Accor CEO Gives an AI Warning and Talks Strategy for the Hotel Group

Days after telling shareholders that his term ending in May 2028 would be his last, Accor chairman and CEO Sébastien Bazin laid out his closing agenda: overhaul operations as artificial intelligence absorbs routine work, push into growth markets like India and sub-Saharan Africa, and continue remaking the company’s luxury and lifestyle brands.

Bazin has led Accor since August 2013 and grown its stable from 13 brands to about 45. He framed the departure as routine.

“I’ve been in the job for 13 years, and my job is to prepare for the future,” he said in a Skift interview at the NYU IHIF conference, adding that 15 years “is plenty.”

Asked what he wants to accomplish before he departs, Bazin said he wants Accor to deliver double-digit EBITDA growth on par with its U.S. peers — a target years in the making.

Accor has agreed to sell its stake in Essendi, which owns and operates many of its hotels, for up to €975 million ($1.1 billion). The com