book looked like the top billing of a hit show.
SPA: does anyone still know that spa stands for “sanitas per aqua”, health through water in Latin?
Suitcase: an indispensable and familiar accessory for Accor employees, who constantly travel around
the world because nothing replaces direct contact.
Tickson: a nickname for the Tickets. The Tickson man was John Du Monceau.
Viaduct of Millau: this celebrated overpass that has become a monument was designed by the same
architect as the new Accor head office, Sir Norman Foster.
Window: if you make them feel they can trust you, Ticket Restaurant old-timers will talk to you about
a certain window in the back of the head office on the Avenue de Saxe, which occasionally let them slip
away from meetings conducted with a lot of “authority” by John Du Monceau.
To be continued…
Credits:
Illustrations in the Adventure Travel Log chapter:
Marc Lacaze.
Illustrations in the Open Space, Open Mind chapter:

Gabs.
Accor photo library:

Jean-Jacques d'Angelo, Ludovic Aubert, Philippe Bacchet, Olivier Baco, Jan Bartelsman, Marc
Bertrand, Joël Biletta, Jacques Boissay, Jean-Pierre Bolle, Jacques Boulay, Jan Branc, Jack Burlot,
Fabian Charaffi, Eric Cuvillier, Joël Damase, Alain Denize, Serge Detalle, Karin Dilthey, Christine
Dransard, Yves Duronsoy, Moussa Elibrik, Sophie Elmosnino, Charly Erwin, Michel Fainsilber, Paulo
Jorge Figueiredo, Ph. Forestier, Yves Forestier, Douglas Fry, Olivier Garros, Pierre Ginet, Jacques Yves
Gucia, Jean Guichard, Danee Hazama, William Huber, Philippe Hurlin, Johannes Ifkovitz, Michel
Jolyot, Stéphane Kossmann, Stéfan Kraus, Benoit Laboup, Jacques Langevin, Grégoire Le Bacon,
Jacques Lebar, David Lefranc, Paul Lepreux, Till Leeser, Cyril Le Tourneur, Geoff Leung, Tomasz
K. Lewandowski, Antoine Lorgnier, Jean-Pierre Minot, J. A. Nunoz, Olivier Peix, Fabrice Rambert, Hélio
Ramos, Pierre-Emmanuel Rastoin, Jeanne Raverdy, Pierre Jean Rey, Romain Ricard, Luc Selvais,
Peggy Sirota, Annemiek Veldman, Francis Waldman, Philippe Wang.
Hémisphères Images agency:

Stéphane Francès, Bertrand Gardel, Christian Guy, Christian Heeb, Ingolf Pompe, Jean-Baptiste
Rabouan.
Corbis agency:
Murat Taner/zefa/Corbis, Matthias Kulka/zefa/Corbis, Werner H.Mueller/zefa/Corbis, Simon
Marcus/Corbis, Daniel Lainé/Corbis, Christine Osborne/Corbis, K.M. Westermann/Corbis, Gideon
Mendel/Corbis, Larry Williams/Corbis, Mike Kemp/Corbis, Gérard Rancinan/Sygma/Corbis, Johan
Carlson/Etsa/Corbis, Robert van der Hilst/Corbis, Jon Feingersh/zefa/Corbis, Jon Hicks/Corbis,
Grace/zefa/Corbis, Mika/zefa/Corbis, Peter Guttman/Corbis, Rolf Bruderer/Corbis, William
Gottlieb/Corbis, Simonpietri Christian/Corbis Sygma, Joao Luiz Bulcao/Corbis/Corbis, Tom
Grill/Corbis, Yang Liu/Corbis, K.C. Alfred/sdu-t/zuma/Corbis, Bettmann/Corbis, Jean-Marc
Charles/Corbis.
Roger-Viollet agency:
CAP / Roger-Viollet, LAPI / Roger-Viollet, Roger-Viollet.
Getty Images agency:

