Accor UK Extends Its Relationship with ABC Connection to Boost Online Marketing and Sales

(London, 17 November 2009)  Leading hospitality group Accor UK has renewed its contract with online publisher ABC Connection for a further three years, following a review of its sales and marketing strategy.  The agreement means that detailed descriptions and images of its Sofitel, Novotel and Mercure branded properties, plus several Ibis hotels, are promoted directly to leading booking agents, travel management companies, corporate travel managers and online hotel and venue guides via ABC’s network of distribution partners.

Accor UK ensures that its hotels maximise all possible marketing opportunities in working with ABC Connection, through careful management of high quality content and imagery, with results exceeding their expectations.

An increasing proportion of Accor UK’s meetings and events business is now generated directly through ABC Connection’s Request for Meetings (RfM) system, which Accor UK has actively supported since its launch in 2007. Accor UK ensures that information about its hotels is regularly reviewed and updated to help increase enquiry rates, and responds in minutes with high quality online proposals to achieve the best possible conversion rates.

Stephen Fitz-Costa, Director of Business Travel Accor Hospitality, said, “We are very pleased to have renewed our agreement with ABC Connection. The tool has allowed Accor Hospitality to provide both content and images to a host of leading hotel booking agents in the business accommodation, meetings & events and leisure markets at a low cost.”

Brian Farrugia, CEO of ABC Connection, said, “We are delighted that Accor UK continues to value the tangible benefits that ABC Connection provides and has seen a good return on its marketing investment. This can be seen in terms of generating leads and sales and also in providing a simple and reliable content management and distribution solution across Accor’s growing portfolio of brands and properties.”

ENDS

Media Contact:

Alison Pickering, Head of Communications & Brand, ABC Connection

alison@abcconnection.com       Mobile:  +44 (0)7787 504 331

About Accor UK

Accor, a major global group and the European leader in hotels, as well as the global leader in services to corporate clients and public institutions, operates in nearly 100 countries with 150,000 employees. It offers to its clients over 40 years of expertise in two core businesses:

  • Hotels, with the Sofitel, Pullman, MGallery, Novotel, Mercure, Suitehotel, Ibis, all seasons, Etap Hotel, Formule 1 and Motel 6 brands, representing 4,000 hotels and nearly 500,000 rooms in 90 countries, as well as strategically related activities, such as Lenôtre;
  • Services, with 32 million people in 40 countries benefiting from Accor Services products in employee and public benefits, rewards and motivation, and expense management.

For more information visit www.accor.co.uk

About ABC Connection

ABC Connection is the foremost online publisher of data and rich content as an integrated solution for the hospitality community, promoting collaboration between buyers and sellers of meetings, events and accommodation.   Its core competency is its content management capability, delivered through data services and technology tools that simplify processes and generate corporate and leisure business for hotels and venues.  For more information visit www.abcconnection.com

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