Accor in recent months has formed an internal group to assess the possibility of a merger with InterContinental Hotels & Resorts, according to French outlet Le Figaro. Neither Accor nor IHG commented to Le Figaro on the report. If such a merger took place, the combined hotel company would be the largest in the world by number of hotel rooms.
Accor has made no formal approach to IHG, but its board of directors favors pursuing the possibility, according to the report. CEO Sébastien Bazin prefers to do nothing at this time, according to Le Figaro.
Like most hospitality companies, Accor and IHG have been badly harmed by the Covid-19 pandemic. Accor this month announced second-quarter revenue per available room fell 88.2 percent year over year on a like-for-like basis, while IHG this month said Q2 global RevPAR declined 75 percent year over year.