BERLIN — One of the longest tenured chief executives in the hotel industry admitted he's discouraged by the lack of leadership from world leaders.
During a keynote address at the International Hotel Investment Forum in Berlin, Accor Chairman and CEO Sébastien Bazin said it is a shame that inspiration and leadership appear not to be coming from the politicians who have been elected to inspire and lead.
“I know I am too candid, but the world is a mess. The leaders do what they can do, but 50 years ago we would have spotted four or so leaders that you would point out that you would admire. Today? Would you point out any?” he said. “I do not want to blame any of them, as leading a country is one of the toughest roles in the world. Nowadays it is also about social networks. You are on the defensive all the time.”
Despite the noise and lack of leadership on the world stage, hoteliers should not be too concerned and instead press on, Bazin said. He added the hotel business was perfectly capable of being successful if left to operate independently.
“Fifty years ago, you knew little. [Politicians] were hiding it, or you did not want to know. What the world needs [from our leaders] now is stability. The rest, leave it to the private sector. We do it better, and we do it faster,” he said.
Bazin prefers to ignore the noise and focus on the task at hand: operating hotels at the very highest levels for guests who are also eager to unplug.
“I am not on any social media. Not one. The best thing that happened to me, by luck and my age, I am on zero networks. I do not waste two hours a day prying into someone else’s life,” he added.
Promoting ESG and a Warning Against AI
In addition to the geopolitical issues around the globe, Bazin said environmental concerns and the rapid rise in artificial intelligence technology weigh on his mind.
The global hotel industry has taken some preliminary steps to addressing environmental, social and governance issues, but there's plenty of room to grow, Bazin said. He added hoteliers have shown admirable solidarity in its regard, such as coming together to help strengthen the Sustainable Hospitality Alliance.
“I have spent a lot of time on ESG in the last six years, and [hoteliers] share best practices. We can do much better. Eighty percent of our network is in water-stressed environments, and a third of people do not have access to water,” he said.
To illustrate his point, Bazin compared the gap in water consumption between different parts of the world.
“An occupied [hotel] room in the Western world consumes 500 liters of water a night. This includes the bathrooms. In Sri Lanka [and] South America, populations consumer 80 to 120 liters. We need to reduce this by at least 25%, and we know how to do it,” he said.
Operating a major hotel brand company on a global scale makes ESG more challenging, Bazin said. But he added Accor's expansion worldwide has brought jobs to people whose careers were at one time less certain.
“The more hotels you open, the more difficult [ESG] is. Accor has employed 120,000 people in the last eight months, and 60% of those never went to university and never have had a job before. We do things that people are in need of, and this is as important as the ESG piece,” he said.
While the global hotel industry struggles with hiring and retaining employees, owners and operators are keeping a close eye on technology that fill in the labor gaps and streamline the day-to-day hotel business. But Bazin said he's less interested in commoditizing the hotel industry with tech, especially artificial intelligence.
“I am super-divided as to whether [the hotel industry needs] to do so much scale, and with AI, well, I dislike tech. I do not understand it, and I cannot grasp it,” he said. “It will do some great things, but I do not want it to invade what I do or to transform Accor. I do not want you to use your phone to bypass human interactions.
“We should use those letters, AI, to stand for ‘augmented intelligence’,” he added.
Listening as a Leader
On the whole, the global hotel industry remains blessed and strong, Bazin said.
“There is flat [gross domestic product] worldwide, with the exception of India and some parts of Asia, but the CEOs of some of the big companies have done well. They know how to pivot,” he said.
Bazin's fellow hotel company CEOs who preceded him on stage at the conference included Hyatt Hotels Corp.'s Mark Hoplamazian, IHG Hotels & Resorts' Elie Maalouf, and Radisson Hotel Group's and Louvre Hotel Group's Federico González. Bazin said those CEOs mirror the diversity of the world.
“On stage there has been an American, a Lebanese, a Spaniard and now a Frenchman,” Bazin said.
As for the France-based Accor, Bazin said the company has spent much capital in the past 10 years to change its entire offering.
“When I became its leader 11 years ago, I had a clear mind on what Accor needed. I still might be wrong, but I thought I needed to shake it in terms of its business model, and now it is done. The transformation is finished, so what is interesting is what is to be done now.”
As a leader, Bazin said the most important thing is the ability to listen.
“This is why I travel so much. I love listening to those who I do not know. … I [just] spent a week listening to Indian professionals. I was fascinated. [Next] is to trust. If you learn from someone, then trust that person with the next step,” he said.
Bazin said he's confident his teams at Accor can deliver, and he's immensely proud when they do.
“They know better than me in many cases, and I am less and less needed. There is a point in which you feel serene. That has been for 18 months, and it might last another two or three years,” he said.