Tariq Valani is senior vice president of global support services at Accor where he is responsible for the support of technology, sales, distribution and loyalty solutions to the company’s corporate and regional offices as well as to its properties worldwide. Prior to moving into his current job in 2022, he held senior-level technology positions within Accor as well as with Fairmont Hotels & Resorts and Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts. He serves on the Global Board of Directors of Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (HFTP).
Valani’s most recent initiative at Accor was the establishment of the Global Support Services department, an 18-month project that resulted in a complete overhaul of the company’s support landscape. Prior to the department being formed, support services were managed by eight hubs, with each one having its own operating model, its own processes and its own helpdesk solutions. Valani and his team aligned all of the company’s global support processes and merged the service desks into one unit, which was no small feat. “It required a lot of change management and included the onboarding of teams from Sao Paolo to Sydney to ensure that 24/7 service was available in eight languages,” he said.
Establishing the new department also required several moving parts to come together—people, processes and platform. From a people perspective, Valani found a partner in India-based ITC Infotech. “They provided outsource teams as well as the flexibility to make the project a success,” he said, adding that his own internal teams were invaluable.
From a processes perspective, he wanted to make sure the company’s soft skills were at a level where guest satisfaction would always be the top priority. He partnered with HIT Global, the parent company behind online training program Humanising IT, which challenges traditional process-driven frameworks and strives for more human-centered design. “It was the first time I’d found a partner that put customers at the center of IT service management, driving what we do with empathy to achieve satisfaction.”
And from a platform perspective, Valani worked with ServiceNow, which fulfilled his IT service management needs and more, he said. “Having a single platform for all support teams worldwide allowed for standardized processes as well as the ability to have several teams participate in the incidentto-resolution process chain.”
For 2025 and beyond, Valani is looking at ways in which Accor can most effectively utilize artificial intelligence. “One of our key focuses will be to provide users with access to a better self-service offering,” he concluded. “This will lead to more efficient delivery of support services and will reduce the time to resolution as well as the number of tickets received by our support teams.”
TARIQ’S INDUSTRY PREDICTIONS:
HOTELS WILL INCREASINGLY DEPLOY AI AND MACHINE LEARNING. “THIS TECHNOLOGY NOT ONLY HELPS CREATE MORE PERSONALIZED GUEST EXPERIENCES BUT ALSO AUTOMATES ROUTINE TASKS SO THAT STAFF CAN FOCUS ON HIGHER-VALUE INTERACTIONS.”
CONTACTLESS TECHNOLOGY WILL CONTINUE TO THRIVE. “TOUCHLESS TECHNOLOGY, SUCH AS MOBILE CHECK-IN AND KEYLESS ENTRY SYSTEMS, ENHANCES SAFETY AND CONVENIENCE," HE SAID. “SIMILARLY, MOBILE PAYMENTS STREAMLINE TRANSACTIONS AND REDUCE WAIT TIMES.”
HOTELS WILL LEVERAGE TECHNOLOGY FOR SUSTAINABLE HOSPITALITY. “SOLUTIONS FOR WASTE MANAGEMENT, RECYCLING, ENERGY CONSERVATION AND SUSTAINABLE FOOD SOURCING WILL BE USED TO REDUCE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT AND CUT OPERATIONAL COSTS.”
