Naming rights agreement signed for The AccorHotels Arena.
AccorHotels announced the official signing of a 10-year naming rights agreement for the Bercy Arena. This Paris venue, one of the world’s five largest concert halls and sports arenas, will become The AccorHotels Arena, reopening mid-October after 18 months of refurbishment to offer cutting edge technology and the latest in visitor facilities.
Commenting on the event, Sebastien Bazin, Chairman and CEO of AccorHotels declared, “We are proud to have been chosen by the City of Paris and AEG to associate the AccorHotels brand name with this emblematic sports and entertainment venue. We have forged this partnership with the aim of making The AccorHotels Arena a showcase for French hospitality: welcoming, friendly, and innovative.”
An unprecedented strategic partnership
This naming rights agreement, which was brokered by AEG Global Partnerships, is the first of its kind in Paris and represents a unique visibility opportunity for the Group and its distribution platform, both because of this key Parisian venue’s world class program and its exceptional location in Paris, the world’s top tourism destination and a candidate to host the 2024 Olympic Games.The AccorHotels Arena agreement is in line with the strategy rolled out by AccorHotels which aims to become not just a hotel stay expert, but an indispensable travel industry player and the preferred partner for travelers.
The 23 million card holders who are members of Le Club AccorHotels will enjoy preferential offers for events hosted at the Arena, for example, presales before the tickets go on sale to the general public, access to exclusive content and dedicated services.
Sebastien Bazin added, “This emblematic partnership with a player whose activities converge with ours serves as a powerful and unique vitrine for all the Group’s know-how. By combining Hospitality and Entertainment, AccorHotels strengthens its presence at every stage of the customer journey and offers its loyal guests unique advantages.”
Cabinet Daniel Vaniche et associes
The AccorHotels Arena is set to become a lively, welcoming, connected, and innovative, new Paris hotspot with hospitality and leisure areas – several restaurants and bars as well as business lounges and VIP boxes will enrich the visitor experience. As one of the city’s outing destinations, the Arena will also be 100% connected through mass Wi-Fi and will communicate permanently with spectators and the neighborhood on social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram…) and via a network of more than 370 screens.
The AccorHotels Arena now boasts:
- An elegant architectural venue with a friendly atmosphere, whose renovation was managed by the architectural firm Daniel Vaniche et Associes
- An exceptionally diverse program with over 120 events a year featuring a mixture of top sports events, concerts and shows;
- 30 different arena layouts, from 8,000 to 20,300 seats ;
- A 2,000m2 hall that opens out onto the city, with restaurant and events areas open 24/7
- More than 4,000m2 of exclusive hospitality spaces, including 54 boxes (compared with 18 previously), spread over four levels.
AccorHotels commits to HeForShe
Also, on the occasion of the Women’s Forum held in Deauville from 14th to 16th October and of which AccorHotels is a partner, the group, the world’s leading hotel operator, announces that it has been selected by UN Women as one of the 10 champion corporations of the HeForShe – IMPACT 10x10x10 pilot initiative.
35% women hotel managers by the end of 2017
As part of this initiative, AccorHotels has made the following pledges for end 2017:
1. Gender parity in management and equal pay:
- 35% women hotel managers
- Commitment to reduce the pay gap between men and women at the Paris head office and in three other countries
2. Sensitize and motivate male employees in favor of gender diversity, with:
- 35% male membership of internal network WAAG (Women At AccorHotels Generation)
- 50,000 male employees involved as HeForShe champions
Changing mentalities in the hotel sector As a member of the HeForShe movement, AccorHotels has also committed to changing mentalities in the hospitality industry by paying particular attention to female guests. Though the share of women travelers staying in its hotels increased from 26% to 34% between 2000 and 2013*, the hotel chain sector remains tailored by men for men.
For this reason AccorHotels is currently conducting a survey in partnership with IPSOS that clearly demonstrates that women, regardless of their culture, have their own expectations regarding all hotel segments. 90% of them consider an offer
specially designed for women as innovative.
As early as 2013, upscale brand MGallery, had developed Inspired by Her, an offer specifically tailored for women.
Sebastien Bazin declared, “I am absolutely convinced that women should be free to have fulfilling careers and be given the same opportunities as men. As CEO of AccorHotels, I know that we have the resources and capacity to bring about real change. Our values, our Human Resources policy and the WAAG, our internal diversity network, speak for it. Employees, partners and guests, we must all stave off gender-related prejudices, offer a more gender equal remuneration policy, promote more women to managerial positions, ensure that men commit to this change and, through our endowment fund Solidarity Accor, encourage projects that help train and integrate young women in difficulty.”
AccorHotels’s selection follows the creation in 2012 of WAAG, its internal gender diversity network, and the signature, in January 2015, of the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs), the women’s empowerment program upheld by UN Women and the UN Global Compact. HeForShe is an international solidarity movement for gender equality initiated by UN Women.
Its objective is to ensure that men also take a stand for gender equality. By creating IMPACT 10x10x10 in 2015, UN Women is expanding this solidarity movement and has identified 10 corporations, 10 universities and 10 governments to be its spokespersons.
Barclays, Koc Holding, McKinsey & Company, PwC, Schneider Electric, Tupperware, Twitter, Unilever, Vodafone are the nine other companies that are part of the IMPACT 10x10x10 pilot program, alongside Accor Hotels.
Tatiana is the news coordinator for TravelDailyNews Media Network (traveldailynews.gr, traveldailynews.com and traveldailynews.asia). Her role includes monitoring the hundreds of news sources of TravelDailyNews Media Network and skimming the most important according to our strategy.
She holds a Bachelor's degree in Communication & Mass Media from Panteion University of Political & Social Studies of Athens and she has been editor and editor-in-chief in various economic magazines and newspapers.
