Demand in motion In an exclusive interview with the ATM Yearbook 2026 , Accor’s Kerry Healy explains how scale, sharper data, stronger brands, loyalty and AI are helping the hotel group respond faster, find growth and keep customers close
its domestic strategies, invested more heavily in local points of sale and developed a much deeper understanding of how customers behave in individual markets. The resilience of the UAE has been particularly encouraging. While Healy anticipated strong regional business from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Bahrain, local demand also proved robust. UAE domestic demand increased 16.7% year-on-year to June, supported by residents embracing staycations and hotel experiences closer to home. That opportunity extends well beyond accommodation. Dining, wellness, leisure and loyalty are becoming part of a broader relationship with local customers, while 72% of MENA travellers now prioritise experiences over material goods. “People increasingly choose experiences before they choose destinations,” Healy says. “Our role is about understanding exactly why people travel.” That means prioritising motivation over geography. Travel decisions may be driven by wellness, culture, family priorities, work flexibility or personal interests, and Accor’s commercial strategy is increasingly designed around those motivations rather than a destination alone.
K erry Healy has barely for Accor’s Premium, Midscale & Economy division across Middle East, Africa, Türkiye and Asia-Pacific, she oversees a region of extraordinary scale and complexity, where geopolitical events, climate disruption and rapid changes in technology can alter travel patterns almost overnight. If operating through uncertainty has become part of the job, Healy believes the experience of recent years has made Accor considerably better at it. The difference today is the infrastructure behind the response. Accor has strengthened its data capabilities, invested stepped off a flight when she joins the call, but there is no shortage of energy. As Chief Commercial Officer
in local market intelligence, consolidated parts of its commercial operation and built a more connected view of demand. Combined with the reach of its portfolio, the breadth of its brands and a global loyalty base of more than 100 million members, that gives the group more ways to identify opportunity and act quickly when travel patterns change. COVID accelerated much of that work. It pushed commercial teams to become faster, more local and more comfortable making decisions as circumstances evolved. “We were really prepared, and I think we had already made some significant changes to how we operate,” Healy says. That preparation has proved valuable in 2026. Accor had already strengthened
Kerry Healy, CCO, MEA APAC, Accor
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