Ladies and gentlemen, good morning and thank you so much for joining us for this year's AGM concerning the results for the year 2025. We have a lot to talk about, but beforehand, I'd like to say a few words to you about the company's business. I propose that we take a look at what's been happening over the last 12 months, well, the last 12 months of 2025, and how better to do that than by video.
2025 was powered by emotion, carrying us across continents, inspiring new stories, and creating moments to remember. We ventured boldly into new territories, opening doors wide, and pushing hospitality's boundaries ever wider. Along the way, new icons rose, unveiling new horizons as the next chapter of our story took shape. Bringing life to this journey, our Heartists. Together, we learn and grow, we share, we host, and we carry the spirit of generosity into every community we touch. A deep sense of belonging spread across our global community. As we crossed milestones and celebrated passion, we came together, sparking conversations, welcoming new circles of discovery, and creating moments that transcended borders, inviting the world to experience our art of hospitality. Guided by purpose, we stood for nature, safeguarded heritage and culture, and showed that hospitality can be a force for inclusion.
Innovation opened new pathways, connecting people, places, and possibilities, and empowering our Heartists towards the future of hospitality. Through it all, every step revealed a new horizon. Every encounter became a destination, shaping a journey that continues to unfold.
Thank you. I love the term powered by emotion. Besma, speaking of emotions, could you tell us about the legal formalities for today?
Thank you, Sébastien. Ladies and gentlemen, dear shareholders, good morning and welcome to today's AGM. I'm going to begin with the bureau, which will be comprised of Sébastien Bazin, who will Chair the AGM, Ugo Arzani, who representing Qatar Investment Authority, and David Mandefield, representing Kingdom Hotel Limited. The gentlemen will act as tellers for today's AGM. This is a role that is played by the shareholders present, representing either by themselves or in proxies, the largest number of shares. I will be acting as Secretary for today's AGM. As is the case every year, this AGM is a webcast. It will also be available on replay on our website.
The last 30- minutes of today's AGM will be devoted to questions and answers, including questions sent in by shareholders before the AGM, as well as questions raised directly, either from shareholders in the room or by people following us online. This AGM gave rise to a Notice of Meeting and a convocation published in the Legal Bulletin, respectively on the 22nd of April and 6th of May 2026. The notice of meeting was also published in the Legal Gazette on the 6th of May 2026. At your disposal here on the desk, we have all the documents and reports submitted for the purposes of the AGM or as provided by law. So far as they've been available to shareholders before the AGM, and in order to leave more time for a discussion, we propose not to read these documents.
The documents to which shareholders were entitled have also been at your disposal at the head office of the Group. The same documents have been sent to shareholders who so requested. Finally, concerning the attendance sheet, this is currently being totaled, but we know as of now that more than one-quarter of the share capital is represented, as a result of which the AGM can duly conduct its business. I also propose to dispense the bureau with a reading of the agenda, which has been sent to you in advance. In a few minutes, I will tell you about the proposed draft resolutions. We did not receive any request for draft resolutions to be included from any shareholders. I'd also like to draw your attention to an important change concerning how shareholders are convened to the AGM.
In compliance with law, the company for all AGMs from the 1st of July 2026 can send out convocations by electronic email without any prior authorization. Next year, we'll be using this to check your email addresses. The documents accompanying your convocation will no longer be sent by post but will be available online on the company's website. This switch over to electronic convocation will enable you to receive your documents more rapidly and give you access to all documentation available on a digital platform, thus reducing our use of postal services and the consumption of paper.
Thank you, Besma. Martine, I think it's up to you to tell us about the financial results for 2025. Thank you.
Thank you, Sébastien. Thank you, Besma. Dear shareholders, good morning to you all. I'm very happy to be with you again to present the Group's results.
I'm going to begin with the highlights of 2025. In a geopolitical context that has been unstable with the high volatility of currencies, we have for the third consecutive year produced results that are in line with our medium-term commitments, thanks to the very good performance of our business in the second half year and good control of our costs. We ended 2025 with a very good business level in Q4. RevPAR reached 7%, which is our best quarter of 2025 for both divisions. This performance was once again driven by prices and the occupation rate improved by 1%. This enabled RevPAR to post a strong growth of 4.2% higher than the upper end of the bracket of our guidance, thus confirming the advantages of our geographic and sectoral diversification. Revenue growth of our hotels was driven by business clients, also leisure clients. They proved to be very resilient.
