Paul Richardson was named Chief Operating Officer, Great China at Accor Asia-Pacific in June 2012, responsible for Accor’s development and operation.

　　Paul Richardson was named Chief Operating Officer, Great China at Accor Asia-Pacific, responsible for Accor’s development and operation in Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan in June, 2012.

　　Paul Richardson joined Accor in 2005, served as General Manager in Sydney West Area and brand manager for Ibis, Australia. After that, he was promoted to Vice-President, New Zealand & Fiji. In addition, Mr. Richardson also acted as Director of Tourism Industry Association, New Zealand, and Director of Accor New Zealand Co., Ltd.

　　He brings over three decades of hospitality industry experience, including senior hotel and corporate management posts in Greater China, New Zealand, Australia and Brunei.

　　During the interview, Mr. Richardson talks about the development and challenges of Accor in China.

　　Meadin.com: Could you talk about the future development of Accor in China?

　　Paul Richardson: We are very exciting that we open our first Sofitel Legent hotel in China. The hotel opens in Xian, in Renmin Square. For the rest of the year, we’ll be opening 20 hotels in China, actually, in excess of 20 hotels.

　　Meadin.com: At the beginning of 2014, is there any new development plan for Accor and what is your expectation for yourself in 2014?

　　Paul Richardson: For me? Personally? [laughter], a lot of hard work. I think the personal expectation is …um because China is growing in hospitality industry and it is such a dynamic environment. I think I should prepare for the challenges and grow with the country.

　　Meadin.com: As the rising of boutique hotels and resort hotels in China, is there any plan for resort hotels?

　　Paul Richardson:  We already have lots of resort hotels. We have Hotel Pullman Lijiang Resort & Spa, Pullman Oceanview Sanya Bay Resort & Spa and Hotel Pullman Sanya Yalong Bay Villas & Resort. Mgallery Songtsam Retreat in Shangri-La is a boutique hotel. So we have a number of resort hotels already either open or under construction.

　　Meadin.com: What is the most lucrative brand? Why?

　　Paul Richardson: Depends on how you access lucrative. Obviously, Ibis hotels are very profitable, Sofitel and Pullman earn the most revenue and Novotel, as Accor’s old brand, with it’s first hotel in Lille France, defines who we are. I think all the brands, they are very lucrative to Accord, that’s I’m talking not purely in finance.

　　Meadin.com: As one of the world’s best multinational workplaces, how does Accor attract its customers and employees?

　　Paul Richardson: We feel honored to get such a high praise. As a French company, we take that award very seriously. We offer a lot of career opportunities. By rapid expansion, people can grow their career very quickly. As an international management company, we also have a very sophisticated training system. That is held under Academy Accor. We do offer a lot of employment for those who have received professional training or intellectual training. And we can offer both national and international career in Accor. And as for the customers, I think the career enthusiasm of the employees is well presented through their service. If an employee has achieved good training, he/her performed better in contacting with guests than those who haven’t.

　　Meadin.com: How does Grand Mercure present Chinese-style services? Could you give us an example?

　　Paul Richardson: The Grand Mercure is actually a bit more than just Chinese-style services. The style of the hotel is a traditional five-star Chinese hotel. The style of the service is a blend of French and Chinese. So it’s actually a blend of best France and best China.

　　Meadin.com: In your view, what is the biggest challenge for Accor, Greater China?

　　Paul Richardson: I think the biggest challenge today is the increasing supply of hotels. Generally, we read a lot of reports about the hotel industry in China. You know, U.S. has been operating in a travel business environment for decades. China is bringing itself up to speed in that area. So, there is a lot of supply. And locally, China builds a number of hotels, they are quite cheap. So I think really our biggest challenge is driving demand in this current environment of the increasing supply. We need to work hard not only driving demand from domestic travelers but also driving demand from international travelers.

　　Meadin.com: At present, there are 2 dilemmas for international hotel chains. One is F&B localization, the Chinese native hotel restaurants usually generate more revenue than the international counterparts. The other one is that the Chinese websites of international hotel brands do not follow Chinese traditions. What is your view?

　　Paul Richardson: Food and beverage is a very personal thing. If you have a Chinese restaurant in your hotel, then you should run a Chinese restaurant not some western style, right? My view is you should really stay true to the concept you have the restaurant. So if it’s Chinese restaurant, if you want it to be a Sichuan restaurant, you make it a Sichuan restaurant. If you want it to be a western restaurant, then it needs to have a lot of western elements.

　　Meadin.com: Could you talk about Accor’s development trend and strategy?

　　Paul Richardson: If you want to develop hotels, you should commit to this region. For instance, right now Accor is in the process of transferring the departments of marketing and design of luxury and upscale brands from Paris to Singapore. So that shows us a great commitment to this area—developing hotels in Asia Pacific. Our philosophy is to have regional-based teams, local expertise. And our strategy is driven by our developers and our guests, not by us. From the aspect of hotel network, we are developing our presence in more emerging cities in China. We also have our own loyalty programs—Le Club Accorhotels and Accor Advantage Plus. In addition we also have ibis Club only for ibis hotels. From the clubs, we can learn where the clients want to go travelling and where we can stimulate demand, which is of great importance in operating hotels. Besides, we also must focus on the supply and demand situation of China’s hotels. Therefore, development depends on the demand of the market and developers and stimulated by the will of our guests.

　　Meadin.com: Any plans for Accor’s mid-scale hotels?

　　Paul Richardson: We have 14 Novotels and 5 Mecures open today and 13 Novotels and 2 Mecures under construction. Novetel is a brand of worldwide recognition. It is probably one of the market leaders in midscale hotels. In China, we have lots of Novotels of high quality, and they represent Novotel brands very well. We are very keen to developing more midscale hotels.

　　Meadin.com: There is only one Mgallary in China, so what’s the plan in China for it?

　　Paul Richardson: There is only one MGallary in China—MGallery Songtsam Retreat in Shangri-La, because this brand has a quite strict criterion. Each hotel is inspired by one of the three typical atmospheres of the Collection. Some hotels present “Heritage”origins, places filled with history; others reflect an aesthetic universe, a style, the “Signature” of a personality that contributed to their creation or decoration; still others promise a relaxing time, “Serenity”in a natural or urban retreat. All hotels of the Collection invite guests to experience “Memorable Moments”. At present, we have two under construction.