- Accor CEO Sébastien Bazin will step down by May 2028.
- Board has begun succession planning and may appoint an earlier replacement.
- Led the company since 2013, expanding its portfolio from 13 to 48 brands.
ACCOR LTD. CHAIRMAN and CEO Sébastien Bazin will step down by May 2028. The announcement came at the company’s annual shareholder meeting, where he said this would be his final term.
The board has begun succession planning and could appoint a replacement earlier if a suitable candidate is identified, Accor said. The nominations and compensation committee, chaired by Bruno Pavlovsky, is leading the process, with vice chairman Isabelle Simon involved. The company has also engaged external consultants.
“I was clear with the board of directors and the board was equally clear with me, this will be my last term,” Bazin said. “Now, it is the time to lay the groundwork for succession planning. I will remain at Accor until May 2028 unless the board finds the right person beforehand to succeed me.”
Bazin has led Accor since 2013, when he was appointed chairman and chief executive officer. During his tenure, the company expanded its portfolio from 13 to 48 brands and repositioned its global hotel network across segments. He oversaw a shift to a multi-brand structure and greater international diversification.
Bazin told shareholders he will remain focused on day-to-day operations during the transition.
He said the board’s priority is identifying a successor with capabilities in technology and market adaptation as the hospitality sector adjusts to changing customer behavior and increased use of digital tools.
Meanwhile, investors voted against the CEO’s compensation package, with about 40 percent rejecting it, compared with stronger support in the prior year, according to Bloomberg. The company said its 2025 performance came at or above the upper end of guidance despite a difficult operating environment.
In the first quarter of 2026, Accor opened 48 hotels with more than 6,700 rooms and reported net unit growth of 3.8 percent over the past 12 months. The group said it had 5,815 hotels and 879,676 rooms at the end of March, with a pipeline of 1,545 hotels representing about 260,000 rooms.
Patrick Pacious, president and CEO of Choice Hotels International, will step down effective immediately after serving since 2017.
