INTERVIEW: SARAH DERRY
Embrace
opportunities: Just jump in!
Sarah Derry, CEO Accor
By Mandy Clarke, Editor
Sarah, thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to talk to me and congratulations on your new role as Accor Pacific CEO, which I understand commenced in February. What kind of year is 2022 shaping up to be for the sector? It is an exciting time for the tourism industry and what I am most pleased to see are signs of recovery, as people return for events and vacations. Corporate business is making a comeback with increasing numbers of conferences, meetings, and events. It is great to see our teams grow and get back to doing what they do best, which is working as a team and taking care of our guests. Above all, it has been incredible to get back out into our hotels, to visit our teams, and meet with our owners and community partners.
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AccomNews - Winter 2022
Accor has a lot of Queensland development plans, what are you most excited about?
Tell us about your first foray into hospitality, what attracted you to the industry?
There are a lot of great hotel brands and investment coming into Queensland, from Mövenpick Brisbane to Mondrian Gold Coast. Queensland will see a lot of key Accor hotel brands entering the state.
You moved to Queensland as a child, do you still consider Queensland home? I spent many fantastic years growing up in Queensland and I consider it my first home. I travel back to Townsville at least once a year to see friends and family and to holiday there. I was born in Sydney and my daughters were born here, so I feel like I have two homes, one in Queensland and one in Sydney. My best childhood memories are always being in the water and enjoying the outdoors.
I would say that hospitality chose me, the reason I say that is when I left Queensland and arrived in Sydney, I was offered my first full-time job working in a hotel in food and beverage operations and I loved it. In hospitality I have had so many great opportunities that I decided to stay in the industry, eventually I decided that I wanted to focus on people and the difference they can make in business.
Now with over 30 years’ experience in the sector what still excites you? Hospitality is such an exciting industry because it is constantly evolving and there's always something new and innovative happening. From new brands to new expectations from our customers, to engaging our team members, the landscape is ever changing.
MANAGEMENT
What are the biggest changes you’ve seen due to COVID? One of the biggest changes that has been created by the pandemic is the change to ways of working for our teams. How we approached this has been probably one of the most exhilarating employment developments of the last decade and has also spurred us forward. Working closely with our teams we developed Work Your Way, an agile and creative solution to increased flexibility, ways of working, personalised benefits, and new ways of hiring. I am also excited by the rise in lifestyle brands and the reimagination of food and beverage offerings in hotels.
What has been the biggest challenge you’ve faced in your career? I think the biggest challenge for many people in our industry has been navigating around the issues created by the pandemic.