The net unit growth accelerated to 3.7%, in line with our forecasts, with a record number of openings at 24,000 rooms, no less, in Q4. The pipeline progressed at a sustained pace by over 10%, with signatures up 28%. That is a sliding annual rate, which confirms our ability to increase the net unit growth in the medium term. This is part of our medium-term growth. The revenue of management and franchise rose 6% at constant exchange rates by comparison with the previous year, reaching a total of EUR 5.64 billion. Recurring EBITDA rose 13% at constant exchange rates, rising to EUR 1.2 billion, which is above the higher end of the bracket of our guidance. The operational leverage was solid with an improvement of 100 basis points in our EBITDA margin. We also saw our reported EPS rise by 16%. That's our adjusted earnings per share.
Available recurring net cash flow reached EUR 632 million. That's a conversion rate of 53%. Finally, another year of high returns to shareholders, totaling EUR 743 million, which is the equivalent of a yield of 6.5%. Let's now move on to the P&L. We decided that from 2025, we would introduce two new indicators, the adjusted net income and adjusted earnings per share, adjusted EPS, because we feel that these indicators give you a more coherent, more legible, understandable understanding of our performance. The adjusted elements are as follows. Other income and expenses, share of profit and loss arising from minority shares, in S&D, which is mainly the losses and gains on disposal of assets. In 2025, we achieved an adjusted net income of EUR 504 million, up 19% on the previous year, and an adjusted EPS of EUR 1.84, that's euro per share, of course, up 16%.
In 2024, we had a calendar that was favorable to the payment of our hybrid coupons, which had an impact of 8 basis points on the earnings per share of 2025. Let me now draw your attention to the highlights of the profit and loss account. Other income and expenses totaling a loss of 63%, included the booking of a provision for commitments made in a joint venture, but also expenses relating to the transformation of our technological platforms and the restructuring costs. Depreciation and amortization down slightly to EUR 330 million in 2025, and our share of equity affiliates totaled EUR 7 million. Mainly, Essendi, whose net income totaled EUR 3 million in 2025 after EUR 184 million in 2024, a period during which there were substantial capital gains from the disposal of assets.
The increase in net financial expenses were due to a higher level of debt, a slight increase in the average cost of debt at 3%. 2024 saw favorable exchange rates with a benefit of EUR 16 million. Tax burden was contained and down substantially. In 2024, we had an exceptional tax burden of EUR 24 million due to the restructuring of the Group into two divisions. Minority interests were stable at EUR 50 million. We now take a closer look at our balance sheet and the return to shareholders. We continue to manage our debt wisely. In 2025, we issued two senior bonds for a total of EUR 1.1 billion, one with a maturity of eight years. The average duration of our debt was lengthened by an extra seven months to a total of four years, with a well-balanced maturity profile and well-contained cost of debt at 3%.
The return to shareholder, as you can see on this slide, shows regular yields and progressing over time. Over the last three years, we have paid a total of EUR 2.1 billion to our shareholders. That's an average aggregate yield of 34%, or I should say an aggregate yield of 34% since January the 1st, 2023. We finished the year with a good performance, as you can see on this screen, that is perfectly in line or even better than our medium-term commitments, but higher than the guidance we gave in February for 2025. Now to move on to the performance in the first quarter 2026. The strong dynamics we observed in Q4 of 2025 continued into the first quarter of 2026, with higher RevPAR and good performance in all our regions up until February.
This bears witness to how attractive our brands are and how strong our diversified portfolio is. Despite the conflict in the Middle East, which affected our performance in certain countries as early as March, RevPAR in the first quarter grew by a good 5.1%, driven by an increase in the occupancy rate and a 3% price effect. The RevPAR in March was positive at 1.6%. The net unit growth on a sliding average achieved 3.8%, and the pipeline was also up at over 10%. As for revenue, management and franchise progressed 8.3% at constant exchange rates, in line with the combined growth of RevPAR and the net unit growth. The Group's revenue increased by 2.3% at constant exchange rates and by 3.8% on a like-for-like basis.
