ALL: Here’s How to Get Accor GOLD Status Via the Shareholders Club

Intro – Accor Group

The Accor Group is a major French hotel group that includes more than 5,800 properties in over 110 countries under 45+ brands, ranging from luxury hotels (Raffles, Sofitel, Fairmont) to more budget-friendly hotels (Ibis, Adagio).

The loyalty program is Accor Live Limitless.

Since 2016, AccorHotels own Fairmont hotels such as:

• Fairmont Le Manoir Richelieu
• Fairmont Le Château Montebello
• Fairmont Le Château Frontenac
• Fairmont Banff Springs
• Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise

Why am I interested in Accor GOLD status?

The group has a significant footprint in some countries (unlike Hilton Honors or Marriott Bonvoy).

For example, in Burma, the group has 11 hotels of 7 different brands in several parts of the country while there is only one Sheraton and three Hilton hotels.

Since Accor bought Fairmont in 2016, it’s been harder to get perks and upgrades at these hotels. But we can get them when booking through Visa Infinite Luxury Hotel Collection, American Express Fine Hotels & Resorts program, etc.

Unlike other programs (e.g., Wyndham Rewards), Accor does not offer any official status match program. The terms « status match » and « status challenge » are absent from the ALL program terms and conditions.

Gold level offers certain benefits such as:

• Early Check-in
• Late check-out
• Upgrade to a next room category subject to availability

The current value of Accor’s share

In October 2020, when I made my purchase, hotel group shares were trading at about half their pre-pandemic value.

In my case, I approached it as a medium- or long-term investment.

At the time, I was betting on a rebound in tourism after the pandemic, and I also bought Marriott shares when the price was at its lowest.

Back then, qualifying as a shareholder cost me a little under CA$1,800 for 50 shares.

And get Accor GOLD status in the process!

Registering for the Accor program

I always recommend signing up for the various hotel loyalty programs before staying at a hotel. It’s free!

You’ll benefit, even from the lowest tier, from various advantages such as:

• The member rate
• Free Wi-Fi
• Online check-in and fast check-out

It also allows you to accumulate program points.

And even if it’s not enough for a free night, you can always convert them to Aeroplan points!

How to buy Accor Group shares from Canada

The Accor Group is a French group: the shares are traded on the Paris stock exchange in EURO.

Unlike CAD or USD shares, it isn’t easy to hold them directly in your investment portfolio without going through a broker.

However, you can buy ACCOR shares in USD through the « acronym » ACRFF. Actually, these are the same actions that are available in EURO but available in USD.

In October 2020, I therefore purchased 50 ACRFF shares (ACCOR US LISTED) at $26.42 USD per share.

With fees and the exchange rate, I reached a total of just under $1,800 CAD.

I am talking about investment because I keep the value of my shares, and I hope to resell them with a benefit.

Accor Group Shareholders’ Club Registration

With my shares in hand, I can now register for the group’s shareholders club.

The process is done through Accor shareholder relations:

According to the official terms, membership is open to any individual shareholder holding at least 50 bearer shares or one registered share. The dedicated form that existed at the time of my membership has since been removed: registration now goes through the individual shareholders page on the Accor website.

All that remains is to send a copy of the shares to this email: Communication.Financiere@accor.com. In my case, I sent the purchase order statement with my Accor membership number.

And the trick is done: a week later, my status was changed to Accor Gold – Accor Live Limitless.

This status will be valid until December 31 of the following year, as indicated in the Club’s terms and conditions.

The ALL – Accor Live Limitless Gold card is valid until December 31 of the year following membership. If, at the end of this period, the Member meets the conditions for obtaining Gold Status (minimum 30 nights per year or 7,000 status points accumulated during the past year), this Status is then renewed for an additional 12 months (365 days). If the Member does not meet these conditions, they will receive the Status corresponding to their activity for the period from January 1 to December 31 of the year.

Conclusion

In my case, I consider this an interesting way to obtain hotel status with a group that has over 5,800 properties.

I generally try to favor hotels from the Marriott Bonvoy, Hilton Honors, and Best Western Rewards programs, particularly because of the credit cards that allow you to accumulate points.

But sometimes, for some destinations, the choices are more limited or simply non-existent in some hotel ranges.