Courtesy: Danielle Hess | Courtesy: dhess@hotelnewsnow.com | News Source: hotelnewsnow.com

PHOENIX—Accor has had an incredible year for growth in the Americas and is particularly pleased with hitting 32% growth in North America, according to Heather McCrory, CEO of Central and North America for the company.

During a video interview with Hotel News Now at The Lodging Conference, McCrory said Accor added 100,000 rooms and 600 new hotels on a global scale and has 22 hotels in the pipeline in North America that will bring the company to almost 140 hotels in the region.

The addition of 21c Museum Hotels, which sits under Accor’s M Gallery brand, and a partnership with SBE is expected to really push the company’s agenda in North America for lifestyle brands, she said.

Watch the video below to hear more from McCrory on Accor’s priorities in the Americas.

Brand expansion

Accor has 39 brands, and the “majority of what we need to do now is integrate” in the Americas, McCrory said.

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Among new hotels opening over the next 18 months will be the Sofitel Mexico Reforma in Mexico City, which is the first Sofitel to open in 10 years in North America, she said.

Loyalty

Accor’s loyalty platform is another priority, McCrory said.

The current program, Le Club AccorHotels, is merging with a new program, called ALL, or Accor Live Limitless, she said. The program will roll out in December.

“Because we have 39 brands and because we have almost 5,000 hotels, we’re (moving) all of them under one umbrella,” she said. “The opportunity to stay at different hotels and earn (points) is going to be phenomenal, and obviously the opportunity to earn them and use at different hotels (is a perk).”

Women in leadership

Heather McCrory, CEO of Central and North America at Accor, received the inaugural award from The Castell Project, recognizing a woman in leadership in the hospitality investment arena, during The Lodging Conference. (Photo: Dana Miller)

During the first day of The Lodging Conference, McCrory received the first award honoring a woman in leadership in the hospitality investment arena from The Castell Project.

In her acceptance speech, McCrory emphasized the need for more women in leadership roles within the industry.

“We have to have more women on the slate,” she said. “Hire the best person, whoever that may be, but right now we don’t have an equal number of women on the slate.

“I ask all of you to take a little time in your organizations to have a look at that. I know we’re looking at it seriously at Accor, and I am hoping more and more we’ll get 50/50 in all areas of our organization in terms of equality.”