Amazing that a year later there have been zero attempts to leverage any synergies from the FRHI purchase. The only visible change is that the poorly described FRHI hotel now appear on the Accor website (usually more expensive than elsewhere).

I stayed this week for the first time at a Swissotel. To say I was underwhelmed is an understatement. It was marginally better than a Novotel. Service was awful but they used every opportunity to up sell: upgrade etc. So much for the famed service at FRHI hotels...

Just curious: Which Swissotel did you stay at?

But I generally agree: With a very few exceptions, Swissotel properties are generic, rather unimpressive business hotels. As you probably know Swissotel and Fairmont have separate loyalty programs with very limited cross-brand benefits, and while I know many (very) loyal Fairmont customers, none of them would give a crap if Swissotel properties disappeared / got integrated into Accor etc.

Really? Stopped reading here. I expect polemic posts from n00bs, but not from veteran posters. You cannot seriously believe that synergies may solely arise through combination of the loyalty programs. Those constitute a tiny part of the chain.

If you read my post again you will see that I did not say loyalty programme, and certainly that is not the only thing. I have yet to see another merger where there there have been any visible customer facing improvements. Leveraging your customer base is not a tiny part in my book.

What I find very surprising and disappointing is that we can now earn status points at non-Accor hotels but we still have 0 benefits at plenty of hotels belonging to the group for how long now ? 18 months ?
I know combining programs is complex and takes some time but at least there could be a reciprocal earning scheme of points between all the programs. That's usually not too long to implement.

​​​​​​the question here is who pays for it. :p

That might be easier if both programs were actually points based. Accor's program is essentially revenue based, with points being earned being variable with what you pay. FPC is based on nights and stays. For an FPC member to earn nights or stays at Accor, they would essentially need to convert the stay into fractions based on the tier of the property somehow. Otherwise, it would be easy to earn FPC Platinum just by racking up nights/stays at a cheaper property.

Conversely, I'd make Le Club Platinum too easily on a revenue based system if I was earning credit at Fairmont or Raffles hotels. Essentially, you can reach Le Club Platinum with EUR 5,600 in annual spend. I could hit that in less than one vacation at my favourite Fairmont property. If they make it too easy to reach the top tier, they might lose some people to other brands for their remaining travels during the year.

In theory, if they could make it work, some reciprocal earning is not a bad idea if they wanted to encourage people to visit the other brands. They first need to find a way to convert between the two different earning measures, in a way that motivates the customer behavior they want.

In my opinion the Fairmont FPC program and the Accor program couldn't be more different. I'd even argue that the Fairmont corporate culture and the Accor corporate culture could hardly be any more different.

From a loyalty program perspective, there are many issues to address:

- Fairmont FPC Premier/Platinum members generally think that the FPC program is excellent while the general consensus is that the Accor program, despite its minor improvements over the last five years, is mediocre
- Fairmont FPC Platinum members have been offered rather generous status matches to Accor Platinum while Accor Platinum members have been offered very few incentives to stay at Fairmont properties. Ironically, comp. Accor Platinum status doesn't seem to be sufficient to convince many FPC Platinum members to try Accor properties
- there's obviously an impression of a poorly handled integration (and from an Accor Platinum perspective I can certainly appreciate that point of view)
- The Accor program is largely a revenue-based discount program with a handful of benefits thrown in while the Fairmont FPC program is largely benefits-based

Leaving aside loyalty programs, there's a general impression among FPC customers that Accor just doesn't get the idea of loyalty or excellent and consistent service. Having held Accor Platinum status for the most part of the last five years, I can say I made a sincere effort to understand and appreciate the Accor program, but apart from a few Accor properties (mainly Sofitel hotels) which are excellent, the overall experience has been mediocre.

