Tensions between Accor and their "franchisés" in France
#1
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Tensions between Accor and their "franchisés" in France
I am posting here a screenshot of an article from Les Échos of tuesday, relating an on-going dispute between the French franchisés (70% of the Accor hotels in FR) and Accor HQ. I think this something that is going on for a while and explain partly the attitude and reluctance we face too often in French Accor hotels, especially in the mid-range segments, regarding LCAH. Those hotels represent a turnover of 1.86 billions of €, and 52% of Accor turnover in France.
I don't have time to translate the whole article, but the most important parts are :
-they are currently renegotiating their contracts with Accor and they ask unanimously for a revision of the financial dispositions. They are very unhappy of the current state of the discussions with Accor.
-they call for an external arbitration of the dispute (possibility given in their contracts)
-at a time when Booking and Expedia sells everyday AccorHotels rooms, they want strong brands which can justify the very high royalties the franchisés are paying to Accor.
-they believe those royalties are too high and their amounts are depending upon the services provided by Accor for distribution, marketing, communication, loyalty program...
-they are also unhappy about the independent hotels who have now access to Accor booking platform.
I don't have time to translate the whole article, but the most important parts are :
-they are currently renegotiating their contracts with Accor and they ask unanimously for a revision of the financial dispositions. They are very unhappy of the current state of the discussions with Accor.
-they call for an external arbitration of the dispute (possibility given in their contracts)
-at a time when Booking and Expedia sells everyday AccorHotels rooms, they want strong brands which can justify the very high royalties the franchisés are paying to Accor.
-they believe those royalties are too high and their amounts are depending upon the services provided by Accor for distribution, marketing, communication, loyalty program...
-they are also unhappy about the independent hotels who have now access to Accor booking platform.
#2
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Very interest, thanks for sharing Goldorak. If I was an owner I certainly would question seeing my non-Accor competitor being listed on the Accor website. That said, the loyalty "costs" are nonsense, I suspect that this is more down to a cultural problem
#3
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For non-Accor hotels, AccorHotels charges a commission fee that is about a third to half that charged by traditional online travel agencies : 14% per booking if you are not a customer of Fastbooking, its hotel digital services company, and 12% if you are. Independant hoteliers have the option to enable guests to earn points in AccorHotels’s loyalty program, with a 5% per booking fee for the property.
French "franchisés" are surely paying more
French "franchisés" are surely paying more
#4
France has a tradition of collective bargaining, so I'd chalk much of it down to this - if the "other" hotels were suddenly removed from the website, the franchisees' representatives would argue that it decreases the value of the service and want a discount as well.
That said, Accor is probably providing just bad a service to their franchisees as they do to us guests. The more I talk to Accor insiders the more I feel the company still displays much of the corporate dysfunctionalism that have typically been ascribed to large French corporations.
That said, Accor is probably providing just bad a service to their franchisees as they do to us guests. The more I talk to Accor insiders the more I feel the company still displays much of the corporate dysfunctionalism that have typically been ascribed to large French corporations.
#5
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France has a tradition of collective bargaining, so I'd chalk much of it down to this - if the "other" hotels were suddenly removed from the website, the franchisees' representatives would argue that it decreases the value of the service and want a discount as well.
That said, Accor is probably providing just bad a service to their franchisees as they do to us guests. The more I talk to Accor insiders the more I feel the company still displays much of the corporate dysfunctionalism that have typically been ascribed to large French corporations.
That said, Accor is probably providing just bad a service to their franchisees as they do to us guests. The more I talk to Accor insiders the more I feel the company still displays much of the corporate dysfunctionalism that have typically been ascribed to large French corporations.
#6
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And that is not just limited to France.
#7
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And there is another thing I don't buy here : they want strong brands, but if there is one country where all Accor brands are very strong, it's France.
#9
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For non-Accor hotels, AccorHotels charges a commission fee that is about a third to half that charged by traditional online travel agencies : 14% per booking if you are not a customer of Fastbooking, its hotel digital services company, and 12% if you are. Independant hoteliers have the option to enable guests to earn points in AccorHotels’s loyalty program, with a 5% per booking fee for the property.
French "franchisés" are surely paying more
French "franchisés" are surely paying more
#10
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I don't think this is public information.
But isn't this true for any hotel (chain or not) ? And don't forget LCAH members get 10% off.
But isn't this true for any hotel (chain or not) ? And don't forget LCAH members get 10% off.
#11
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That's what piqued the curiosity
I tend to find Accor can hold itself against the consolidators in terms of rates, it's often similar or less (espeically hot rates), with elite perks and points thrown in, it makes sense to book with Accor platform. Not with the independent hotels, some allow you to collect points and nothing else but still they cost quite a bit more than the consolidators' rates even considering the returns on the points collected.
I tend to find Accor can hold itself against the consolidators in terms of rates, it's often similar or less (espeically hot rates), with elite perks and points thrown in, it makes sense to book with Accor platform. Not with the independent hotels, some allow you to collect points and nothing else but still they cost quite a bit more than the consolidators' rates even considering the returns on the points collected.
Last edited by RJ77; Apr 16, 2017 at 11:57 pm
#12
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I tend to find Accor can hold itself against the consolidators in terms of rates, it's often similar or less (espeically hot rates), with elite perks and points thrown in, it makes sense to book with Accor platform. Not with the independent hotels, some allow you to collect points and nothing else but still they cost quite a bit more than the consolidators' rates even considering the returns on the points collected.
#14
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For non-Accor hotels, AccorHotels charges a commission fee that is about a third to half that charged by traditional online travel agencies : 14% per booking if you are not a customer of Fastbooking, its hotel digital services company, and 12% if you are. Independant hoteliers have the option to enable guests to earn points in AccorHotels’s loyalty program, with a 5% per booking fee for the property.
French "franchisés" are surely paying more
French "franchisés" are surely paying more
However, I think they should put their own hotels on the top.....
#15