50th anniversary bash sees AccorHotels honor unsung heroes

AccorHotels celebrated its 50th anniversary together with "everyday heroes" in more than 100 hotels and resorts in China over the past week.

More than 3,000 ordinary folk from all walks of life, who have contributed largely to local communities - including social workers, volunteers, firefighters, nurses and teachers - were honored in a series of events the group hosted from Nov 19-23.

The move in China is part of AccorHotels' global celebration campaign. The group invited grassroots heroes to its more than 2,000 establishments around the world, including over 500 hotels in the Asia-Pacific region.

"The occasion was about much more than our celebration of AccorHotels' 50th anniversary: this was also a day for others... for all those everyday heroes and heroines who protect us, breathe life into our neighborhood and facilitate our everyday life," said Michel Molliet, chief operating officer at AccorHotels Greater China.

"We opened our doors, our arms and hearts to embrace them."

Among the participating hotels, Swissotel Grand Shanghai hosted an appreciation afternoon tea at Cafe Swiss on Thursday for eight such grassroots heroes together with their family members, in celebration of AccorHotels' 50th anniversary.

Their heroic stories were shared during the event and a farewell gift bag was presented to every participant at the end of the gathering.

The honored guests were offered a free hotel stay together with their family members in recognition of their contributions to society.

At Sofitel Xining in Qinghai province, a dinner celebration was held for 150 people from social services, local charity associations, schools, and fire and police departments.

The hotel also invited a local environmentalist to share the story of his personal journey and how his contributions have added to the community.

Raffles Hainan organized a cake-making session and a special themed dinner for doctors who provide care to meet the needs of people from the Lingshui Rehabilitation Center.

Novotel Citygate Hong Kong cooperated with local NGOs to sponsor a basketball tournament and hold a career talk for 50 local students.

In total, AccorHotels awarded 60 unsung heroes, together with their family members, a hotel stay for their contribution to local communities in the country.

Their stories were shared across various AccorHotels properties in regions including Guangzhou and Foshan in Guangdong province, Nanjing in Jiangsu province, Kunming in Yunnan province and Macao during the weeklong celebration.

(China Daily 11/25/2017 page10)