John Dominis / Time & Life Pictures / Getty, Hulton Archive / Getty, Keystone / Hulton Archive / Getty,
R. Gates : Hulton Archive / Getty, Dimitri Kessel / Time & Life Pictures / Getty, Bernard Gotfryd /
Hulton Archive / Getty, H. Armstrong Roberts / Retrofile, Evening Standard / Hulton Archive.
Rue des Archives agency:

Rue des Archives/AGIP, Gerald Bloncourt/Rue des Archives, Granger/ Rue des Archives, Rue des
Archives/AGIP VB, Rue des Archives/BCA.
Gamma agency:
Ferry / liaison, Salaser / Liaison, Hires-Merillon, Neumann Benami, De Keerle Georges, Baitel-
Benali, South Light, Bassignac-Gaillarde-Simon, Gaillarde Raphaël, Buu Alain, Nicolas Lecorre.
Keystone agency:
Keystone France.
Bibliography:
Impossible n’est pas français, l’histoire inconnue d’Accor, leader mondial de l’hôtellerie, by Virginie Luc, Albin Michel, 1998.
Printed in France by Mame, Tours
October 2007
Publication no.: 010 - Printing no.: xxxx
ISBN: 978-2-7491-1010-3
1967-2007
cherche-midi.com
ISBN 978-2-7491-1173-5
le cherche midi 9 782749 111735

Founding of Accor Hotels

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Founding of Accor Hotels

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

REACHING FOR THE IMPOSSIBLE

2 8 OPEN SPACE, OPEN MIND

54 LIFE-STYLES, WORKING STYLES

7 4 ADVENTURE TRAVEL DIARY

120 VIEWS AND STYLE

162 THE STORY OF THE BRANDS

Paul Dubrule and Gérard

Pélisson, in the 1970s.

Mr. Genin, Robert Larrivé,

The Novotel Lille Lesquin

ACCOR NONCONFORMIST IDEAS

Porte de Clichy, in Evry, in the 1970s.

Gérard Pélisson’s apartment

NONCONFORMIST IDEAS ACCOR

When France changed centuries…

Idlewild Airport (later called

ACCOR NONCONFORMIST IDEAS

NONCONFORMIST IDEAS ACCOR

ACCOR NONCONFORMIST IDEAS

Bathrooms, with the famous “spray

The Novotel Bagnolet,

The mad Bagnolet wager

ACCOR NONCONFORMIST IDEAS

The expansion of the 1970s

“Bob the trowel”

NONCONFORMIST IDEAS ACCOR

ACCOR NONCONFORMIST IDEAS

NONCONFORMIST IDEAS ACCOR

Façade of the Ibis hotel, in Boulogne-sur-Mer,

Still not up to standards…

ACCOR NONCONFORMIST IDEAS

NONCONFORMIST IDEAS ACCOR

A new challenge for the technical teams

A Formule 1 here, a Formule 1 there…

A Formule 1 room. happily coexist.

ACCOR NONCONFORMIST IDEAS

Etap Hotel Porte de Saint-

Suitehotel, yet another new concept

Mercure, a twist of fate…

NONCONFORMIST IDEAS ACCOR

A child of the modern era, Accor grew up with the develop-

ACCOR NONCONFORMIST IDEAS

NONCONFORMIST IDEAS ACCOR

ACCO R OPEN SPACE, OPEN MIND

Sofitel Gold Coast, Broadbeach, Australia.

OPEN SPACE, OPEN MIND ACCOR

Europe, the tides of change… Novotel Neuchâtel Thielle, Switzerland,

ACCO R OPEN SPACE, OPEN MIND

Gérard Pélisson’s speech,

OPEN SPACE, OPEN MIND ACCOR

The African saga

over 200 expatriates, were, among the many Accor

ACCO R OPEN SPACE, OPEN MIND

When everything, even the worst, is possible…

Serge Ravailhe mentioned, in a telex in 1977, one of

Africa was given a place of honor.

OPEN SPACE, OPEN MIND ACCOR

Conquering the Middle East…

Grand Mercure on Renmin Square, Xian, China. ▼

Novotel Lombok, Indonesia. ▼

The Hôtel de France

in 1979, which became

Daniel Coccoli and his team during

the first anniversary of the Novotel