Accor and Microsoft go Hybrid

Accor has partnered with Microsoft Teams to create and offer a new hybrid meetings service called ALL CONNECT in anticipation of increased demand for hybrid formats post Covid-19.

Launching in April 2021, ALL CONNECT will allow clients to combine physical in-hotel meetings with virtual interactions across multiple locations simultaneously.

Meetings will take place on the Microsoft Teams platform, where attendees can connect and engage virtually. In Accor meeting spaces, Microsoft Teams Rooms and Surface Hub 2S will connect people on-site to those joining remotely.

More than half (55%) of Accor hotels with meeting rooms are already providing hybrid meetings solutions to their clients. Accor’s target is to achieve 100% of its hotels with meeting rooms comply with the new hybrid meetings standard by 2022 across all brands, from economy to ultra-luxury worldwide.

Patrick Mendes - Group Chief Commercial Officer in charge of Sales, Marketing, Distribution and Loyalty at Accor, said: “ALL CONNECT is another example of Accor responding rapidly to the ongoing crisis following on from the launch of ALLSAFE and the rollout of Hotel Office & co-working concepts.

“We are delighted to launch this collaboration with Microsoft, knowing that Teams has become a new way to work for 115 million daily users who come together every day to meet, call, chat, and collaborate.”

To be compliant with the All Connect service, hotels will need to meet standards for minimum internet bandwidth, minimum meeting room hardware equipment and videoconferencing software, according to Accor.

The concept will focus primarily on small meetings (8 to 50 physical participants) and customers will benefit from the expertise of dedicated teams, Accor’s meetings & events experience, and a seamless digital booking platform.

Research by Accor shows that 50% of physical meetings planned by the company’s Meetings & Events customers in 2021 will switch to virtual formats, and that 70% of respondents see hybrid meetings as an important service in the future.