In a more difficult and more uncertain macroeconomic and geopolitical context, we remain focused on compliance with our commitments as notified to you in February 26. On the 1st of April, we announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding concerning the sale of our stake in Essendi for a maximum of EUR 975 million, including EUR 675 million to be paid immediately upon the signing of the transaction. On the 2nd of April, we launched the first tranche of our share buyback plan worth EUR 225 million, a total share buyback plan of EUR 450 million. The impact of the conflict in the Middle East has been mainly felt in the United Arab Emirates, which represents 3% of our portfolio. Saudi Arabia and Egypt are resisting well and demand in other regions has remained good.
That said, we are keeping a close eye on how the conflict is developing and have taken measures to contain our costs in order to limit the impact of the conflict on our financial statements. Moving on to RevPAR in Q1 2026 by division. PM&E posted very strong growth at up 4.5%. The prices were up 3% and the occupancy rate was up 1%. Europe and North Africa, its RevPAR increased by 2.7%, mainly driven by the occupancy rate. France and the U.K. posted similar growth to the fourth quarter of 2025. In the Middle East and Africa, Asia Pacific RevPAR was up 5.5%, mainly driven by price increases. As for the Americas recorded yet another very good quarter with RevPAR up 9.1%. As for Luxury & Lifestyle, RevPAR grew by a very good 6%.
Prices rose on average by 4% and the occupancy rate also rose by 1 percentage point. The luxury segment continues to perform extremely well with RevPAR up 6.8% in Q1. The Lifestyle segment, its RevPAR rise by a very good 4.2%. This segment was more affected by the conflict because of its geographic mix, even though we've seen traffic redirected and demand redirected towards Egypt and Turkey. Let's move on to the breakdown of our hotels portfolio. PM&E, its net unit growth progressed by 3% over the last 12 months, and its transition towards franchises saw 53% of its hotels under franchise. That's up 2 percentage points on the first quarter of 2025. As often the case in the first quarter, the rhythm was moderate in the first quarter.
The pipeline continued to accelerate up 12% over the last 12 months, largely driven by Middle East, Africa, and Asia Pacific. Luxury & Lifestyle accelerated its net unit growth by 8.8% over the last 12 months. The growth of the Lifestyle network was extremely dynamic, bordering on 20% increase over the last 12 months. Let's now look at the share price of our company. After a very good 2025, the share price was severely affected by the conflict in the Middle East in proportions that are well in excess of the weighting of this region in our portfolio. The reassuring publications of Q1 enabled the share price to pick up, but performance is still volatile and affected by developments in the situation in the Middle East. By way of conclusion, the good performance of 2025 enabled us to propose for your approval a dividend of EUR 1.35 per share.
This is a 7% increase on the previous year, and it's perfectly consistent with our policy of paying out a dividend equal to 50% of the net recurring available cash flow. Thank you for your attention. I now give the floor back to Sébastien Bazin for the remainder of the presentation. Thank you.
[Non-English content], Martine. Thank you very much, Martine. Let's zoom out a little bit. There are a number of themes that I would like to explore with you. This is probably the most important theme. Why am I saying that? On the 16th and 17th of March this year, I was in the Middle East at a time when it wasn't a very popular destination because Dubai and Abu Dhabi, Doha, and many other cities in the Middle East were being hit by missile strikes. Yet that is the time we chose to meet our teams there. We have nearly 50,000 Heartists working in the Middle East. It is in times of crisis that it is most important to go talk to your employees, talk to them, engage with them, and extend your warmest thanks to them. That was not my only reason for going to the Middle East.
All of our teams were gathered at the 25hours Hotels, which is one of our managed hotels there. The other reason why I was there is because I wanted to learn more about the risks, the decisions that needed to be made, and also who are the governments that can best help us, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and the like. This was a very powerful and busy time. We got to meet members of the government. They thanked us for being there. They thanked us for always keeping our door open. Also, they gave us a very deep sense of strength and resilience. We sense great wisdom, a great vision, and an amazing ability to bounce back. Not too much anxiety. Clearly, our discussion partners wanted things to go as well as possible. I got back there last week.
