Accor (EPA:AC) has extended its paid travel membership, ALL Accor+ Explorer, to 10 Middle Eastern markets including Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Iraq and Pakistan, taking its network to more than 1,400 hotels in 30 countries, Accor Plus said on October 2.
The move gives the programme’s more than 485,000 members, most of them in Asia-Pacific, discounted access to over 150 Accor hotels across the Gulf, the Levant, Egypt and Pakistan, including Raffles, Fairmont, Pullman and Mövenpick properties. Member room nights grew 41% in mainland China and 18% in India in the past year, both growing outbound markets for Middle Eastern destinations. Several of the new markets are adding hotel supply, with Oman set to add 700 rooms by the end of the year.
“A year ago, we launched Explorer with a clear promise: real value, from day one,” said Emilie Couton, Chief Executive Officer of Accor Plus.
The 10 new markets are Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. Hotels in those countries joined from October 1. The programme had already moved beyond Asia-Pacific into the UAE earlier this year and launched in Japan.
Kerry Healy, Chief Commercial Officer for Premium, Midscale and Economy brands at Accor MEA APAC, said the membership “acts as a brilliant gateway” to the group’s network in the region.
Members receive two free nights a year, discounts of up to 50% on selected stays, dining and drinks discounts at more than 1,800 restaurants and 1,300 bars, and 30 status nights a year. Accor Plus said members booked more than 3.8mn room nights in the past year, lifting room revenue from members at participating hotels by more than 20%, and that members stayed five times as often as non-members.
Accor Plus runs Accor’s paid membership programmes. Accor is a Paris-based hotel group operating more than 45 brands worldwide, from Raffles and Fairmont to ibis.
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