AccorHotels is expanding its North American distribution network in Q1 2017 by opening its AccorHotels.com Marketplace to a curated selection of independently-owned hotels in the region.
AccorHotels opened its online platform to independent hoteliers in 2015, seeing immediate success in target regions in Europe and Asia. AccorHotels.com targets to encompass around 200 new, independently-owned hotels in 2017 in 10 key cities across North America, including New York, Chicago, Boston, Miami, Washington D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco, Dallas, Toronto, and Montreal. Alongside the Group’s existing hotels, these independent hotels, selected on a variety of criteria including location, quality, inspection and guest reviews, will be available to guests on the AccorHotels.com platform.
Marketplace currently offers more than 2,000 unaffiliated properties, which have been thoroughly vetted to align with the Group’s brand standards, joiningover 4,000 branded AccorHotels properties worldwide. In 2017, the Group will continue to add properties in countries where Marketplace has already opened, especially in Europe and Asia, and expand its offerings in two additional and influential markets: the United States and Canada.
AccorHotels Senior Vice President of eCommerce and Digital Services, Romain Roulleau, comments, “By opening the AccorHotels.com Marketplace to independent hotels in the North American region, we not only provide these properties with the Group’s credibility, and customers with a wider range of hotel options, but we also ensure that AccorHotels continues to build influence in North America, assuring the Group’s growth in this region.”
To develop Marketplace towards independent hoteliers, AccorHotels acquired FASTBOOKING in April 2015. FASTBOOKING is a France-headquartered company established in 2000 that provides digital solutions to independent hotels to increase their direct sales via electronic channels.
The AccorHotels.com Marketplace growth strategy is a major initiative, and game-changer in the hospitality industry, aimed at bolstering the Group’s position in the digital distribution landscape and adapting to modern travelers’ needs and time constraints when researching and booking accommodations online.
