Skift Take
There's nothing like a contrarian, outspoken hotel CEO to keep things interesting.
A lot has happened since Skift sat down with AccorHotels CEO Sebastien Bazin on July 14, just hours before a terrorist attack took place in Nice, France, taking the lives of 84 and injuring more than 300.
We met with Bazin in the iconic Palm Court at The Plaza Hotel New York, arguably one of the city's most famous hotel landmarks — and the newest addition to AccorHotels' growing portfolio of brands.
Fresh from a successful close of Accor's $2.7-billion acquisition of the Fairmont, Raffles, and Swissôtel brands on July 12, Bazin was more than happy to talk to Skift about the purchase, as well as his vision for the future of hospitality.
Unlike a lot of his contemporaries, Bazin isn't afraid to go against the grain, or to take risks. A former private equity investor, he's been outspoken and often critical about the industry, saying, "All of us. For the last 15 years, we've been sleeping. I said that publicly and I got yelled at by my peers."
He's also invested in a number of companies that his peers haven't, from alternative accommodations providers like onefinestay, Oasis Collections, and Squarebreak, to innovative technology providers like Fastbooking and Wipolo.
Last week, the company announced its intent to buy a majority stake in John Paul, a Paris-based customer and employee loyalty company that specializes in providing 24/7 concierge services and customer relationship management.
Perhaps the most telling moment of our interview with Bazin came soon after he'd answered our questions about the company's newest brands, direct bookings and OTAs, and how hotels need to evolve to meet the needs of their consumers. Eyeing another group's elaborate, three-tiered afternoon tea display, Bazin asked the wait staff if he could try "just a few of the desserts on a plate."
That small request sent the staff into a bit of a panic. They were serving their brand-new CEO after all, and they wanted to make a solid impression, so they headed straight to the kitchen to prepare another elaborate afternoon tea set, complete with finger sandwiches, desserts, and much more. It was delivered six or seven minutes later.
And while Bazin appreciated the staff's efforts, he turned to us, and more or less said, with a bit of a sigh, "That's what I'm talking about. We need to be able to be more flexible with the guests. If a guest asks for just a small plate of desserts, we need to be able to give him that. We need to give them exactly what they want."