I got to meet with some of the teams again. I believe that I show you this slide every single year. Every single year over the past 12 years. International travelers, how many people cross borders to find out more about new countries, new cultures, and of course, they need a place to stay because they're not home anymore. They could spend some time at an Airbnb or on a friend's couch. We're now back to 1.5 billion, and we're headed towards 2 billion international travelers. There's one thing we don't know. How steep is this slope? See here in red, the impact of the Middle East and the conflict there in 2026. Without this scenario, we would see 5%-6% growth per annum in terms of international traveler numbers.
On the right-hand side, you see something that's really interesting, a metric of the impact in Iran and the Middle East, not forgetting Israel and the U.S. The first block, called the World. In December 2025, Oxford Economics, a third- party, expected 8% growth. This was scaled back by two points, which makes sense, from 8% down to 6%. If we look at who benefits and if we look at the losers, well, Europe is going to benefit. We're looking at a jump from 6% to 8%. We're seeing this in bookings this summer in a number of countries, particularly in Southern Europe. North America, zero impact. This doesn't come as a surprise. The U.S. is far removed from the conflict in the Middle East. Very few people are going to switch destinations. Latin America, same thing. They are far removed from the Middle East.
Asia, a slight dip because of the systemic impact on oil. Air travel is more and more expensive. Plane capabilities have been scaled back. The main beneficiary when it comes to Asian destinations is Vietnam, contrary to Thailand. Thailand is in distress. Africa, 7%, now moving closer to 8%. Who are the main African countries that are winning? Morocco and Egypt. Those countries are expecting to fill up their capacity. We have a strong presence in Morocco and have a growing presence in Egypt. In both countries, we are the leading hospitality operator. Africa, 7%, 8% growth. I was there last week as well. This continent is extremely complex, but there are countries such as Nigeria, Senegal, or Rwanda who now have growing appeal as destinations. Now, there are countries where expectations of increased growth are now turning to a downward shift.
If the war were to stop now, we would see a dip of 32%. If it stopped later, the situation would be much worse. Every year, we show you photos, pictures, openings in our various hotel ranges. We are very happy that we have a new hotel in Calvi. Handwritten Collection is a brand beautifully managed by Maud and her teams. It's a boutique hotel. It's very cozy. Usually, we're looking at existing hotels, and they need support from big brother, from the Accor Group to beef them up. The Sebel is a local but well-known brand in Australia. We opened it up in Sydney. We have a Mercure hotel in Vietnam. We have an ibis Styles hotel opening up in Belgium, Mövenpick in Greece.
We worked hard to kickstart our business in Greece, and we're happy we did that two years ago because like I said, Greece now is a sustainable winner. We have a new Novotel in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. If I were to talk to you about L&L, Luxury & Lifestyle, I would talk to you about the new Raffles in Sentosa. We have the historical Raffles in downtown Singapore, one of the top five hotels in the world, all brands combined. Well, its little brother is just 12- minutes away in Singapore. We have a major owner that opened it up there, mostly villas, high luxury villas. We were a little concerned that this would overshadow the older brother, which is 140 years old. This hasn't happened at all. The Fairmont hotel in Prague, probably the most beautiful hotel in Prague at the moment.
We trusted it to the Fairmont brand. I strongly encourage you to go. We have a new hotel in the Philippines, which I don't know yet. The 25hours Hotel in Sydney. It's the first time that the 25hours brand is moving to Asia. It started in Hamburg. It grew its presence in the Middle East. It's a huge success in Dubai, and for the first time, it's moving to Australia. 10 such openings in Asia Pacific. Emblem in Copenhagen is the new boutique hotel brand, high luxury brand, usually in the hands of rich families. It's a legacy that they seek to protect. They invested quite a bit in it, and they needed help in terms of distribution. Our latest opening dates back to 12 days ago. The Delano iconic Art Deco hotel on Miami Beach.
It reopened two days ago, huge success after three years of work by the owner. This is a very attractive brand. It is very attractive to many of our owners, and you will find this brand in many different capital cities across the world. A lot of you are French, and I would be remiss if I didn't spend a minute or two on this amazing launch, the Orient Express ship. I will show you two videos. The first one is really short. It is about the launch on April 24th, less than a month ago in Saint-Nazaire. While I keep talking, you will see a number of photos of the inside of this ship. I will continue talking so that we don't spend too much time on this. Roll video, please. Why am I showing you this film?
