Latest news with #SébastienBazin
Bloomberg
21-05-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Qatar Tourism & Accor Explore the Future of Travel
H.E. Saad Bin Ali Al-Kharji, Chairman, Qatar Tourism, State of Qatar and Sébastien Bazin, Group Chairman & CEO, Accor Group explore the future of tourism amid shifting traveler expectations, emerging markets, and industry transformation with Bloomberg's Joumanna Bercetche at the 2025 Qatar Economic Forum, Powered by Bloomberg. (Source: Bloomberg)
Yahoo
03-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
It's not just Canadians. Fewer Europeans want to visit the US, too.
Fewer Europeans are choosing hotels in the US, the CEO of hotel giant Accor said. Airline bookings by Europeans haven't yet dipped like those from Canada. Trump's new tariffs look set to spell further disruption for the travel industries. Canadians aren't the only people losing their appetite for a stateside vacation. Forward bookings for Europeans visiting the US this summer have fallen by a quarter, Accor CEO Sébastien Bazin told Bloomberg on Tuesday. One of the world's biggest hospitality companies, Accor operates more than 5,000 hotels, with brands including luxury options like Fairmont and Raffles to cheaper ones like Ibis. While forward bookings are up as much as 5% overall, Bazin told Bloomberg, there's a "pretty strong deceleration across the Atlantic." European customers were instead choosing to travel to Canada, South America, and Egypt, he said. His comments come a week after data showed plummeting airline bookings for Canadians flying to the US. Compared to last year, travel data firm OAG reported a 70% fall in bookings for every month through September — although Air Canada and WestJet said their declines weren't quite so stark. Cirium, an aviation analytics firm, reported a 23% fall in bookings for April. For now, at least, transatlantic air routes haven't experienced the same drop. The corridor is a vital source of income for European airlines, and CEOs are staying alert. "We probably all agree something is happening out there. Globalization is changing," Lufthansa Group CEO Carsten Spohr told the Airlines for Europe Summit last week, in comments reported by Skift. On the same panel, Air France-KLM CEO Ben Smith described the situation as "concerning for us," and added that the airline group is watching developments "very, very closely." The contrast between Canadian and European airline bookings also matches the extent of political tensions. Trump provoked the US's northern neighbor with his talk of it becoming the 51st state, but his tariffs have been far more detrimental. They sparked a retaliatory "Buy Canadian" movement, with some American-made products, like liquor, removed from the shelves. "The Star-Spangled Banner" was booed at sports games. Last Thursday, Prime Minister Mark Carney said Canada's old relationship with the US, "based on deepening integration of our economies and tight security and military cooperation, is over." While tensions have also been stoked with Europe, as in JD Vance's visit to Greenland, the relationship hasn't reached the same boiling point. It's highly unlikely to stay that way for long since Trump announced tariffs on Wednesday — charging the European Union with a higher rate of 20%. Even travelers who aren't put off by American isolationism may still be wary of harsher border security. Germany and the UK last month updated their advisories for travel to the US, warning of stricter entry rules following more reports of Europeans being turned away at the border. For example, France's higher education minister told Agence France-Presse that a scientist had been denied entry to the US after he was found to have sent texts criticizing Trump. "Aviation is part of the globalization that we've seen growing in the last decades," Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury told a company summit in Toulouse last month. "We are obviously in a more fragmented world, and that's probably even more true by the day, and that brings challenges." With hotel bookings already falling ahead of a looming trade war, transatlantic travel could be next to sink. Read the original article on Business Insider
Bloomberg
01-04-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
European Tourists Start Avoiding the US as ‘Unknown Territory'
French hotel group Accor SA has warned that forward bookings from Europe to the US are down 25% this summer as travelers that feel put off by US President Donald Trump's 's crackdown on immigration divert to other locations. The company is seeing a 'pretty strong deceleration' across the Atlantic, Chief Executive Officer Sébastien Bazin said on Tuesday in a Bloomberg TV interview. The drop is an acceleration from an 18-20% decline in the first 90 days of the year, he said. Travelers are deciding to visit places such as Canada, South America of Egypt instead of the US, Bazin said.
