Paul Dubrule and Gérard Pélisson

The Paris based Accor SA, one of the world's largest conglomerates, is comprised of hotels, restaurants, travel agencies, car rental companies, and restaurant voucher firms. Accor has grown nearly twenty percent annually since its formation in 1967. At the end of 1999, Accor Group earned over $6 billion in combined revenue and had 3,215 hotels with 352,941 rooms. They are the leading hotel group in Africa and Asia Pacific and most recently took over management of 27 Australian hotels. The success of the company has been due to the vision of its co-founders, Paul Dubrule and Gérard Pélisson.

Paul Dubrule and Gérard Pélisson were both living in the United States in the 1960's, each working for major computer firms. At this time, the travel industry in France was surging and there was a clear need for an increase in lodging facilities. Most of the new properties that were being developed were concentrated only in major urban areas such as Paris. Paul Dubrule decided to do something different. Noting the success of American lodging properties that were located in suburban areas and along major highways, Dubrule and Pélisson opened their first American-syle Novotel hotel outside of Lille in northern France. The success of this 60-room hotel allowed the duo to continue exploiting the under-valued and under-developed highway marketplace in Europe, and soon the company expanded to include locations at airports and popular vacation sites along sea sides and in mountain regions. This was only the beginning of what would become one of the largest hotel/hospitality companies in the world.

Mr. Dubrule and Mr. Pélisson served as co-chairmen of the company and made all management decisions and shared responsibilities together. In 1973, one of their decisions was to form Sphere SA, a holding company for a new chain of two-star hotels called Ibis. Near the same time, the co-chairs also elected to purchase a chain of roadside steakhouses, Court Paille. Accor purchased Mercure in the late 1970's. This is a hotel chain dedicated to the metropolitan business traveler with 240 properties in Europe, South America, Africa, and the Far East.

After the purchase of Sofitel Hotels in 1982, Novotel and its holdings were incorporated under the name Accor. The purchase of Sofitel was instrumental in this transformation, as these French-style luxury hotels were primarily located in international cities and business centers, near airports, and in the most prestigious tourist areas. Accor was now ready to enter the American marketplace. Beginning in 1979, Accor brought Novotel, Ibis, and Sofitel brand hotels as well as the seafood restaurant chain, Seafood Broiler, to the United States. In the mid 1980's, Accor invested in a chain of Italian restaurants, Pizza del Arte, and entered into a partnership with the bakery and catering company Lenotre. Accor also entered the travel industry by investing in AfricaTours, the largest tour operator to the African continent. With the subsequent purchases of Americatours, Asiatours, and Ted Cook's Island in the Sun, Accor expanded its travel businesses into North and South America, Asia, and the South Pacific.

In 1985, a subsidiary of Accor, Hotec, introduced the creation of Formule 1, a new idea in the hotel industry. The Formule 1 hotels were one-star budget properties marketed toward vacationing young people and travelers with limited financial resources. Also in 1985, Accor took control of Britain's Luncheon Voucher. In a few short years, Accor became the world leader in restaurant vouchers for employees.

Accor entered into the market of homes for elder care in 1987. In the same year it also created the Parthenon chain of residential hotels in Brazil. In 1988, the company launched the Free Time fast food chain, and invested in Cipal-Parc Asterix, a theme park north of Paris.

In 1990, Accor made a major move into the U.S. market with its purchase of the US-based hotel company Motel 6.

Accor purchased controlling interest in Wagon-Lits in 1992. This is the dominant railroad sleeping car business and second-largest hotel chain in Europe and its purchase established Accor as the world leader in the hospitality industry with 2100 hotels, 6000 restaurants, and 1000 travel agencies.

In 1993, Accor purchased 51% of the hotel company Pannonia from the Hungarian government which expanded the company's holdings to include properties in Hungary, Germany, Austria, Bulgaria, Romania, Slovakia, the former Soviet Union, and Yugoslavia. In the same year, Accor formed Coralia to distinguish vacation hotels from business hotels.

Throughout the 1990's, Accor developed conference centers, offices, and hotels in cities and towns under the subsidiary label, Atria. Accor also continued expansion of its restaurant businesses with L'Arche Cafeterias, L'Ecluse Winebars, Boeuf Jardinier Steakhouses, Café Route Cafes, Actair Airport Restaurants, train station cafes, and Meda's Grills in Spain. In its car-rental ventures, the company shares control of Europcar Interrent International with Volkswagen in eighty-nine countries in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. In March 1994, Accor merged its Wagon-Lits travel related business with Carlson Companies to form a network of four thousand travel agencies in 125 countries.

Dubrule and Pélisson stepped down as joint chairmen of Accor hotels in 1966 when they decided to re-organize the corporate structure to one based upon the German-style two-tier board structure. Dubrule and Pélisson continue to preside jointly over Accor Group through a newly created Supervisory Board, while a CEO chairs a separate Management Board responsible for day-to-day matters. The documented stories of Accor Group and its co-founders Paul Dubrule and Gérard Pélisson are told in the 1999 biography, Never Take No For An Answer, written by French journalist Virginie Luc. This book as well as additional information and memorabilia are available in the Hospitality Industry Archives and Library.