Assuming that Accor won't drastically improve its loyalty program and corporate culture, I would suggest these changes:

1) keep the two loyalty programs separate while encouraging members to experience the other brands
2) allow Accor members to earn points at all FRHI properties
3) allow FPC Premier and Platinum members to receive stay credit at Sofitel properties only
4) add "room upgrade based upon availability" as an Fairmont Premier/Platinum status benefit
5) give FPC Platinum members comp. Accor Platinum status and Accor Platinum members comp. FPC Premier status

Not going to talk about the lack of integration.

To argue about the quality of service at a Fairmont vs other hotels somewhat defeats the purpose when all there are only 70+ properties worldwide. That's a bit like arguing why Singapore is so safe compared to Thailand.

I agree that some Sofitels are at a similar level, but many have quite a bit of catching up to do.

Yet, I don't expect to stay at (nor will they build) a Fairmont in Kuching, East Malaysia. So what am I missing here? It is a known fact that the majority of FPC members are based in the US and Canada. I assume there is no interest to stay in Accor properties as FPC members only travel and stay in large cities where you can find a Fairmont? What does a FPC member do who travels the world and needs to stay in secondary and tertiary cities. The merger with Accorhotels has now opened up a large chunk of properties in cities where you will never find a Fairmont. And you will most likely also not find a property which is comparable to a Fairmont there. Is this just all a FPC "bubble"?

I won't pretend to speak for OTHER FPC members, but I will speak for myself. Yes, I'm US-based, and no, I don't travel only to cities where there's a Fairmont, and even when I do, I often stay at another brand. But there are very few places I travel to where I'd want to stay at an Accor. I see that you are Asia-based, and perhaps that affects your perspective; if I were to return to Hanoi or Hue, I'd stay at the Metropole or La Residence, respectively, in a heartbeat, but that's not because of any loyalty program, it's because they are great properties. But there are precious few Accors in Europe that I'd choose to rest my head in--there are usually far better choices.

Exactly, what ever happened to Accor's "Surprise and delight" approach? It would not take much for offer a simple welcome. At the moment there is no incentive to book any FRHI hotel (especially not on the Accor website which does not offer the best deals), not even so much as a free bottle of water or a box of chocolates.

TLL. A hotel which liked to say no. Dreadful service, no smiles, no customer focus. The hard product was ok for what it is. When I get a chance I do a full report.

I agree it is bizarre they are offering status points etc at "partner" hotels but nothing at Fairmont etc. The least they could do is a real status match until they sort it out, like SPG and Marriott.

Again seems FRHI members have not been keeping up with the last 5 years.
Only a couple of okay hotels in Europe?

I think one could say quite confidently that Europe would have 10-20 Accor hotels which I could rate as great improvements. There are plenty of hit and misses though.

We are looking forward to our Novotel Canary wharf stay which we have high expectations and good reviews so far. Also definitely recommend Sofitel London near Pall Mall which is not huge and very pricey maybe slightly lower than Savoy but also a bit cheaper (relative of course). Sofitel London is fine especially considering many people say its the best airport hotel they have been to. How many fairmonts are located so close to an airport???

A few in Amsterdam like Legend Sofitel and M gallery stand out as great choices. I remember a few eastern European hotel reviews have been good again relative to what your paying and likely no local fairmont nearby to compare.

Again I think FRHI members have creeping hopes the program will last for decades to come.. unless they sell it off I think your dreaming.

You're probably right, but people can dream, can't they?:p

It certainly will be interesting to see how the integration will happen. Not only could the loyalty programs not be any more different, but also is the corporate culture at the two companies very, very different.

If Accor merely eliminates FPC and adds Fairmont as another brand to the Accor program, they'll lose many very loyal customers. If customer service deteriorates at Fairmont properties as a result of the integration, they'll lose even more customers.

At the same time it's unlikely the Accor program and corporate culture will dramatically improve as a result of the Fairmont acquisition; Fairmont is just too small to have that kind of impact.

I wonder whether Accor could be successful with a two-tier program similar to IHG/RA:

- keep the current Accor program for all brands (e.g. points, promos etc.)
- have a separate program focused on providing *meaningful benefits* for members who regularly stay at Fairmont, Raffles, Sofitel (and possibly Swissotel) properties.