By Thuong Bui, MBA in Hospitality Management, USA, 2014-2015
The
Accor Takeoff Challenge is an annual innovative competition where university
students worldwide are given a real AccorHotel case study to work on. The case
study is then evaluated by professors from top universities as well as
AccorHotel professionals. For 2015, the topic is Customer Loyalty Program at
AccorHotel in 2020.
This
year, the IMHI team comprised of Marie Laviolette, Edouard Chandovoine, and I. Since
April, we were given different challenges to complete. For Round 1, we
submitted a Pinterest-inspired photo collage to create a buzz about our
proposal. After we garnered over a whopping 620 votes, we were among the 16
teams (out of 164) to proceed to the next round. For Round 2, we had to produce
a video about improving the customer experience of young business travelers.
Marie, Edouard, and I roamed the streets of Paris to shoot a split-screen video
about two young leisure and business travelers who met and formed a budding romance
through their travel experience with AccorHotels. After defending our video to
a jury via Skype, we were informed the following week that we were among the
top 5 teams going to the finale!
The
finale this year took place in Paris. All teams, as well as their school
representatives, were invited to stay at the Ibis Bercy Village. On the first
day, we were welcomed by the Accor Takeoff coordinators for a light cocktail
party. The ambiance was jovial yet intimate as all the team members were thrilled
to get to know each other and make travel plans during their stay in Paris. The
finalists for the challenge were surprisingly diverse. The students came from
many different countries, such as the US, India, Hungary, Germany, Switzerland,
and France; and their age ranges from early teens to early-30s.
The
following day was the big day! After
being treated to a nice breakfast at the hotel, we arrived at Odyssey, AccorHotel’s
headquarter in Paris, where Emanuel
Baudart, AccorHotel’s SVP of Customer Expertise & Loyalty, greeted us with the final
assignment presentation: What would be AccorHotel’s loyalty program of 2020,
including data, customer experience, and [by building a] loyalty program? We
were sequestered to a private room and were given two-and-a-half hours to
answer this question as well as producing a Powerpoint presentation. The final jury
included Fabrice Tessier, Yves Lacheret, Jean-Luc Chétien,
Michael Antioco, Laurent Picheral,
Isabelle Birem, Michel Rochat, and other executives.
Minutes
before presenting our case, my team and I realized that after months of
preparation, everything boiled down to 12 minutes of presentation and 8 minutes
of Q&A. We reminded ourselves that we were proud to be in the Top 5, and we
were just really happy to be there at that moment. We became suddenly more
relaxed and as nerve-wrecking stress disappeared, we were ready to present our
case.
After
the jury deliberation, the members of AccorHotel’s executive committee,
including CEO Sebastien Bazin, Sven Boinet, and Vivek Badrinath, welcomed all
the teams and their school representatives at the award ceremony. The IMHI
support team included Cyril, Jeanne, Joelle, Capucine, Laurie, Clement, and
Nicolas. Finally, Arantxa Balso, AccorHotel’s Chief Human Resources Officer,
announced us as the 3rd place winners for the challenge. We were
absolutely delighted, as were the IMHI support team as they cheered for us as
we received our award. Afterwards, all the finalists headed off to the Sofitel
Paris le Faubourg for a special dinner curated just for us by Chef Yannick
Alleno.
On
the last day, we were treated to a surprise bateaux mouches ride by Fabrice,
Lucia, Sarah, Xinya, and Djibril. All the finalists hung out for one last time
and enjoyed the sunny weather and each other’s company. It was a nice and
fitting ending to a great journey.
Before we parted ways, we all exchange contacts and promised to hang out
in the future.
At
the end of the challenge, we were given gifts, such as the new Samsung Galaxy
Tablet, 5-year Gold membership status at AccorHotels, a special gift from Accor
Solidarity, and a personalized, handwritten thank you note, among other treats.
However, I would say the best gift was having such a memorable experience!
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