Well, the main reason is that it's a huge source of pride for all of us. We were so proud on April 24th at the launch. It was a solemn time. The government was represented by Catherine Chabaud, Minister of the Sea, and all of the prefects were there. It's unprecedented in terms of innovation, in terms of artistry, in terms of technology. This reminds me of the Concorde in the late 1960s or even the France cruise liner. Not since then has France built such a huge facility, which now plies the oceans of the world. It's a mixture of artistry, technology, commercial excellence, and operational excellence as well. It took 24 months to build it between the first steel cutting operation and the actual launch. Over the past two weeks, since the launch in Saint-Nazaire, I would say that it is important.
It is important for a French Group such as ours. Well, it wasn't just us, actually. LVMH was there as well. We have a Franco-Swiss partner as well. It was important for us to show the French flag and to also showcase French fine dining, French craftsmanship, and also have French officers there to basically showcase French innovation. These opportunities are few and far between, and it is the Accor Group that was the artisan, the architect of this opportunity. It surprised everybody that we were able to go so far, so high, so quickly, while keeping things under control. We will show you additional pictures. This ship is difficult to see. It's in Marseille today. Tomorrow, it'll be in Saint-Tropez because it's been registered to the Marina Saint-Tropez. The first customer privatized it for the next weekend and will travel from Saint-Tropez to Portofino and Cannes.
I suggest you keep watching those beautiful pictures on the screen while I continue with my slides. All right. When it comes to the loyalty program and the partnership program, it's important to talk about that because it is probably one of the top three growth engines. We changed the name of this program. Now we called it Accor ALL Program. Over 110 million members. Basically an additional 15 million to 17 million new members every year. Before the launch, only 3 or 4 million new members. Between 2010, 2019, at the time of the launch, we had 20 different partnership agreements. This program will create about 3x more customer returns. If you have a loyalty card, you're three times more likely to come back to our hotels, and so you come in more often and you stay longer. That's good.
That's good because they get to spend more, an additional 10% per night. This means additional revenue for the Accor Group. This program grows by 45% a year, 36% when it comes to our loyalty recognition, and we have partnership revenue. I can't give you the exact figures because of the competition with our American friends, but revenue and cash from this partnership has already trebled. We signed a new agreement 10 days ago. We have a common app, a joint app, digital app with Uber Transport in six countries. We're just getting started. Now, let me take you on a trip. Let me discuss our first growth engine, and that's our employees. We've been calling each other Heartists, and I love that name for us.
380,000 employees across the world today, 100,000 new hires in 2026, which is on a par with 2023, 2024, between 90,000 and 110,000 new hires per annum. I'd like to remind you that we shed between 60,000 to 70,000 employees every year. They go off to greener pastures and do other things with their lives. This means we have to hire between 50,000 to 70,000 new people for the new hotels that are opening. Do the math. If you look at that last box, 62% of Group employees do not have a higher education rather beyond their high school diploma. Basically, Accor is the school of life. 100,000 people per annum and two-thirds of them never got a secondary education, and they get to learn a trade instead. This is the hallmark of our Group.
This is the meaning that we breathe into our work every day, this is a message that I like to hone every single year. Since Paul, since Gérard, we've been encouraged to be bold. Responsible hospitality, Coline will tell you more about that. Everything we're doing in terms of sustainable development, we wish we could listen to them more often. I know that you will show the same amount of passion and generosity. Let me wrap up on our priorities. I don't just mean my priorities, I mean the Group's priorities that I have the honor of leading. Many different priorities, which should come as no surprise. They're pretty much the same as what I tell you every year, what we've implemented since 2023, 2026, 2027.
Rigor and discipline, we have to execute the strategic roadmap, maintain our financial discipline as approved by the Board of Directors. Financial discipline is even more important today. Martine will tell you more about it also. When you don't have sufficient revenue, you have to cut down costs. That's what I mean by financial discipline. We've announced an MOU. We need to see it through, and we need to bring in cash so we can generate sufficient returns to shareholders. India will be the top hospitality market in the next 15 to 20 years. It was the U.S. for 20 years, and then Europe, and then China. It's India's turn, and we're spending a lot of energy working with the right partners in India. We'll tell you more about it over the next few months. Ennismore is a nugget. We're deploying it.
