Sebastien Bazin, CEO of AccorHotels, likes to think big and outside the proverbial box. His company has made a foray into home-sharing through Onefinestay, sold a majority of its holdings in AccorInvest and recently acquired Mövenpick Hotels for $582 million. If we can expect anything from AccorHotels, it’s the unexpected, but Bazin said the company may be looking to stay in its lane in 2018, fortifying the businesses it has worked to build over the past several years. Well, unless he’s able to pull off one last big idea in a few months’ time.
At the International Hotel Investment Forum in Berlin, Bazin discussed expansion plans in India, its undersized presence in the U.S. and his previous assertion that Airbnb has “lost its soul.” Mind you, he doesn't consider this an insult, and he's confident you will agree.