Another move, another acquisition by Accor

Only earlier this year, Accor acquired the Fairmont chain of hotels. And as recent as last month, there was virtually a price war to acquire Starwood, with Marriott eventually succeeding when Anbang pulled out. So Starwood now belongs to Marriott - at least in principle. Shareholders vote later today on this deal.

In short, the dynamics of the hotel and hospitality industry as we know them, are rapidly changing. In a move that only underscrores this point, Accor acquired Onefinestay a couple of days ago, for $170 Million. 

Onefinestay is a site that’s similar to AirBnB. But the difference here is that it offers more upmarket and luxury segment rooms and houses. 

As of now their footprint is small and restricted to Los Angeles, New York, Paris, Rome & London, this partnership with Accor should see them accelerate their global foorprint on a fairly rapid basis. Here are some media articles on Onefinestay by Skift and by TechCrunch that we found interesting.

Although we don’t see immediate integration of the same into their booking platform as yet and am sure this will happen in the near future. It took a few months between the time of announcement and actual  integration of the same as in the case of Design Hotels and Starwood.

This investment also underlines the fact that the segment of the market being serviced by Air Bnb and the likes albeit small, are definitely a force to reckon with.

More consolidation in the hotels and hospitality space is definitely in the offing, because hotels and hotel-owning companies are joining forces to keep competition at bay. Acquiring off-the-beaten-path brands and chains, as also internet-based services, only helps keep the market more dynamic and brings a disruptive element that is increasingly becoming relevant in business.

For more on this, and industry updates, keep watching this space!

Readers: What are your views, thoughts and comments on this acquisition in particular, and the hotel industry consolidation in general?