Digital Marketing Strategy in Accor Hotels

Digital Marketing Strategy in Accor Hotels

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Digital Marketing Strategy in Accor Hotels

Digital marketing in the hospitality industry is a very vital aspect. Due to the severe competition in the hospitality industries, hotels are trying hard to discover modern ways with the aim of differentiating themselves from their competitors and conserve the enduring relationship with the guests. One of these modern ways is digital marketing. In hospitality, digital marketing offers an opportunity for hotels to reach their customers easily and timely. Hotels can advertise their products through social media platforms this giving them a chance to get more customers hence the growth of the company. The demands of the customers are always changing; hotels can meet and handle these changing demands through digital transformation hence providing the best services to their customers, thus obtaining customer satisfaction.

Accor Hotels has established a modern marketing plan that covers all marketing stages. These stages comprise of guest acquisition, allocation, the experience of the customer, and guest retention.  In the stage of acquisition, Accor hotels use both digital and traditional marketing strategies to ensure customer satisfaction. Accor uses its own mobile app, big data marketing, and web strategies to recuperate the experience of the customer. In the stage of distribution, Accor hotels use mobile marketing, customer care tools, international distribution system partnership, and the policy involving internet partnership. These are the most vital way of distributing services offered by these hotels. Through the use of these channels to distribute, Accor hotels offer sixty percent of the overall world contribution rate to the revenue of hotels. Accor’s mobile applications also support the experience of the customers in Accor hotels. Through digital networks, Accor offers fast online podia for check-in and check-out, modern in-app for the services within the hotel (i.e., taxi, room service, and restaurant menu), and faster payment platforms. Accor hotels incorporate town guides through online platforms and have teamed up with many restaurants that can be booked online. The Accor budget has drastically reduced since they started using the modern strategy for marketing. Accor hotels were spending a hundred million Euro annually in budgeting for traditional strategies of marketing such as TV and radio advertisements.

Accor has partnered with more than five hundred hotels across the world. These hotels benefit greatly from their partnership with Accor since customer satisfaction is assured and podiums for check-out and check-in are faster. The services of these hotels are advertised through digital platforms, increasing the growth of these hotels. Accor also teams up with several players at every stage of the customer journey. At the dream stage, they have partnered with a Pinterest company that helps in photo taking and uploading on the internet. They have teamed up with Trivago at the selection stage, which helps compare the prices of hotels globally. At the booking stage, they have partnered with Boooking.com, which helps in the reservation of the lodgings for the customers during their journey. They have also teamed up with other companies such as Ibis, Wipolo, Starwood Preferred Guest, and Trip advisors. These companies benefit from this association since they paid for the services they offer.

Accor hotels employ push and pull strategies for converting and driving demands, respectively. For pull strategy or plan, Accor hotels operate hand in hand with modern social media marketing, metasearch engines partnership, traditional channels of marketing, and Band sponsorship search engine marketing to market the hotel services. In the push strategy, it employs tools for large data analysis and personalized email campaigns. This strategy is employed when the customer’s data have already been collected by the hotel. Accor attracts the attention of the customers through advertisement. After that, they try to increase the guest’s interest by explaining the distinguishing features of the hotel. Then they try to make the consumer desire the service this is through the after-sale services they offer. Then finally, through the pull strategy, they try to drive the consumer to purchase the service or to purchase it once more.

Accor can greatly benefit from the dashboard of its resort brand. The dashboard is like the face of the hotel; hence can attract many customers when pleasing and attractive offers are posted on it. The dashboard should contain the information that distinguishes the company from other hotels. It may be the comfort in the hotel, low prices of the services and products offered, and even after-sale service.

One of the brand products of Accor hotels is restaurants. Accor uses a digital marketing strategy to advertise its restaurants. The mobile marketing strategy for the restaurants in Accor hotels is the receptive website for the restaurant. Accor hotels have a website that is easily approachable for its restaurants. The restaurant menu is highly noticeable and is so clear in its outward appearance. When a guest considers paying a visit to the restaurants of Accor, they first reach the business through google and look at its website. The clarity and reachability of the website make a good first impression for the restaurant.

In this time of coronavirus pandemic, the hospitality industry can enhance its earnings and growth through investing in modern marketing plans such as social media marketing. These plans should concentrate on advancing the guest acquisition, the engagement of the guests, programs concerning guest retention, and distribution deal partnerships.

References

Gheribi, E. (2018). Competition Strategies of Selected International Hotels Groups on the Polish Market. J Tourism Hospit, 7(381), 2167-0269.

Damnjanović, V., Lončarić, D., & Dlačić, J. (2020). TEACHING CASE STUDY: Digital marketing strategy of Accor Hotels: shaping the future of hospitality. Tourism and hospitality management, 26(1), 233-244.

Demirçiftçi, T., & Kızılırmak, I. (2016). Strategic branding in hospitality: Case of Accor Hotels. Journal of Tourismology, 2(1), 50-64.