The story
Founded by Gérard Pélisson and Paul Dubrule in 1967.1
1967-1981: Novotel-SIEH
In 1967, Paul Dubrule and Gérard Pélisson founded the hospitality group Société d'investissement et d'exploitation hôteliers (SIEH) and opened the first Novotel hotel outside Lille in northern France.
In 1974, the first Ibis hotel was launched in Bordeaux, France. Ibis was then considered a light version of Novotel. In 1975, Novotel-SIEH acquired the restaurant brand Courtepaille and the Mercure hotels. In 1980, Novotel-SIEH acquired the Sofitel hotels (43 hotels). In 1981, Novotel-SIEH entered the Asian market with the opening of a Novotel in Singapore.
1983: Merging and creating Accor
In 1983, Novotel-SIEH acquired and merged with the group Jacques Borel International to create the Accor group, which was introduced to the Paris stock exchange the same year. Accor is based on the word "Accord" meaning "agreement" in French.
In 1984, Accor bought the Quiberon thalassotherapy center, which became the first of the Thalasso Sea & Spa brand, and acquired the fine catering company Lenôtre the following year. In 1985, the firm launched Formule 1, a brand of low-cost hotels. The buildings themselves were modular blocks manufactured in factories and assembled onsite to minimise costs.
In 1990, the firm acquired the economy lodging company Motel 6 (536 motels in the United States). In 1991, it acquired the Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits, which owned Pullman Hotels and Resorts, Altea, and Europcar. Accor also launched another economy hotel, Etap Hotel. In 1994, it merged the Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits with Carlson Travel Network to create Carlson Wagonlit Travel (now CWT).
"Asset-light" realignment
In the mid-90s, Accor shifted its interest towards luxury and premium brands, and moved towards an asset-light model to focus on brand and product management, rather than property management. Economy and midscale brands remained the group's cash cow and enabled it to invest in less profitable but strategic upscale and luxury brands.
In 1997, the firm acquired the casino company SPIC, which became Accor Casino. In 1999, it acquired the US-based economy lodging company Red Roof Inn (322 hotels), and announced the creation of Accor Economy Lodging to bring Motel 6 and Red Roof Inn under one roof. Along with Colony Capital, it acquired the hotel brands Libertel and Demeure (40 properties in Europe). Accor settled in the United Kingdom with the opening of a Sofitel in the previous Cox & Co bank in Central London.
Accor launched the 3-star hotel brand SuiteHotel in 1999. In 2000, Accor took full control of Century International Hotels and Zenith Hotels International in Asia, bringing its number of hotels to 200 in the Asia-Pacific zone. The Sofitel Philadelphia (former Philadelphia Stock Exchange Building) was inaugurated, the first Sofitel to open in the US in a decade. Accor bought 20% of the Polish hotel company Orbis. In 2002, Accor settled in Mexico. In 2004, Accor bought a 28.9% stake in the French all-inclusive holidays' company Club Méditerranée.
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In 2005, Gilles Pélisson, nephew of Accor's co-founder Gérard Pélisson, became chairman and CEO. The investment firm Colony Capital invested 1 billion euros in Accor. The firm sold its shares of Club Med in 2006 and Red Roof Inn in 2007.
New multi-brand strategy
In 2007, Accor launched the serviced-apartments brand Adagio in a 50/50 venture with Pierre & Vacances, relaunched Pullman as a premium hotel brand, and the Australian All Seasons as a global midscale hotel brand. In 2008, it launched the MGallery collection of upscale "personality" hotels.
In November 2010, Gilles Pélisson was replaced by Denis Hennequin as the head of Accor. Accor split its hotel activities from its voucher activities, Accor Services (which became Edenred and was listed on the stock exchange). Suitehotel was merged with Novotel.
In 2011, Accor revamped the Ibis brand by creating ibis Styles (formerly All Seasons) and ibis budget (formerly Etap Hotel). The group sold the fine catering group Lenôtre, and the Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits. In 2012, the group launched the regional premium brand Grand Mercure in China (MeiJue), and sold Motel 6. In 2013, Accor redefined its group business model on two core competencies: hotel operator and brand franchisor (HotelServices), and hotel owner and investor (HotelInvest). The group acquired the premier apartment hotel brand The Sebel.
In August 2013, Sébastien Bazin became chairman and CEO of Accor. He introduced a new economic model around two poles: HotelServices, which operates and franchises hotels, and HotelInvest, which owns hotels and leads investments.
In 2014, Accor bought a 35% share in Mama Shelter (5 hotels) whose chief designer is Philippe Starck, and signed a strategic alliance with the China Lodging Group (Huazhu Hotels Group - 1900 hotels) to develop its hotel brands in China.
