This year at AIME, Accor played a prominent role, as demonstrated by its very large and prominently located stand, which was built to celebrate AIME’s 30th anniversary as a successful event.

During the Accor press conference Sarah Derry, Asia Pacific CEO of Accor, said, “No doubt you know we’ve all experienced the last few years. AIME signifies an opportunity to come together as an industry to celebrate and think about the future. Meetings and events are integral to our success in cities, communities, and industry”.

Thirty years ago, when AIME started, Accor had no hotels in Melbourne, and 30 years later, there are 36 Accor hotels in Melbourne alone, offering 4000 rooms over a total of 36000 rooms, which is indeed a remarkable achievement for Accor.

In January, Accor announced the launch of a new global brand called Handwritten Collection which gathers charming and stylish places curated by thoughtful people.

Each distinctive in its own right, Handwritten Collection hotels intimately reflect the warmth and personality of the people who look after them.

As a guest, experience a refreshingly human stay— the host’s heart-warming welcome and personal touches, the intimate and stylish design – igniting real conversations and connections.

Two weeks ago, Accor opened the first Handwritten Collection in Perth, the Onall hotel. This new collection will be a fast-growing brand and this part of the world. On the 27th of February, Accor will open a second Handwritten Hotel in Sydney, the Morris Hotel.

Accor also sees significant renovations of hotels such as the Swiss Hotel, Sydney, and the Manly Pacific. Last year Accor also opened the M Gallery, Porter House hotel in Sydney, which has excited people seeing this new development in the hotel industry that relies on the loyalty of customers, partners, and suppliers.

“It’s critical that we recognise people’s loyalty. And one of the ways we’ve done that is by being the naming rights sponsor of Sydney’s Stadium Australia, which is the Accor stadium, from 2021. And, as an example, a few concerts we’ve had, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Harry Styles, and Ed Sheeran, will see 400,000 people pass through that stadium. We’ll see 180,000 people for Ed Sheeran’s two nights alone on the 24th and 25th of February. People filled the city over two nights at that stadium, so our continuous support of sports and entertainment is part of what we do, and we believe it’s essential to that end.”

“We’re also pleased to announce that we would be the housing supplier for Tina Turner the Musical.”

“Sports are vital, and we know that in a city like Melbourne, AFL, Rugby, football, and netball are important. But we’re also really dedicated to reintroducing arts and entertainment to the mainstream. So, when I think of COVID, our business was heavily struck; the tourism sector was hard impacted, but not as much as the arts and entertainment industry. As a result, we’ve committed as an organisation to get more active in arts and entertainment at major and small-scale events. The beauty of hotels is that we operate in a community and want to be a part of that larger community, about sports entertainment, art galleries, meetings, and family gatherings coming together.

Accor’s growth in Victoria includes 68 hotels with an estimated 10,200 rooms, with 46 properties providing some form of meeting and events space. Accor plans to develop fourteen hotels in Victoria between 2021 and 2025. In the works are new-build hotels in Richmond, Hawthorn, Malvern, and Latrobe, as well as Novotel and ibis Styles hotels at Melbourne Airport – 25 hours hotels in Melbourne and SO/ Melbourne.