Accor goes down experiences route as it unveils All loyalty platform

Accor has unveiled its new loyalty platform, promising a “disruptive and dramatic shift."

Accor Live Limitless, or All, as the new platform is called, brings together its distribution platform and its new loyalty platform based around experiences

The idea is to offer loyalty guests and customers stays, bar and restaurant offers and experiences such as sporting events and live entertainment.

The launch is supported by a new mobile application and website .

France-based Accor has formed and/or extended partnerships with a number of companies including AEG for live entertainment events, IMG for food-related events and football team Paris Saint Germain.

Back in November, during The Phocuswright Conference in Los Angeles, Accor chief digital officer Maud Bailly dropped some clues as to the company's thinking on loyalty and personalization when she spoke of the Accor Customer Digital Code, a worldwide database enabling its hotels to share guest preferences.

According to a statement, it is investing €225 million to support the above initiatives and hopes that it will create €60 million in incremental EBITDA in 2022 and thereafter €75 million a year.

The funds are being invested from the €4.8 billion proceeds of its 65% disposal of AccorInvest.

Accor is not the only hotel company to rethink its loyalty strategy, with Marriott announcing its own move down the experiences route just under a year ago.

More recently the company announced a rebranding of the program to Bonvoy.

Different landscape for loyalty

Both moves signal an acceptance of how much the concept of loyalty has changed, especially among younger demographics.

The hotel giant announced the launch of All as it reported full-year revenue for 2018 up almost 17% to €3.6 billion and an increase of 14.5% to EBITDA of €712 million.

A statement says the acquisitions of technology companies Gekko, Adoria and Resdiary and hotel companies Mantra, Movenpick and Atton made a positive contribution of €394 to group earnings.

The company adds that revenue for its concierge services, luxury home rentals, private sales of luxury hotel stays and digital services for hotels increased 2.4% to €149 million.

Accor also says that Availpro and Fastbooking reported positive results for the first time since they were acquired in April 2017 and April 2015, respectively.

Rationalization work is ongoing to turn around serviced private homes business Onefinestay and concierge services specialist John Paul, acquired in April and July of 2016, respectively.

Accor said earlier this year that the two businesses contributed a €15 million loss to EBITDA .

* Check the interview with Bailly from The Phocuswright Conference 2018.