Accor is collaborating with Microsoft to launch All Connect, a new hybrid meetings concept supported by Microsoft Teams.
This new concept will enable guests around the world to adapt to the new ways of working that are expected to be an enduring legacy of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Today, 55 per cent of Accor hotels with meeting rooms are already providing hybrid meetings solutions to their clients.
Launching in April, the new All Connect concept will ensure Accor hotels can provide an enriched full experience, which resets the bar on the hybrid meeting experience.
The company hopes to see 100 per cent of its hotels with meeting rooms comply with the new hybrid meetings standard by 2022 across all brands, from economy to ultra-luxury worldwide.
By combining the brands and service culture of Accor with the meetings and collaboration technology of Teams, this new offering will enable corporate customers and meeting planners to combine physical in-hotel meetings with virtual interactions across multiple locations simultaneously.
Meetings will take place on the Microsoft Teams platform, where attendees can connect and engage virtually.
In Accor meeting spaces, Microsoft Teams Rooms and Surface Hub 2S will connect people on-site to those joining remotely with industry-leading audio and video device experiences.
People can easily present content and see virtual participants as if they were in the same room.
Patrick Mendes, group chief commercial officer at Accor, said: “The Covid-19 pandemic has caused business travellers and meeting planners to review the way they work.
“Virtual and hybrid formats have become an essential part of daily business life.”