A 15 PER CENT FALL in international meetings business has been offset by an increase in domestic meetings, according to Accor, the French hotel group whose brands include Sofi tel, Novotel, Mercure and Ibis.
Patrick Mendes, senior vice president global sales, says that meeting organisers in London, for example, are choosing the UK countryside, while Parisian companies are opting for destinations such as Cannes.
"Videoconferencing is a challenge, so we are trying to promote cheaper packages for delegates and develop online services," he adds. Meetings are getting shorter and seeing fewer attendees - Accor has seen a 20-25 per cent drop in participants. Rates are also falling due to a price war and clients are trading down. However, Mendes remains upbeat. "Accor is in a good position - more than 80 per cent of our hotels have been refurbished over the last four years, and as our portfolio ranges from five-star to one-star, when clients trade down, we have a property for them." The group, which has almost 4,000 hotels worldwide and approaching half a million rooms, has openings this year in Liverpool, Dubai and Bangkok among others.