Accor Expands Partnership with Alibaba Group

Accor has entered into a strategic collaboration with the Alibaba Group to develop a series of digital applications and loyalty programs to improve the consumer and traveler experience over the next five years.

The strategic collaboration will leverage Alibaba’s nearly 700 million consumers across its China retail marketplaces and allow customers of Alibaba’s travel arm Fliggy to book hotels, access catering services, book entertainment and take advantage of other lifestyle services.

Payments can be made using Alipay, a digital payment service operated by Alibaba affiliate Ant Financial.

Accor will also offer Chinese consumers a hassle-free hotel experience through its “Haoke” program – geared towards Chinese travelers.

Haoke, which means “welcome” in Chinese, is a certification program that ensures Accor’s hotels are ready to welcome Chinese guests by incorporating Chinese-language, Chinese dishes on menus, Chinese-speaking staff, and other services and payment systems that meet the needs of Chinese travelers.

Daniel Zhang, Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Alibaba Group, said, “Over the past 20 years, Alibaba has formed two flywheels with one focused on consumers and the other on enterprises. Our consumer-facing business facilitates and stimulates consumption, of which travel consumption is an important segment. Through the Alibaba Business Operating System, we enable tourism industry partners such as Accor to fully digitize their business operations, from sales to marketing, brand building to member management and service innovations.”

The collaboration between Alibaba and Accor follows the success of Accor’s flagship store on Fliggy, which was established in 2016.

Angel Zhao, President of Fliggy and Senior Vice President of Alibaba Group, said, “We welcome this newly formed strategic collaboration with Accor as a further step towards the digitalization of the tourism industry. We look forward to enabling the hundreds of millions of Chinese consumers in Alibaba’s ecosystem to discover the world, and to enjoy stress-free and memorable travel with new digital experiences. By working with Accor, we will also be able to introduce a younger generation of consumers to the established Accor portfolio of hotels and lifestyle offerings.”

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