AccorHotels has announced today the beginning of its exclusive negotiations for the acquisition of John Paul, one of the leaders in premium customer and employee loyalty services. The company’s enterprise value is expected be close to US$ 150 million. Accor is expected to acquire about 80 per cent of John Paul, the remaining stake being kept by David Amsellem, the founder of the company, who will remain the CEO. After Wipolo, Oasis Collections, SquareBreak and onefinestay, the acquisition of John Paul marks a Accor’s step into travel services.
Founded in Paris in 2007, John Paul merged with LesConcierges in 2015 with a combined workforce of 1,000 people across all five continents. The team works as a partner to the world’s leading brands and a bespoke concierge. The first technology enabled concierge, equipped with a proprietary customer relationship management (CRM) and data platform based on a behavioural profiling and personalisation, as well as a network of over 50,000 partners in more than 50 countries, the company offers loyalty solutions to brands in the financial, automotive, travel, consumer, healthcare, pharma, luxury industries etc.
Sebastien Bazin, chairman and CEO, AccorHotels explained, “The acquisition of John Paul enables us to accelerate our global strategy to position the customer experience at the very heart of our initiatives. Their expertise in customisation, combined with a wide range of services and technology, gives us the opportunity to boost the value of the relationships with our guests and partners and multiply the number of touch points. It means a further solidification of our customer relation through an attractive offer and a higher usage, an increased personalisation of our services.”
David Amsellem, CEO, Paul John declared, “From inception, I founded John Paul deeply rooted with a passion for service and hospitality. My vision is that we can enhance the lives of millions of guests by delivering the highest personalised service. Over the past few years, John Paul has made a huge growth across industries. Now that we are the worldwide leader in premium loyalty solutions, we feel that we are at a tipping point in our venture and we need the empowerment of a strong leader to support the current traction. Entering the travel industry, supported by AccorHotels, means much more to the 1,000 people of the John Paul Group. We feel that combining our strengths will create a game changer in the industry.”