Lifestyle hospitality
In June 2015, Accor changed its name to AccorHotels and acquired FRHI Hotels & Resorts (Fairmont, Raffles, Swissôtel). In 2016, AccorHotels acquired John Paul (concierge and loyalty service), onefinestay (short-term vacation rentals), 30% of 25hours Hotels (Germany), and 30% of Oasis (accommodations provider). The new hotel brand Jo&Joe was launched, a strategic alliance was signed with Banyan Tree, and HotelInvest was spun off. In 2017, AccorHotels acquired Gekko (B2B hotel service), VeryChic (private sales for hotel deals), and merged Squarebreak and Travel Keys into onefinestay. AccorHotels acquired 50% of the brand Orient Express to relaunch it as a luxury hotel brand, Potel & Chabot (catering), and Noctis (event organization, renamed Paris Society). In 2018, AccorHotels sold 55% of HotelInvest for €4.4 billion and renaming it AccorInvest and launched a tender offer to take full control of Orbis. It acquired the Mantra Group (134 hotels under the brands Mantra, Peppers, Breakfree, Art Series), the Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts (84 hotels in 27 countries), and ResDiary (restaurant reservation and table management). AccorHotels partnered with Katara Hospitality to set up a $1-billion Africa-focused investment fund. China Lodging Group bought 4.5% of AccorHotels.
In 2019, the 21c Museum Hotels acquired the previous year were added to the MGallery collection. Its digital marketing companies for hotels (Availpro, Fastbooking) were merged into D-Edge Hospitality Solutions. The group took full control of Orbis (Its subsidiary AccorInvest acquired 98.6% shares of Orbis). Accor launched the new midscale hotel brand Tribe (born under the Mantra Group Management). After buying 50% of the SBE Entertainment Group (owner of Mondrian Hotels) in October 2018, Accor and SBE jointly launched the luxury hotel brand The House of Originals, and the premium hotel brand Hyde in Australia. In September 2019, Accor launched its first environment-conscious hotel brand, greet, with the first hotel opened in April that year in Beaune. On 3 December 2019, Accor repositioned its brand as ALL - Accor Live Limitless. The update merged Accor and its loyalty offering Le Club into one unified brand, ALL.
In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, Accor created CEDA (Coronavirus Emergency Desk Accor), a platform centralizing needs and providing accommodation solutions in France for front-line medical staff and vulnerable populations. The group allocated 70 million euros to launch the ALL Heartist Fund which was designed to assist employees and individual partners experiencing great financial difficulties. Accor and the certification agency Bureau Veritas launched a label guaranteeing high safety and cleanliness measures in the group's hotels and restaurants, and signed a strategic partnership with the insurance company Axa to provide medical assistance to the guests of its hotels worldwide.
In 2020, Accor opened more than 200 new hotels including its flagship Raffles Bali. On 24 November 2020, it announced that it is taking full ownership of SBE's Hotel assets (except Hudson Hotel in New York and Delano in Miami) as part of its simplification and asset-light strategy. It introduced Mövenpick Living as an extension of Mövenpick brand for extended stay segment. The company announced its strategic plan to focus on lifestyle hospitality. In 2021, Accor introduced the SPAC Accor Acquisition Company (AAC) on the Paris stock exchange, raising 300 million euros to lead investments in hotel-related businesses, sold a 1.5% share in the Chinese hotel management company Huazhu, and invested in the Indian tech hospitality company Treebo.
In October 2021, Qatar's Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy had signed an agreement with Accor to manage World Cup fan accommodation during the 2022 FIFA World Cup. According to the agreement Accor will provide staff to manage and operate more than 60,000 rooms in apartments and villas. The same month, Accor and Ennismore finalized their joint-venture of 14 hotel brands. Accor was the majority stakeholder (then sold 10.8% to a consortium of Qatari investors), and the founder of Ennismore Sharan Pasricha held a minority stake. Accor and the Italian hotel group Arsenale announced the launch of the Orient Express La Dolce Vita luxury trains. and the groups started to test urban autonomous cars with Citroën and JCDecaux.
In 2022, Accor bought Cunard's Queen Elizabeth 2 from PCFC Hotels. In 2023, Accor restructured into two distinct business units: "Economy, Midscale & Premium" unit (Ibis, Novotel, Mercure, Swissôtel, Mövenpick, Pullman, TRIBE from October 2023) and the "Luxury & Lifestyle" organized in four brand collections (Raffles & Orient Express, Fairmont, Sofitel & MGallery, Ennismore). The group announced the launch of Orient Express Silenseas, a luxury cruise built with Chantiers de l'Atlantique and planned for delivery March 2026. The construction of the first ship started in March 2024. In June 2024, Accor and LVMH signed a partnership to jointly develop the luxury travel brand Orient Express. In 2025, Accor's booking and loyalty platform reached 100 million members. Accor and InterGlobe (IndiGo's parent company) agreed to grow their common hotel platform from 70 to 300 by 2030, and jointly invested in Treebo, making the alliance the third hotel operator in India. The group started a partnership with the World Monuments Fund (WMF) to safeguard 4 cultural heritage sites listed in the 2025 World Monuments Watch. In the USA, the group made its debut in Las Vegas with a franchise partnership to manage the Treasure Island on the Strip.
In 2026, Accor sold its remaining stake in Essendi to Blackstone for $1.1 billion dollars.
From Wikipedia’s article on Accor, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.7