Omer Acar, CEO of Raffles and Orient Express, talks about the alchemy that transforms hotels into coveted destinations of luxury
Omer Acar, CEO of Raffles and Orient Express
Accor is one of the largest hospitality companies in the world, consisting of more than 5,000 properties and 10,000 food and beverage venues in 110 countries. It has one of the industry’s most diverse and fully integrated hospitality ecosystems, encompassing more than 40 luxury, premium, midscale and economy hotel brands, entertainment and nightlife venues, restaurants and bars, and more.
In India and South Asia, it operates 61 hotels under 10 brands, including Raffles, Fairmont and Sofitel in the luxury segment, Pullman, Mövenpick and Grand Mercure in the premium segment, Novotel and Mercure in the midscale segment, Ibis and Ibis Styles in the economy segment, and the Bheemli Resort in Andhra Pradesh.
“Accor entered India in 2004 through a joint venture with InterGlobe Hospitality, with its first hotel opening in 2006. Today, the group operates more 60 pan-India properties under nine brands,” says Puneet Dhawan, senior vice president of operations, India and South Asia, Accor. “There is a strong pipeline of 30 hotels set to join the network in the India market in coming years.”
Accor has signed 10 hotels in India last year, which are scheduled to open over the next couple of years. Of these, three properties in the premium and economy segments have opened in 2023, with three more in the pipeline for this year. In the luxury segment, the Fairmont Jaipur and Sofitel in Mumbai are the oldest properties, having opened their doors 11 years ago; the youngest being Raffles Udaipur, which celebrates its second year in 2023.
Omer Acar, CEO of Raffles and Orient Express, who has extensive experience across several brands in the luxury hospitality sectors—from Four Seasons in the US and Egypt, and Harrods in London, to Ritz in Paris—talks to Forbes India about the evolution of the concept of high-end hospitality, what makes a hotel truly luxurious, what guests expect from it. Edited excerpts: