Accorhotels is in negotiations to acquire French concierge business John Paul.
The global hotel group said it has begun talks to acquire 80 per cent of the company, with the remaining stake kept by founder and CEO David Amsellem.
John Paul offers concierge services managed online to some 3 million clients, mostly in the banking, car, travel and luxury sectors. Founded in Paris in 2007, John Paul merged with Les Concierges in 2015, creating a company with 1,000 employees, across all five continents.
The deal is part of Accor’s long-term digital strategy and follows the acquisition of 30 per cent of Oasis Collections, 49 per cent of Squarebreak and the £117 million deal for Onefinestay.
Accorhotels said these deal mark a “major step forward” in transforming it into a “travel companion providing innovative services to travellers”.
Sebastien Bazin, chairman & CEO of Accorhotels said: “The acquisition of John Paul enables us to accelerate our global strategy to position the customer experience at the very heart of our initiatives.
“Their expertise in customisation combined with a wide range of services and cutting-edge technology, gives us the opportunity to boost the value of the relationships with our guests and partners and multiply the number of touch points.
“It means a further solidification of our customer relation through an attractive offer and a higher usage, an increased personalization of our services thanks to a deeper customer profiling with non-hotel driven information, and the strengthening of our CRM with affinity data.
First half results
Following the John Paul deal Accorhotels published its first-half financial results. They showed that despite being “shaken” by crises across several key markets including France and Brazil, the group said it showed “remarkable resilience”.
Revenue was up 2 per cent to €2.59 million, EBIT down 4 per cent to €239 million and net profit, group share of €74 million.
Hertz partnership
Car rental firm Hertz has partnered with Accorhotels to offer special offers and exclusive benefits.
Le Club Accorhotels and Hertz Gold Plus Rewards members now benefit from the following:
- A 10 per cent discount on pre-paid and non-pre-paid Hertz Classic retail rates worldwide
- One additional driver at no extra cost
- 900 Hertz Gold Plus Rewards points (enough for one Reward Rental Day) upon enrolment
- Complimentary one-car class upgrades, depending on Le Club Accorhotels member status
- Five Le Club Accorhotels points per Euro spent with Hertz until the end of August (usually three points per Euro spent)
- Status matching between Hertz Gold Plus and Le Club Accorhotels memberships (Silver, Gold and Platinum tiers)
The new benefits are available to Le Club Accorhotels members in Europe, Asia-Pacific, Africa, Middle East, Latin America and Canada.
The partner agreement runs until March 2019.
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