"India is tough to penetrate"
In the three years since April 2014, French hotel chain AccorHotels has more than doubled its India portfolio from 25 to 54 hotels, added new brands to its global portfolio and acquired companies in hospitality and technology sectors. On his recent visit to India, Chairman and CEO Sebastien Bazin shared with BT's Manu Kaushik his views about the global hospitality industry and disruptions the sector is witnessing.
Q: How has the hotel business changed?
Bazin: What has changed is probably a confirmation that if you don't move, you will die. The pace, size and strength of digital players such as Booking, Expedia, Airbnb and Ctrip have never been better. And clients have never been more demanding of seamless journey and mobile payments. Accor, too, has never been as strong in the last 50 years as it is today.
Fairmont Raffles Hotels
