Richard Quest CNN and Sebastien Bazin "Can anything upset Accor's CEO?"
 

From a couple of days ago:

1. Funny how Richard has finally met his match - he was speechless a number of times.
2. Dear Sebastien, if your Customer Service continues to be as horrible as it is, AccorHotels.com remains as bad a platform as Airbnb.com without any customer engagement!
"The one big difference: They never talk to their customers". - NEITHER DO YOU!!!!
"I see you when you come to my hotel" - and YET you make loyal members feel like second class when they are told that there are no rooms for upgrade, when customers need to beg and reason.
"So I have a warm interaction with you..." - WHAT?! WHEN?!

An interesting interview. If the numbers about tourists to US is true then Accor out of all the majors is the best placed at the moment.

And I wish the welcoming attitude on display was all the way down to the front desk. Again little things do not cost much but makes a world of difference for us members.. I cannot see the issue if the cost to the bottom line is very minimal. Is it that hotels think you only stay at their hotel when its the most convenient? I certainly go out of my way by quite a few kms to make sure its an Accor hotel.

To be fair on that one, I did talk to Bazin once, at length. The issue is not the talking, it is listening and acting upon what you hear. I recall telling him his aversion to executive lounges in Europe was wrong. He did not buy it. :rolleyes:

Did Bazin say why executive lounges in Europe not suitable?

Quest is pure ham. Straight off the bone.

Claimed guests were not expecting them in Europe, too expensive and thus not needed.

Of course. His 120million Chinese on package tours probably don't need a lounge.

Then i would have asked.. do other chains have lounges in Europe? Still not having a lounge will be mostly solved if they just offered free breakfasts to plats.

Lots of other chains have lounges in Europe. Free breakfast is already a perk of elite members at many other chains, so offering it does not solve anything lounge-wise.

I have been into an hotel lounge in the following places in Europe: Frankfurt, London, Budapest, Athens, Tallinn, Dresden,Helsinki. None of this with Accor.

Well to be honest I have also used 2 of the 3 lounges in the accor network in London. Both are fine but nothing amazing but definately appreiciated. Berlin has a hotel with a lounge plus some more eastern european countries also have. But I am thinking more about Paris, France in general, lowland countries like Nerthlands, Italy and Spain.

I can not search for all chains but for Hilton:

France: Lounges in Hilton Opera, Hilton CDG (and I am in Hilton La Defense in two weeks so will check), Hilton Strasbourg.
Netherlands. Lounges in DT Amsterdam Station, Hilton Amsterdam, Hilton Rotterdam, Hilton Schiphol, Hilton Den Haag
Italy: Lounges in Hilton Milan, Hilton Rome Airport, Hilton Florence
Spain: Lounges in Hilton Barcelona

Well then I Would be asking are these hotels more exspensive than accors hotels and if not why are french Accor hotels Just as exspensive as say hiltons but they can Have a lounge at the Same price. While it is a friendly chat need to catch these CEOs out so you get the real story not the bs excuse made from the sound of it. A lounge in say a Paris 5 star hotel would not need more than say 20/30 seating and compact but good quality spread of drinks and bites.

Anyway I know what I am getting in places like Paris so the mercure or Pullman is good enough for me. Seemed to me sofitels You pay a lot more for not much more. Amsterdam Sofitel is a bit cheaper than Paris and yet seemed better from the reviews.

Nobody is arguing that lounges should be added to Four Points by Sheraton, Hilton Garden Inn, or Hyatt Place. So Mercure and Pullman are fine as is, and if you are happy there, then great. Just like there are people who are fine with 4P, HGI, and HP.

However, many Sheratons, Hiltons, and Hyatt Regencys have a lounge so the question is why Accor is not offering a choice with a lounge to its customers while competitors do.

If the CEO thinks lounges are expensive, then just charge more for club rooms. Or is it because he thinks he won't be able to sell those rooms at the higher price? Or is it because he does not like to give the lounge for free to Platinum customers, which is why it's "expensive"?

I would guess several Platinum customers who care about a lounge are sometimes going somewhere other than Accor because it's a negative point they consider in the overall equation when choosing a hotel.