Trade Arabia
25-02-2025
- Business
- Trade Arabia
Accor Group revenues top $5.87bn in 2024, up 11%
Accor Group reported a revenue of €5.606 billion ($5.873 billion) in 2024, up 11% from 2023, while consolidated recurring EBITDA came to €1.12 billion, a new record for Accor and up 12% versus FY 2023. This performance is due to the resilience of RevPAR, portfolio growth, margin improvement in the M&F business, strict cost discipline in Services to Owners and the development of the Hotel Assets & Other business (particularly in the Luxury & Lifestyle division) combined with a number of acquisitions (Rikas and Potel & Chabot), the hospitlaity major said. Net profit, group share, was €610 million in 2024, compared with €633 million in 2023. Diluted earnings per share rose to €2.33 from €2.22 in 2023, thanks to a lower average number of shares outstanding following share buybacks. The revenue growth breaks down into a 5% increase for the Premium, Midscale and Economy (PM&E) division and 19% for the Luxury & Lifestyle division, it said. Scope effects, linked mainly to the full-year effect of Potel & Chabot (takeover in October 2023) and the acquisition of Rikas (in March 2024) in the Luxury & Lifestyle division (the Hotel Assets & Other activity), positively contributed for €223 million. Currency effects had a negative impact of €117 million, stemming mainly from the Turkish lira ((28)%), the Egyptian pound ((32)%) and the Brazilian real ((7)%), it said. Throughout 2024, including a very strong fourth quarter, the hospitality sector proved resilient in a contrasting consumer environment. The group's diversification in terms of both geography and segment enabled it to post even stronger activity. As a result, both divisions - Premium, Midscale and Economy (PM&E) and Luxury & Lifestyle (L&L) - reported results well in line with the outlook presented at the June 2023 Investor Day. In 2024, Accor opened 293 hotels, corresponding to more than 50,000 rooms, i.e., net network growth of 3.5% in the last 12 months. At end-December 2024, the Group had a hotel portfolio of 850,285 rooms (5,682 hotels) and a pipeline of more than 233,000 rooms (1,381 hotels). Sébastien Bazin, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Accor, said: 'Ambition, discipline and high standards are the three pillars that have guided Accor's actions in 2024. They have once again enabled us to post record results, in line with each of the objectives we have set for the Group. This performance reflects the extraordinary commitment of our teams, the strength of our brands and our digital tools, the renewed confidence of our partners and the efficiency of our organization based on two autonomous and complementary divisions. Thanks to this vigorous growth, we will propose an increased return to shareholders at the next general meeting. "On these solid foundations, and by continuing to control our destiny, we are approaching 2025 with confidence and the ambition to once again deliver excellent results,' he said. Fourth quarter RevPAR The Premium, Midscale and Economy (PM&E) division posted a 4% increase in RevPAR compared with the fourth quarter of 2023, driven equally by prices and occupancy. The Europe, North Africa (ENA) region posted a 2% increase in RevPAR compared with Q4 2023, driven by higher occupancy rates. The three main countries pursued the momentum seen in the first 9 months of the year, with Germany outperforming France and the UK. The Middle East, Africa and Asia-Pacific region rebounded in the quarter, posting a 5% increase in RevPAR compared with the fourth quarter of 2023. Two-thirds of this increase in RevPAR was driven by prices, and one-third by occupancy rates. In the Middle East-Africa region, which accounts for 24% of the region's room revenue, Saudi Arabia explains the rebound in RevPAR. In the third quarter of 2024, Saudi Arabia had to deal with a difficult basis of comparison linked to religious pilgrimages. This country is benefiting from strong demand, reflected in an occupancy rate now at 70%, 10 points above the pre-crisis level.
