On the occasion of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, Stéphanie Dartevelle, Vice President in charge of sponsorship for Europe and North Africa at ACCOR, explains the sponsorship strategy of the renowned French hotel group, which is present in over 100 countries. Speaking to Cynthia Illouz, founder of The Women’s Voices, Stéphanie Dartevelle details the connection between a large company and the athletes it sponsors.
You have formed a high-level team called the “ALL Champions Family,” which includes female athletes. How did you choose these athletes?
The way we chose these athletes is very simple: we wanted equality between five men and five women. Today, there are 10 of them. We wanted this parity.
This “ALL Champions Family” represents 180 titles that we wanted to showcase through these athletes. We wanted athletes who align with ACCOR’s values. Accessibility is at the heart of what we wanted to achieve: a family that is representative of our values, with 50% men and 50% women.
What are the profiles of your athletes?
Among these women, we have important athletes like Marie Patouillet, a champion in para-cycling on the track and road. Amandine Buchard is a great judoka. They defend rights that align with ACCOR’s values, such as LGBT rights. Carlota Dudek is a skateboarder, representative of the new sports in these Olympic and Paralympic Games.
It was important to rely on young athletes. Thu Kamkasomphou is the most decorated French athlete in para table tennis. She has also brought us a lot of value in terms of transmission and the desire to truly raise awareness among our employees and clients about the values of athletics.
What is the “ALL Champions Family” and what are its activities?
This “ALL Champions Family” represents family. It’s really in the DNA of the ACCOR group, which is a family of artists because we do things with heart.
They represent 180 titles in their various competitions. They are ambassadors for both our clients and our employees. Depending on their values, we have involved them in exceptional events for our loyalty program members. We have created “limitless experiences,” which means our clients can earn points and access events.
Some of them have been able to spend an evening with Amandine Buchard, while others cycled at the Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines Velodrome with Marie Patouillet. Employees have been able to play handball with Nikola Karabatic, and others played wheelchair tennis with Michaël Jérémiasz.
How has this partnership been received?
Very well! Some of our employees will be able to run with the torch, others will run the marathon or the 10 km. Some are also volunteers for Paris 2024: 150 of our employees will participate in the Paralympic opening ceremony and march on Place de la Concorde.
We will welcome them as they get off the buses, either to help them or to keep them entertained with various activities. We will welcome them, refresh them with cool towels, for example. So, the whole concept of this partnership is really to accelerate this dimension of diversity and inclusion.
Some of these athletes help you with disability challenges. What measures have you put in place?
We have two athletes who have helped us and have been our ambassadors, like Michaël Jérémiasz, with whom we have been working for seven years now. Hakim Arezki, a blind football player, is also an employee at Pullman Tour Eiffel.
These two people are ambassadors who educate our employees so that we can welcome everyone into our hotels. When we know that 80% of disabilities are invisible, it’s this approach that enables us to welcome everyone into our hotels.
With Michaël and Hakim, we have conducted training sessions, and we have had employees try out these sports: blind football, wheelchair tennis, etc. This helps develop the right attitude to avoid stigmatization.
#5000VOICES is an initiative made possible thanks to our partners Engie, Accor, Transdev, The RAJA Foundation, Aurel BGC, Veolia, and Mastercard.
Find the full interview in podcast format on SoundCloud: