Accor has rebranded – once again – its loyalty programme as ALL, which stands for Accor Live Limitless.

Earlier this year, Accor has said that it will be launching ALL only in 2020, but it seems like that has been brought forward.

The key features of the new loyalty programme is supposed to include:

• Introducing new premium status to reward our most loyal members
• Enriched benefits according to our augmented hospitality strategy
• A worldwide connected experience to earn and burn points across the broadest range of brands in the industry, and
• a New digital app delivering value across work, live & play.

So what’s really new?

To be really honest… I’m not sure.

I’ve played around with the new website. Apart from the usual booking capabilities for hotels and dining reservations, one other significant addition is probably the ability to purchase or book experiences and tours.

Limitless Experiences is essentially a redemption machine, allowing you to burn Accor points for merchandise, stays or experiences.

As for tours and activities, Accor has partnered GetYourGuide.com, a tour booking engine. When I played around it, there didn’t seem to be any difference in price for ALL members, or any other exclusive offers.

Also, it wasn’t clear to me if I’ll earn points on ALL if I book any activities.

On the other hand, Accor seem to have partnered some other brands to provide bonus points offers when members purchase with the partners.

For instance, ALL members who subscribe to The Economist through the dedicated link can earn up to 12,500 Rewards points on a 2-year Print & Digital subscription.

Has my earn rate and benefits changed?

In short – no.

A quick comparison on the ‘new’ website confirmed that at the time of writing, the earn rate and benefits remain largely the same. The only enhancement is to the platinum elite level, where there is a one-night suite upgrade available, which must be booked via phone.

The PR spiel earlier this year promised a new status level, which hasn’t seem to be available online yet.

Final thoughts

While Accor has successfully rolled out its ‘new’ loyalty programme ahead of schedule, I’m really not sure if this is merely another cosmetic change or do they really envisage that this is the answer to “deliver value across work, live & play“, as they claimed.

While large (and growing) companies across all verticals are now trying to blur the boundaries and move into other segments, I’m not sure if any hospitality chain will ever successfully move to deliver what the tourism industry call ‘experiences’, in a bid to boost bottom line. In a closed environment where there are no alternatives, this may seem like a perfect all-in-one solution, but realistically travellers typically like to compare and contrast, so options are always good for consumers.

Also, loyalty programmes can be a burden, as points are effectively currency. If not managed well, it can either be a huge financial liability to the brand, or become a single source of failure in terms of brand loyalty.

Honestly I’m not sure what is Accor trying to achieve with this change, but if there’s one thing I like: it’s the new ‘A’ logo, which all Accor property staff are wearing if you look carefully.