INTERNATIONAL REPORT—Accor and Marriott have entered into partnerships with technology companies designed to enhance their operations. Here’s a look:
Accor and HRS Sign Multi-Year Strategic Agreement
Accor has entered into a multi-year agreement with HRS, an end-to-end technology provider for business travel.
Under terms of the agreement, HRS’ roster of global corporate clients will make use of enhanced direct connect technology to access the most competitive rates and flexible terms from Accor properties across the spectrum of hotel categories.
Business travelers who are members of Accor’s loyalty program, Le Club AccorHotels (which will be enhanced by the end of the year under the new name of ALL-Accor Live Limitless) will also see value from this deal, as they can gain points and rewards when booking via HRS corporate channels.
“HRS has made tremendous strides in expanding its direct relationships with the multi-national and regional corporations Accor seeks to grow volume with,” said Markus Keller, SVP of global sales, Accor. “Their data-driven mindset increasingly marries with our approach to working with corporations, and we’re confident that this newly defined level of engagement with HRS will help drive valuable business travelers to our hotels around the world.”
“Accor’s focus on adding quality four- and five-star properties in emerging markets only accentuates their leadership status, particularly in Asia-Pacific, Africa, Europe and South America,” said Robert Hornman, SVP, HRS EMEA. “Beyond working more cohesively during the hotel sourcing process, we leverage our direct connect pipeline with Accor to drive more efficient sharing of Accor’s rates, amenities and corporate-friendly contract terms to managed travel programs and business travelers.”
Onyx CenterSource and Accor Broaden Partnership
Onyx CenterSource, a provider of B2B payments and business intelligence solutions to the hospitality industry, has expanded of its partnership with Accor.
The partnership began in 2010, when Accor chose Onyx CenterSource’s CommPay solution to streamline and optimize the group’s commission payment process.
Since the beginning of the partnership, Accor has implemented CommPay at more than 4,000 hotels across its portfolio, increasing the commission payment ratio to its travel partners to more than 99%. “We rely on Onyx expertise to provide our hotels an end-to-end commission payment and insights solution that increases efficiency and guarantees strong relationships with our agency partners. Accor is pleased to offer Onyx solutions to its new brands to ensure the same excellent results,” said Ronny Burchhardt, VP, digital hotel experience, Accor.
“Accor has seen tremendous growth throughout our partnership, including the acquisitions of Fairmont, Raffles and Swissôtel, and we’ve continued to expand our services alongside them,” said Onyx CenterSource CEO Mark Dubrow. “As their needs evolve with their continued growth, we expect to enable deeper levels of market and partner insights that they need to continue their upward trajectory.”
Marriott and FreedomPay Partner for Commerce Technology
Marriott International has entered into an agreement to adopt FreedomPay’s commerce platform to be used across Marriott’s lodging portfolio beginning in the U.S. and Canada and expanding into other global regions.
“FreedomPay’s global reach is unique in the world of commerce and provides leading enterprises with a highly available and scalable single, unified platform across all continents versus managing a patchwork of disparate providers,” said FreedomPay CEO/Founder Tom Durovsik.
The FreedomPay Commerce Platform supports merchants and enterprises worldwide merging security, identity, payments, loyalty and advertising with proprietary data driven solutions.
“Marriott is committed to technology that facilitates unmatched customer service across the globe,” said Val Bauduin, controller/chief accounting officer, Marriott. “We are excited to work with FreedomPay to drive innovation, speed to market and scale toward our goal of a seamless customer experience.”
“The FreedomPay Commerce Platform is transformational for enterprises dealing with a rapidly changing payments landscape and focused on delivering best-in-class capabilities today and in the future,” Durovsik added. “Our combined drive for innovation and commitment to technological advancement represents the future of hospitality and lodging.”
