French hospitality major Accor is keen to manage new carbon-free hotels as it seeks to be part of Qatar’s growth story. This remark was made by Sebastien Bazin, chairman and chief executive officer, Accor, on the concluding day of the second Qatar Economic Forum, powered by Bloomberg.
Accor – which is the most firmly established hotel group in Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America and the Middle East and Africa region — has set some of the most ambitious sustainability targets in the industry, and in 2021, it committed to achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, according to its annual report.
Highlighting that he has been a frequent visitor to Qatar since 1991; he said “I want the country to grow faster and we want to be the part of it. We can do now carbon free emission new hotels.” Qatar had awarded Europe’s largest hotel group to manage apartments and villas that will house fans visiting Qatar during the World Cup, which is being held in November-December this year.
Qatar’s Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy had signed an agreement with Accor to run operations and services across its host country real estate portfolio through the end of 2022. “We have already started. Everything that needs to be done in this country has to be done in terms of protecting the workforce and biodiversity,” he said.
Katara Hospitality had last year partnered with Accor on a landmark development project including a Raffles and a Fairmont hotel. The partnership fits with Accor’s announced development plan, in which a key part was development in luxury outside of Europe. The hotels are located in the Iconic Towers in the planned city of Lusail, located north of Doha. The building’s unique design is an architectural translation of Qatar’s national seal, representing the traditional scimitar swords.
Accor currently operates six properties in Qatar across five brands including Movenpick (also owned by Katara Hospitality), Mondrian and MGallery, with nine additional hotels in the pipeline. Qatar First Bank on Tuesday announced that it will finance a Qatari consortium of investors that aims to participate in the acquisition of a 10.8% stake in Ennismore, one of the world’s largest and fastest growing lifestyle hospitality companies and majority-owned by Accor.
Present in more than 110 countries, Accor is the world’s most diversified hotel operator, particularly in regions with the greatest potential. It has 419 hotels in the Middle East and Africa or 12% of asset portfolio at the end of 2021.
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