Europe’s largest hotel group Accor offers everything: from the budget chain Ibis to luxury accommodation. In an interview, European boss Patrick Mendès explains why the company now also offers trips with the Orient Express.
When the boss comes over, the kitchen wants to show what it can do: The meeting room at the Novotel in Munich Riem smells of coffee, freshly squeezed orange juice and croissants, and pastries, fruit skewers and wraps are stacked on a three-story cake stand. But Patrick Mendès only has a cup of tea poured for him. The 55-year-old explains that he has been doing intermittent fasting for three years. This means that he doesn’t eat any calories between 8 p.m. and 12 p.m., which has absolutely changed his life for the better. But today it shouldn’t be about food, it’s about vacation. Mendès heads the premium, mid-range and economy segments at Europe’s largest hotel group Accor in the Europe and North Africa regions.