Another big number to think about: more than 60% of the luxury division pipeline in the Middle East is with existing owners — proof that the owner-operator relationship can lead to phenomenal results. Owners, Nasser reveals, trust the company and its brands, which has led to many of them coming back. “Owners are very happy with what’s happening in Accor’s luxury division worldwide. We have the big machine at Accor with all the distribution, loyalty programme, and procurement but we also have this group of people focused on luxury owners, hotels, and clientele —because it’s quite different. We cover all the disciplines: operations, opening, sales, marketing, communications, spa, design, and construction.
“And when we take a project, it’s from the beginning… and there’s no end. We have the connection with the owner from day one. We work with the development team, and we are quite strong on the specificity and brand standard.”
Makkah, Saudi Arabia is an example he gives of both growth and owner relations, with 6,000 rooms in the Holy City. This growth, Nasser asserts, goes along with the country’s long-term vision for 2030. He says: “The biggest proof for us is Makkah. We have 3,000+ hotel rooms, and we will double with the same owner. Having a communication with the owners is not only being nice and saying yes. It’s about having a transparent discussion — what’s working and what’s not working. Owners are becoming more professional and they know what I’m talking about. They have an owner representative so we are talking the same language more and more. We are developing a lot of hotels with existing owners everywhere, not only in the region, but in Europe, in the US; it’s great to see this.”
There is always a healthy tension between owners and operators, admits Nasser, who adds that this is a good thing. “Owners are investing millions on a hotel, and they have to make sure they have the right operator. It starts from development, and our development team is really clear with the owner. If an owner wants a Raffles in a destination where we know there’s no average rate for Raffles, then we will advise them to look at other brands. We will give the real picture when we talk about business plans and we talk about projections. We don’t want to over-promise to the owner and then we don’t deliver,” says Nasser.
Delivering results is important, especially in a fast-developing market; Nasser pegs Dubai and Abu Dhabi as major growth markets, and adds that naysayers about these cities have to change their perspective. “Dubai and Abu Dhabi will still stay as number one. A lot of hotels are coming, and people are complaining that Dubai is going down. But you can compare Dubai to New York, Paris, or London, in terms of average rate and occupancy. We used to have 90% occupancy and very high average rate, but we cannot say that the market is dropping. People are still coming to Dubai. Yes, the rate has issues because of new competition and other factors. The government of Dubai is pushing big time with the airport and promoting the destination — it’s fantastic,” he says.
Saudi Arabia is another area for growth, as previously mentioned, and Nasser is also pinning his hopes on Egypt, saying he believes that the country will return to its former glory. “Our hotels in Cairo are doing fantastic but now we need to develop the tourism in Aswan,” he adds.
There’s a lot to look forward to for AccorHotels in the region, and despite undergoing a major transformation due to the acquisition, Nasser is focused on building the right teams for what’s coming up. And so the topic of ‘talent’, as Nasser and his team call it, comes up quite a bit during the conversation. He’s adamant, like many other hoteliers, that the selection of the right people is what ultimately makes the biggest difference. “We select people who can bring something to the company. I don’t want someone who can just fulfil a job. I want innovation, I want someone who will make a decision. We really take our time because we are building a team for the future,” he notes.
Nasser continues: “An important thing for me is to build a team and let them grow with the company. We have had six or seven people who were hotel managers or operation managers and they became general managers.” He laughs and adds: “Some of them have been in your magazine!”
“It gives a signal to others who want to join the group that in Accor, it’s possible. Some companies are doing this but others are afraid to promote people to a general manager position because it’s risky,” says Nasser. But, he says, if people are well-trained and efficient, there isn’t a risk. The only risk is to have a “one-man show”, he says. “We want people who can work with the team and are completely open minded. Everything is moving quickly, food and beverage, marketing, so we have to be ready. The old management style is gone, we have to forget this. We have to be open to many things,” Nasser says honestly.
He cautions that in addition to finding team players with an open mind, hiring hoteliers to manage luxury properties is a niche in itself. “It’s not just about technicalities and being a hotelier for 20 years. Managing is completely different. For the luxury side, what can be luxury in New York doesn’t mean it’s luxury here,” he says. With elements like service, training, and culture, luxury stays constant, but how it’s finally perceived is subjective — and to deal with subjective opinions of guests, the hotel needs ‘special’ people.
To emphasise the importance the company places on talent, Nasser reveals that new recruits with AccorHotels have to undergo a two-day-long orientation hosted by its talent & culture department. He adds that when people join AccorHotels, it’s about the experience but also the future. “As a company, we are growing fast, and we can provide this future. I cannot guarantee [something specific], but we do everything we can to prepare them for the next step. I would like to have more internal promotions because they are great people, and to be fair, people who are not performing do not stay with us.”
As with an interview Nasser did with Hotelier three years ago, he reiterates that having good people around him is absolutely key. He says as he has climbed up the hotelier ladder, he has understood that one cannot be an expert in everything, but needs to be a generalist. He adds, with humility: “The team around me should be experts. I understand everything, but I have my people who are much stronger than me in each speciality. This is really important.
“I like to be challenged by my team — and they do that every day. Before taking any important decision I need to listen to the team, and we have to agree. We agree 99% of the time, but if I disagree, I share with the team and try to convince them.”
There’s certainly a lot to challenge Nasser and keep him busy; he is focusing on both the openings scheduled for the next five years, as well as innovation in marketing, new trends, targeting new clients and the way they will travel, and how luxury will be perceived over the next few years.
He says that luxury is subjective, and ever-changing. “Luxury will continue growing but you will have different levels. Today everybody is five-star. The future will not be like this. There are boutique hotels, lifestyle… essentially, you will have the five-stars but different categories of hotels,” says Nasser.
“Luxury is really taking care of our people, quality, and performance. I don’t want to compromise on these. The rest... I am open to creative and funky ideas, I don’t want to build a hotel just to please ourselves. It should be about profit. If the market is dropping I’m fine, but I have to perform better than the comp-set. You have to be a leader in the market.”
Being a leader is something AccorHotels is keen to do — something its leader Sébastien Bazin asserted in his interview with Hotelier Middle East, and Nasser agrees. He concludes: “The company is moving very fast; Sébastien Bazin is very energetic. With the team, we have to be prepared for anything that could happen. We need to make sure that we have enough people to absorb anything coming and we have to be ready for the next step.”
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