VOYAGE INTO THE HEARTLAND

Jean-Michel Cassé, COO – India & South Asia, Accor, has spent the last decade establishing the global hospitality brand in India, creating new segments, transforming and adapting the group’s well-established formats. He speaks about the challenges and opportunities offered by the Indian market, as well as the learnings

The journey, from exploring new markets to preparing to open up after a rather tough COVID-19 induced lockdown, has been full of adventure, new learning and discovery for Jean-Michel Cassé. In conversation with Hotelier India, he speaks about the challenges, transformations and learnings.

What has your journey been like as a hotelier in India?

I have been associated with Accor and the hospitality industry in the region for more than a decade. This journey, with the support of partners and colleagues, has been a tremendous one. From just one hotel in Hyderabad to now more than 50 hotels, I have seen the group progress at every step.

In my tenure, we have launched more than 50 hotels in the region. Every one of these properties is unique and with individual memories attached. Our current portfolio is a healthy mix of diverse quality brands that also enjoy the benefit of great locations. When we entered the market, the majority of hotels were either super luxury or non-branded, with a limited presence of internationally branded hotels.

As Accor, we presented different brands across various segments for every kind of customer and helped bridge that gap in the market by creating demand, starting with our midscale and economy brands.

Our first hotel complex, with one of Asia’s largest convention centres at the time, the Novotel Hyderabad Convention Centre, came at a time when no one was talking about hotels focused on MICE. Also, our first ibis hotel in Gurgaon opened doors to the branded economy segment, hitherto unexplored. We were offering an international brand at affordable rates when both branded and non-branded properties were offering steep prices.