This year’s conference theme for the Future Hospitality Summit Saudi Arabia (FHS) is ‘Invest in Change’, highlighting the importance of the positive change that can be brought forward through the investment in time, intellect and expertise in the hospitality industry to keep up with changing times and trends to better shape the future of the industry. In the lead up to the event we asked a number of industry partners how they are investing in change.

Over recent years, the pressures and changes impacting the hospitality industry have been evolving at an unprecedented rate: hospitality leaders must offer the best guest experience possible, while facing unprecedented crisis, having to keep pace with technological development and being committed to contributing to sustainability challenges. Delivering positive change in this context is no easy task, however the opportunities present for players best able to innovate and adapt cannot be overstated.

At Accor, delivering the hospitality industry of the future is a responsibility we have fully taken to heart and is central to the activities of all business units within the organisation. One lever that is particularly key to realising this vision, has been the development of an innovative and forward-thinking global Procurement platform – Astore. Procurement at Accor is an essential component of the Group’s leadership and positions as a client-centric business partner, delivering best-in-class procurement expertise & solutions to our owner partners & clients to ease operations, optimize costs and maximize performance. Recognizing early on its holistic role, Accor has endeavoured to build a resilient and agile organization from which to deliver positive changes across sustainability and client service.

Indeed, Procurement can serve as an essential component of any organization’s sustainability transformation, contributing to meeting commitments through embedding responsible purchasing across all group activities. A strong example of where this has been done at Accor is through the eradication of single use plastics in its guest experience. Working together with the Group’s long-term amenities suppliers, Accor’s Sustainability, Marketing and Procurement teams reimagined a more eco-responsible wet & dry amenities line and the adoption of innovative alternatives such as wood, bamboo and kraft materials.

In a similar vein Accor’s Procurement platform is being at the frontline of the Group’s net-zero initiatives. This involves identifying favourable electricity purchasing agreements to efficiently accelerate the Group’s transition to wind and solar, contributing to such milestones as the conversion of Accor’s HQ to 100% renewable energy.

Moreover, when it comes to wider carbon usage in hospitality, having the ability to encourage low carbon practices is crucial to realising immediately impactful solutions. A key example of where we have implemented responsible purchasing in this respect, is through our Food & Beverage sourcing which complies with the Group’s Sustainable Food Charter. This ensures the active increasing of local, seasonal and organic sourcing, and the utilization of suppliers adhering to responsible fishing, responsible cultivation, and animal welfare practices.

As well as sustainability, Diversity & Inclusion is also embedded in Accor’s DNA, and this is another area in which the Group’s Procurement platform is able to have an impact in supporting its ambition to drive openness, prevent discrimination and promote unrestricted opportunities for all. In particular the development of inclusive supplier initiatives has been essential in allowing the Group to ensure discriminatory practices are removed from its supply chains while actively providing opportunities for disadvantaged individuals. Example of this include, supporting minority and female owned businesses in the US.

Innovative Procurement is also invaluable to hospitality companies looking to rapidly adapt to new developments and offer clients the highest value-add service possible. This has been especially true in recent years when traveller and guest needs have evolved and become more complex. At Accor, Procurement has supported hotels & owners to rapidly address these changing needs, delivering new offerings in lifestyle experiences, hybrid-working solutions, etc.

The value of our Procurement expertise is more than ever highlighted by industry challenges and the evolving global landscape. Our Procurement teams playing a key role to ensure the Group’s agility and resilience and address our hotel & owners’ business needs and context – be it working to mitigate the impact of inflation, anticipating and limiting the effects of product shortages, or during the pandemic negotiating with suppliers to help hotels adjust to reduced activity & sourcing products to meet hygiene requirements.

As was alluded to previously instituting positive change is a difficult endeavour which requires perseverance, forward-thinking and creativity across all aspects of hospitality provision. However, as demonstrated above, innovative and solution-based initiatives that focus on core business activities are crucial in charging positive change, benefiting both society and hospitality providers.