Accor Hotels
2012 was an intense, eventful year in which we defined the major milestones that will enable us to reach our ambitious objective of becoming the global benchmark in hospitality. With the Executive Committee, I am pleased to present our results, review our accomplishments and share our road map for the four years to come. In many ways, 2012 will remain a watershed year for our Company, which stepped up its transformation into a more asset-light model, while delivering robust financial results in line with our objec- tives. 2012 was also a year that set a new record for development, with 38,000 new rooms opened, mostly under management or franchise contracts and mainly in emerging markets. At the same time, we pursued our active property asset management program, which is enabling us to focus on our core hotels business and improve our financial flexi- bility. These are deep strategic trends, backed by the strength of our brands and our distribution capabilities. Our brands play an essential role in creating preference among our guests and our franchisee and investor partners. We are constantly enhancing them to make them stronger, more modern and ever more effectively positioned. Without a doubt, 2012 was the year of the fast, efficient deployment of the ibis family, which has revolutionized the economy hospitality market. In support and synergy with our brands, our booking and distribution system represents the pri- mary source of our attractiveness to partners. The digital revolution is underway and driving continuous improvement in the guest experience.
These two strategic pillars will enable us to meet our ambi- tious goals. In 2012, we committed to shifting our hotel base’s operating structure mix by 2016 so that it is more profitable, less cyclical and less capital intensive. As a result, 20% of the hotels will be owned or leased, to retain control over our brands, explore new marketing concepts, guarantee the training of our hotel managers, enter
These two strategic pillars will enable us to meet our ambi- tious goals. In 2012, we committed to shifting our hotel base’s operating structure mix by 2016 so that it is more profitable, less cyclical and less capital intensive. As a result, 20% of the hotels will be owned or leased, to retain control over our brands, explore new marketing concepts, guarantee the training of our hotel managers, enter