Hotel operator sees Asia as growing luxury market

Accor, the Paris-based hotel operator, sees Asia as an important market for the luxury segment, according to Rick Harvey Lam, senior vice-president of global marketing for the hotel group's luxury and upscale brands.

"We will soon announce a new brand architecture around our luxury and upscale brands because our clientele is savvy and selective," Lam said. "We know that their needs and expectations are constantly developing."

The hotel group is currently exhibiting at the 2015 International Luxury Travel Market Asia in Shanghai, bringing its unique hospitality experience to the Asian market.

Last year, Accor moved its global luxury and upscale marketing operations from Paris to Singapore.

"With Asian consumers now accounting for almost half of global luxury sales, Accor decided that a move to Singapore would bring new insights into luxury and upscale hotels and place the nerve center of its marketing operations closer to where its customer base is growing fastest," Lam said.

Over the past decade, the Asia-Pacific region's development has been remarkable and as travelers become more affluent, their desire to travel and explore the world has grown, making the region the fastest-growing luxury market in the world, he said.

"Asia is also a hub of creativity, innovation and transformation that provides the perfect breeding ground for us to take our luxury and upscale brands to the next level."

The hotel group divides its brands into three segments - luxury and upscale; mid-scale; and economy or budget. Its luxury and upscale segment includes Sofitel, Pullman, MGallery, The Sebel and Grand Mercure brands.

"Luxury consumers today seek more modern interpretations of luxury," Lam said. "They are world travelers with global attitudes, yet they desire locally inspired and immersive experiences filled with heritage, stories and richness. "

Some of these travelers prefer recognizable and lavish luxury, while luxury in more understated forms sways others, he said.

"Our new portfolio is grounded in this precise and clear understanding of the market expectations," he said. "It offers a new interpretation of luxury, based on clear consumer segmentation, to address and surpass these expectations."

In terms of the Asian luxury and upscale hotel market, Lam said the market is growing very well, with China now second only after the United States in terms of luxury hotels.

In the extensive network of Accor, China alone has 18 Sofitel and 20 Pullman hotels, making it the No 1 market for these brands outside of Europe. "And importantly, with 140 million Chinese people to travel outside China this year, many of them heading to Asian neighboring countries, the Chinese play a crucial role in the Asian market."

He also spoke of the hotel group's alliance with Huazhu Hotels Group, saying it would "provide us with better access to investors, which should further accelerate our growth in the country in the luxury and upscale segments".

With more than eight years' experience in the industry, Lam has his own unique idea for branding, which has become part of Accor's charm at maintaining guest loyalty in a constantly changing consumer market.

"Luxury brands constantly need to find ways to stimulate and engage their audiences, continuously giving consumers new reasons to come back and connect - often by creating new and differentiated content," he said. "But it must always be in a way that is authentic to the brand's story and savoir-faire, creating meaning and value for the consumer and the brand."

Lam said the millennial generation shapes Accor's business models and brands as a whole. According to him, millennials are tech-savvy, App and loyalty lovers who are adventurous, connected and always on the move.

"For this generation, the clear separation between business and leisure is getting increasingly blurred nowadays - millennials have no problem in extending their business trips into leisure and vice versa."

Lam said, "We came to the fact that hotel guests don't want to choose between performance and indulgence - they want both."

fuchao@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 06/02/2015 page7)