The ibis Styles London Gloucester Road – the group's first pilot hotel to be equipped with an entire digital ecosystem – will reopen its doors after the lifting of health restrictions in the UK in May.

The hotel will be the first Accor property in Northern Europe to offer a fully digital experience with contactless solutions at every stage of a guest's stay. It will also be the first Accor hotel in the world to combine all of the following technologies: online check-in, secure payment with Pay By Link, the use of Accor Key to access the rooms and other areas of the hotel, digital catering services with Click Pay Collect technology, contact of hotel teams with guests via WhatsApp throughout the stay.

"We know that guests increasingly seek contact-light travel and hotel experience that is easy to use, and we want to ensure they can do just that,” said Carla Milovanov, SVP customer technology services at Accor. 

“Technology is part of our daily lives and is now fully part of our hotel experience – and with this important step, we give our guests the opportunity to adapt their hotel stay according to their preferences.”

Accor aims to digitalise the customer journey in all Accor hotels over the coming months and years.