Accor will allow independent hoteliers to offer their rooms on its booking website to fight back against online travel agents and gain greater control over profit margins.
The world’s fourth-largest hotel group said will spend 22 million euros on the initiative, which could increase the number of hotels available through its website to 10,000 by 2018 from 3,700 now.
Europe’s largest hotel group, being reorganised by Chief Executive Sebastien Bazin, is also changing its name to ”AccorHotels”, in line with its website, to boost its brand. ?“We are launching the first marketplace made by an hotelier for other hoteliers,” said Bazin.
The decision to work with independent hotels comes as Accor and rivals face rising competition from online travel agents such as Expedia and Booking.com, which are earning commission fees that can reach 20 percent of the cost of a room. Online home-sharing site Airbnb is another threat to their business model.
Accor, whose hotels range from the luxury Sofitel to the budget Ibis brands, is betting that increasing the breadth of ?hotels supplied by its website will boost traffic and ultimately bolster revenue.