{"id":105727,"date":"2021-02-22T09:46:58","date_gmt":"2021-02-22T08:46:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.voyages-d-affaires.com\/?p=105727"},"modified":"2023-10-10T12:43:53","modified_gmt":"2023-10-10T10:43:53","slug":"interview-mendes-accor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.voyages-d-affaires.com\/en\/interview-mendes-accor","title":{"rendered":"Interview with : Patrick Mendes, Chief Commercial Officer of Accor"},"content":{"rendered":"

Patrick Mendes was formerly in charge of Accor's international sales and then headed up the hotel group's operations in Latin America. He is now in charge of a new division bringing together the Sales, Distribution, Marketing and Loyalty divisions for the first time. As part of his duties, Patrick Mendes also oversees the eight regional hubs recently set up to manage the group's operations as close to the ground as possible.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The hotel industry has been through many difficult months, but with the vaccination campaigns and the evolution of the pandemic, we can expect a gradual return to business. When do you see the beginnings of a recovery?<\/h3>\n

P. M. -<\/strong> I'm an eternal optimist. Of course, I'm not blind, but there are a number of signals that give me cause for optimism.fuel this optimism<\/strong>. Where business has picked up, for example in the Middle East, China, Australia<\/a>The pace of the recovery is quite surprising. Particularly as it concerns not only leisure travel, but also business travel. Obviously, it will be some time before business travel returns to pre-pandemic levels. But it could pick up much more quickly than expected, particularly for SMEs and sales staff. We can see a very clear need among them to recreate links with their customers and partners.<\/p>\n

Is this also true of the MICE segment?<\/h3>\n

P. M. -<\/strong> It may seem paradoxical, but I believe in a rapid resumption of major events<\/strong>. The number of in-house meetings and small business get-togethers involving two or three people is set to decline, and will be replaced by technological tools such as Teams, Zoom or Webex. But at the same time, as teleworking loosens the bonds between teams, there will be an even greater need to bring them together around major conventions and meetings. In the same way, major events and trade fairs will start up again. You can't have a hybrid car show, even if some people try.<\/p>\n

We're going to be positively surprised by the second half of the year.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

When do you see meetings and events starting up again?<\/h3>\n

P. M. -<\/strong> In many companies, as well as among the organisers, there is so much frustration at not having been able to get together for a year that I'm almost certain that things will get off to a flying start. While remaining cautious, I think that we're going to be positively surprised by the second half of the year<\/strong>. It remains to be seen when it will start. Will it be in June or September? Who knows, there may even be some pleasant surprises as early as May if the vaccination campaigns are well advanced. Of course, for the major forums, it will take a little longer, but for the first quarter of 2022, there are already many requests on several markets.<\/p>\n

However, you are also banking on hybrid meetings with the announcement of the ALL Connect concept. Are these half-present, half-virtual meetings likely to continue after the pandemic?<\/h3>\n

P. M. -<\/strong> The whole thing will coexist. It is conceivable that in the future, a company with teams spread across Paris, Lyon, Berlin and London might get into the habit of bringing them together in Novotel for hybrid meetings rather than organising weekly face-to-face meetings. We realised with the confinement that the technology around virtual meetings worked very well. Personally, I've never been as close to the Group's teams in South America as I was during this period, even though I was physically present in the region for nine years. Hybrid events are already a reality in some of our hotels<\/strong>. And, to take things a step further, we are developing a partnership with Microsoft to offer an effective hybrid meetings solution that will also serve to accelerate the technological evolution of our hotels.
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