Zawya
25-02-2025
- Business
- Zawya
Accor Group revenues top $5.87bln in 2024, up 11%
Accor Group reported a revenue of €5.606 billion ($5.873 billion) in 2024, up 11% from 2023, while consolidated recurring EBITDA came to €1.12 billion, a new record for Accor and up 12% versus FY 2023. This performance is due to the resilience of RevPAR, portfolio growth, margin improvement in the M&F business, strict cost discipline in Services to Owners and the development of the Hotel Assets & Other business (particularly in the Luxury & Lifestyle division) combined with a number of acquisitions (Rikas and Potel & Chabot), the hospitlaity major said. Net profit, group share, was €610 million in 2024, compared with €633 million in 2023. Diluted earnings per share rose to €2.33 from €2.22 in 2023, thanks to a lower average number of shares outstanding following share buybacks. The revenue growth breaks down into a 5% increase for the Premium, Midscale and Economy (PM&E) division and 19% for the Luxury & Lifestyle division, it said. Scope effects, linked mainly to the full-year effect of Potel & Chabot (takeover in October 2023) and the acquisition of Rikas (in March 2024) in the Luxury & Lifestyle division (the Hotel Assets & Other activity), positively contributed for €223 million. Currency effects had a negative impact of €117 million, stemming mainly from the Turkish lira ((28)%), the Egyptian pound ((32)%) and the Brazilian real ((7)%), it said. Throughout 2024, including a very strong fourth quarter, the hospitality sector proved resilient in a contrasting consumer environment. The group's diversification in terms of both geography and segment enabled it to post even stronger activity. As a result, both divisions - Premium, Midscale and Economy (PM&E) and Luxury & Lifestyle (L&L) - reported results well in line with the outlook presented at the June 2023 Investor Day. In 2024, Accor opened 293 hotels, corresponding to more than 50,000 rooms, i.e., net network growth of 3.5% in the last 12 months. At end-December 2024, the Group had a hotel portfolio of 850,285 rooms (5,682 hotels) and a pipeline of more than 233,000 rooms (1,381 hotels). Sébastien Bazin, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Accor, said: 'Ambition, discipline and high standards are the three pillars that have guided Accor's actions in 2024. They have once again enabled us to post record results, in line with each of the objectives we have set for the Group. This performance reflects the extraordinary commitment of our teams, the strength of our brands and our digital tools, the renewed confidence of our partners and the efficiency of our organization based on two autonomous and complementary divisions. Thanks to this vigorous growth, we will propose an increased return to shareholders at the next general meeting. "On these solid foundations, and by continuing to control our destiny, we are approaching 2025 with confidence and the ambition to once again deliver excellent results,' he said. Fourth quarter RevPAR The Premium, Midscale and Economy (PM&E) division posted a 4% increase in RevPAR compared with the fourth quarter of 2023, driven equally by prices and occupancy. The Europe, North Africa (ENA) region posted a 2% increase in RevPAR compared with Q4 2023, driven by higher occupancy rates. The three main countries pursued the momentum seen in the first 9 months of the year, with Germany outperforming France and the UK. The Middle East, Africa and Asia-Pacific region rebounded in the quarter, posting a 5% increase in RevPAR compared with the fourth quarter of 2023. Two-thirds of this increase in RevPAR was driven by prices, and one-third by occupancy rates. In the Middle East-Africa region, which accounts for 24% of the region's room revenue, Saudi Arabia explains the rebound in RevPAR. In the third quarter of 2024, Saudi Arabia had to deal with a difficult basis of comparison linked to religious pilgrimages. This country is benefiting from strong demand, reflected in an occupancy rate now at 70%, 10 points above the pre-crisis level. The Luxury & Lifestyle (L&L) division posted its best performance for the year with a 10% increase in RevPAR compared with Q4 2023, driven by both prices and occupancy. Copyright 2024 Al Hilal Publishing and Marketing Group Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (
