Skift Take
In its attempt to own more of the traveler experience from start to finish, AccorHotels is leveraging the power of its loyalty program — something its peers, no doubt, will also want to do going forward.
In February, Skift broke the news about an upcoming AccorHotels pilot program that the Paris-based company is launching today: selling flight and hotel packages on its website.
Partnering with MisterFly, a Paris-based online travel agency specializing in airline tickets and flight-hotel packages, AccorHotels is enabling guests to book hotel and flight packages, and they can choose from more than 200 AccorHotels properties in 30 destinations worldwide. The feature caters mostly to leisure travelers, the chain believes.
Flights choices come from multiple airlines, both network carriers and low-cost, and the booking engine will automatically suggest the best flight schedule for the consumer. However, travelers can also change the flight options, and choose exactly which flights or airlines they wish to book, with the package cost adjusting automatically.
This pilot program is launching first in France, and then in the UK, with other countries to follow.
Romain Roulleau, AccorHotels senior vice president of e-commerce and digital services, said the new service will be "massively promoted" in those markets, although he didn't say how much of a financial or tech investment this represents.
"There are lots of destinations where we can sell the hotel only," said Roulleau. "But there are lots of destinations where customers are also looking for the flight and preferring for someone to package this and, if consumers want this, especially for leisure destinations,
