Accor's Patrick Mendes and Yigit Sezgin Commend The UAE's Fast Recovery From The COVID-19 Crisis Accor Hotels Group Chief Commercial Officer Patrick Mendes and Chief Commercial Officer for the Middle East and Africa Yigit Sezgin on keeping the well-known hospitality of Accor Hotels safe and attractive for tourists and locals.

The Paris-headquartered global hospitality company Accor Hotels is determined to get people around the world to enjoy travelling again.

Patrick Mendes, Group Chief Commercial Officer, Accor Hotels, recently visited Dubai because, as he states, the UAE has been one of the most successful destinations when it comes to overcoming COVID-19 challenges, and due a series of important events such as Expo 2020 Dubai, it has been attracting visitors from all over the world.

With over 35 brands in the Middle East and Africa, Accor currently has a portfolio of 300 properties and over 65,000 keys in the region, covering all segments running from economy to luxury, and in this video interview Mendes and Yigit Sezgin, Chief Commercial Officer for the Middle East and Africa, Accor, explain why their results in the region, and especially in the UAE, demonstrate one of the strongest recoveries across the world's hospitality landscape.

"When you go through a crisis like the one we just did, you have two ways of looking at it," says Mendes. "You either diminish your footprint, or you make the best out of the situation by going back to the fundamentals and start helping everyone, from customers to your team, to overcome it. We have 42 brands in 130 countries and we decided not to close any of our properties in any part part of the world. We always stay on the ground to help our clients, owners, franchises, local population to face and overcome the challenging situation. That is exactly what we did in the UAE and the whole of the Middle East too."

Check out the video to learn more.

Related: Accor's MEA CEO Mark Willis On How His Hospitality Brand Handled The Impact Of The COVID-19 Pandemic