Nicolas Perelli is the Europe director for Paris-based hotel company Accor's procurement division Astore Equipment & Projects. In September, Perelli is set to attend Hotec EMEA, an annual conference presented by Questex Hospitality, the parent company of Hotel Management. At the conference, buyers meet one-on-one with hospitality-focused suppliers to learn about new products and services and to keep up to date on emerging trends.
Perelli studied for five years at the Hotel School of Paris with a major in catering, learning the basics of hospitality, from cooking to management. He interned at some notable Paris establishments, including the historic Maxim’s. “I was focusing on restaurants at the beginning. But later on, I really got interested in hospitality and hotel management,” he recalled. He decided to focus on this segment of the industry and pursued his MBA in hospitality management, graduating from the Ecole Supérieure Internationale de Savignac in 2009 as valedictorian.
Learning by Doing
While he studied for his master’s degree, Perelli interned and then worked as a project manager for the design and technical department at Concorde Hotels & Resorts, the luxury department of Louvre Hotels Group. “I started this program that would take me to different positions and different countries to bring me to a general manager position,” he said. After earning his MBA, he stayed with Louvre, moving between England and France as he held a variety of roles in different hotels.
Holding jobs in more than one country taught Perelli to be “humble” about his job. “You get to really learn a lot and learn faster when you travel, when you get exposure to different habits,” he said. “When it comes to hospitality [and] lodging it's really rich to see how you can learn from the team and [connect] with different cultures and different backgrounds.”
After nearly four years with Louvre, Perelli joined French management company Honotel, first as a regional manager and rising up to deputy group director of operations. Those years were challenging, he recalled, as the boutique hotel segment was coming into its own and hoteliers were adapting. “There was a need for transformation in terms of product, in terms of service,” he said.
Perelli spent six years with French management company Madeho as group director of operations while the company was investing heavily in its portfolios to upgrade its properties. “I really had a wonderful experience with Madeho for six years,” he said. “We really upgraded the whole portfolio.”
Joining Accor
Seeking new challenges, Perelli joined Accor in April, managing renovation and construction projects and dealing with all the preopening purchases for hotels in the company’s portfolio. “Becoming a service provider for the hospitality industry was something that really interested me,” he said.
The position also gave him the chance to leverage the industry connections he had made over the years and help develop the lifestyle hotel movement. His team provides “everything that is needed to open a new hotel” in terms of equipment, furniture and accessories, he said, putting them in a position to develop new concepts and new brands and then help support those brands as they develop.
Over the past nine years in his different roles, Perelli said he has overseen “many, many” hotel openings, especially in the premium and lifestyle segments of the industry. “I still really understand the way that those assets work and what is needed in terms of operations,” he said. “And it's really important for anticipating the needs and planning everything that is needed for a hotel to open.”
Perelli will be a first-time attendee at the upcoming Hotec EMEA conference. He was intrigued by the custom experience each attendee gets in scheduling their one-to-one meetings. “I really wanted to make sure that I join an event that is really tailor made for my activity.”
The 2022 Hotec EMEA conference will take place Sept. 21-24 at the Tivoli Marina Vilamoura Algarve Resort in Portugal. Registration is open for both buyers and suppliers.