Accor bags wins at TDM Travel Trade Excellence Awards 2024 - Middle East

The world-leading hospitality group earned recognition for its revolutionised approach in marketing and commitment to sustainability.

Accor emerged as a winner at the TDM Travel Trade Excellence Awards 2024 - Middle East, clinching Content Marketing of the Year - United Arab Emirates for its exemplary marketing strategy, as well as Sustainability Initiative of the Year - United Arab Emirates, recognising its leadership in sustainable hospitality. 

Promoting brand identity

By collaborating with the renowned content studio Beautiful Destinations on the project, "For ALL The Travellers In You," Accor harnessed innovative storytelling and dynamic content creation, showcasing its leading brands and immersive destinations. Making a shift from conventional static imagery, the company utilised the power of video content and tailored captivating social media videos that inspire wanderlust and reinforce brand love. Its collaboration with the agency further extends beyond content creation to distribution, driving bookings, brand recognition, and engagement. 

The project’s pilot phase, which included 21 countries, presented the company’s hotels as immersive destinations, which transformed how consumers view them. Its thematic framework, "From Dawn to Dusk," emphasises the culturally enriching experiences available to guests both inside and outside its properties. This marketing initiative, which includes 67 hotels, also received support from 1,000 Accor team members, known as Heartists —300 of them even serving as models—reflecting the collective spirit and fostering unity amongst Accor team members. 

Furthermore, the content generated from this project serves as a sustainable reservoir of visuals and a compelling brand pitch tool for partners and sales. 

Having unlimited usage rights, this strategic asset ensures consistent brand identity reinforcement as it is easily accessible to global teams. It also serves as a sustainable approach that optimises investments whilst maximising asset longevity and adaptability.

Commitment to sustainability

Accor spearheaded multifaceted Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) efforts across its 81 UAE hotels, covering key areas including the elimination of single-use plastics, achieving eco-certifications for hotels, and the implementation of new breakfast standards to reduce food waste. 

Amongst its initiatives are enriching menus to feature a minimum of 40% vegetarian dishes and displaying carbon footprint labels for each menu item. With this, the company aims to limit the carbon impact per meal to combat climate change and, at the same time, allows guests to make more informed and sustainable food choices. 

To achieve this objective, Accor collaborated with 10 renowned chefs in the UAE, who were able to reduce the average carbon footprint of their dishes to 0.5kg CO2e. This curated collection, consisting of 45 low-carbon recipes, was then shared across the Accor network in the Emirates for other chefs to incorporate into their menus.

The impact of this initiative was reflected in the survey conducted in participating hotels, which showed that 63% of guests opted for less carbon-intensive dishes due to the labels on the menus and that 87% of them gained awareness about the carbon footprint of their food through this project.

Furthermore, the company’s new breakfast standards have minimised waste and optimised resource use, which serve as a remarkable contribution to its ambitious goal of reducing food waste by 60% by 2030.

Aside from this, Accor also eliminated plastic bottles by adopting circular models with filtered water systems. In terms of energy sufficiency, the company also set the default temperature in common hotel areas and guest rooms between 24-26°C, significantly reducing its carbon emissions without sacrificing the customers’ comfort. Additionally, Accor initiated guest awareness campaigns in which they were encouraged to reduce the frequency of room, towel and linen cleaning during extended stays.

Highlighting the concept of “Dubai as a Laboratory of Sustainable Initiatives,” the company established a solid foundation for future sustainable projects and positioned the Emirates as a testing ground for implementing similar initiatives in other Middle Eastern countries.

TDM Travel Trade Excellence Awards - Middle East is a prestigious awards programme that recognises key players that redefine industry standards and elevate customer experiences in the travel industry.