Hotel company Accor manages well-known chains Sofitel, Mövenpick, Novotel and Ibis. It has more than 40 hotels across New Zealand. Like many hospitality businesses, the Covid-19
pandemic brought turbulence and uncertainty, with rapidly changing requirements and a dramatically different trading landscape.
As this was playing out, Accor switched from its previous printing provider to Brother. It underlined the need for a seamless transition, minimal down time and easy onboarding so staff could have their printing needs met without interruption at a vital time for the business.
Accor has hotels throughout New Zealand, including in major centres and scenic remote destinations. Service coverage and capability were a top priority to ensure hotels were supported around the clock. It also had a variety of print requirements, from front of house through to marketing and events, so it was important Accor’s new print supplier had a flexible range of print devices to suit.
As hotels were individually coming up for renewal, Accor faced its next big challenge - COVID-19. As the pandemic unfolded, Accor hotels needed to adapt and focus their attention to a rapidly changing situation, meaning a consistent and reliable print service was essential.
Brother created a core set of products from its flexible range of A4 printers and Konica Minolta A3 multi-function devices that enabled Accor hotels to request individual quotes customised to their unique requirements. Brother ensured in-person service technicians managed each changeover across the country, with a 24/7 New Zealand-based Helpdesk available at all times.
Brother transitioned 30 Accor hotels to Managed Print Services over 18 months, with some making the change at the height of the pandemic.
Both the changeover and the ongoing print services were executed successfully, with no noticeable disruption to Accor or its hotels. With Brother Managed Print Services, hotels are provided with full management, support and service of their print fleets. Staff can access technical support around the clock through Brother’s 24/7 New Zealand – based Helpdesk, with a nationwide network of Authorised Technical Service Providers available for on-site call-outs and device maintenance and servicing.
“Konica Minolta is a global preferred supplier for Accor hotels. So, when Brother became the Authorised Distributor of Konica Minolta in New Zealand, we worked with their team to negotiate a preferred partner agreement for our hotels."
"Hotels generally require different printers to fulfil different functions. Marketing and events make use of the multi-functional machines, while front of house need reliable and accessible machines that fit into smaller spaces. This has made the combination of Brother’s range of smaller A4 printers, and the Konica Minolta machines ideal."
"With the inclusion of Managed Print Services, both the changeover and the ongoing print service has been smooth sailing. At a time when we had bigger things to deal with, the transition to Brother has been easy. It just works.”
- Susanna Chan, Accor National Procurement Manager