The 7th edition of the Global Meeting Exchange (GME) was organised at Montréal at the beginning of March. More than 250 guests have converged on the Fairmont Queen Elizabeththe renovation of which is estimated at some 140 million (113.5 million euros) deserved such a spotlight. Thanks to this extensive makeover, Montreal's largest hotel has succeeded in establishing the new star of corporate events in theEspace C2on the top floor of the Fairmont Hotel.
This was the ideal setting for four days of conferences, meetings and negotiations. The aim was to take stock of the global economic situation and current trends - ROI measurement, 'festivalisation' of events, 'enhanced hospitality' - as well as to identify the expectations of buyers and organisers, and of course to highlight the hotel group's offering.
This seventh Global Meeting Exchange has never been so aptly named: AccorHotels has definitely donned the mantle of global player since theacquisition of Fairmont Raffles Hotels International (FRHI) a few months earlier, changing the group's positioning both in the luxury hotel segment and on the North American market. The large number of American and Canadian guests had the opportunity to familiarise themselves more closely with the hotel group's portfolio, and in particular with top-of-the-range and meeting brands such as Sofitel and Pullman, which are still discreet on the US market.
They were also able to find out about the new brands that had joined the Group in recent months, such as Mama Shelter or - in a different vein - onefinestay. As for the new arrival Orient ExpressThe future of the prestigious brand is still rather unclear. However, the first projects are expected to become clearer in the near future, starting in the second quarter of 2018.
AccorHotels is making no secret of the fact: the group now has a global status to defend and is giving itself the means to achieve its ambitions. On stage at these GME 2018, Chris Cahill also made a point of highlighting the investment made by some 900 million agreed by the group over three years as part of the upgrading of Fairmont establishments in Washington, Seattle and Montreal.
Above all, the CEO of the Group's luxury brands has set the goal of course 2021. In the meantime, the top-of-the-range - Raffles, Fairmont, Sofitel, M Gallery, Pullman, Swissôtel and Grand Mercure - should total 647 establishmentscompared with 493 in 2018. While a number of strategic openings concern the North American market, notably the Fairmont recently inaugurated in Austinthe Fairmont Century Plaza in Los Angeles and the Sofitel Mexico City ReformaOur strategy is to focus on the fastest-growing markets.
The Middle East, Africa and Asia will therefore be the focus of the hotel group's attention over the coming months, which will also be devoted to loyalty issues. In fact, as confirmed in Montreal, 2018 will also see the merger of the loyalty programmes FRHI and Le Club: another global approach, which should be well received by international business travellers. In a few months' time, the 8th Global Meeting Exchange, in 2019, will provide an opportunity to take stock of the hotel group's rise.