It is the fastest-growing segment. I'm talking about lifestyle here. We need to ask and answer the right questions so we can move faster with this company. AI must be integrated. It's quite a challenge. It's important in terms of streamlining and also generating economies of scale, ensuring data reliability and accessibility. AI is all good, but there may be downsides when it comes to employees' jobs. We may need to ask employees who may be made relevant because of AI to actually spend more time front-facing with customers. None of this will come as a surprise to you. I don't think this is going to take a whole lot of time. Let me tell you how much I love AGMs. I just love annual general meetings. Why?
It is the only time a year when we get to meet the owners of our company. It is the only time where you get to ask questions, and I get to answer them. Questions about where we're headed and how are we moving forward, and what kind of resources we have available. A host of other questions. This is also an opportunity to explore different themes that are important to the Group. The sequence of it, the timing of it must be perfectly under control, and it's something that we need to discuss. There is one topic that doesn't feature into this roadmap, not because it's taboo, not at all. It's probably one of the most important topics for discussion for me and for the Group alike. I'm talking about succession planning. Who will take over from me? Fear not. There's nothing to worry about.
Now, let me be clear. I was clear with the Board of Directors, and the Board was equally clear with me. This will be my last term. Because it'll be my last term, and everybody agrees with that, now's the time to get to work. Now's the time to lay the groundwork in terms of succession planning. It's important to talk about succession. It's important to agree or not on the profile of my successor, find the right talents. We have many talents in this company. We need to grow those talents. Upskilling is absolutely key, and the Board of Directors will have the final say. We may be able to find additional talents outside the company. Let me tell you, let's turn this hurdle into an opportunity. This is the time.
This is the opportunity for the Group to ask itself the right questions, do it in the right order in full transparency. The decision will not be mine. The Board has final say. It's a good thing. This is probably the biggest responsibility a board could have, finding the next leader of the company that they are in charge of. What's the top priority? That's what it is. It is the CEO that will chart a course and have his strategy or their strategy approved by the Board. Let's not fear. Let's have an open discussion. There's one thing that is absolutely important. I'll still be around tomorrow. I'll still be around tomorrow morning.
This means that as we discuss succession planning, we should also continue to manage our day-to-day, execute our strategic roadmap, make the right decisions regarding Ennismore, deploy our business in India. The two go hand in hand. The Earth doesn't stop spinning. We will not stop making the right decisions, and we will keep putting our heads together and do it openly. We're working under the aegis of the Board and the VP of the Board as a Lead Director. Because she's right here with me, and she spent a whole lot of time with the past six months, I'm talking about Isabelle Simon. Many thanks, Isabelle, for all your hard work, for spending so much time working for this company. Thank you.
Thank you to all of the various committee chairs, including Bruno Pavlovsky, who is in charge of the appointments and committee, and all of the directors. Please understand us. These discussions are taking place at board level and only at board level with support from external consultants whenever necessary. We have needed external consultants in the past before. I will chart a course, and I will make sure we reach our destination. Thank you so much.
Dear shareholders, I'd like to begin by talking about an issue of capital importance. This is our indefectible rejection of the sexual exploitation of children. In March 2026, Accor was campaigned against by a speculative American fund called Grizzly Research. Their report implicated our Group in the field of sexual exploitation of children. Confronted by these allegations and in compliance with our deepest commitments, we took action immediately and transparently. We implemented a disciplined and detailed process to assess our protection systems. Our objectives, our goals were twofold. First of all, to use an internal audit to check the content of the allegations leveled against us by the Grizzly Research report. Secondly, we appointed an Independent Advisor, internationally renowned advisors called GoodCorporation, who are specialists in business ethics, in order to conduct an external audit.
The target was to review the robustness of our prevention procedures and the fight against sexual exploitation at Group level. We needed to review every stage of customer experience, including areas not covered in the report, to ensure that our arrangements are completely efficient. This approach, I think, bears witness to our commitment to guaranteeing a safe and protective environment for one and all everywhere where Accor has operations. The outcome of this internal audit confirmed that there is no systemic deficiencies in our existing procedures. I'd like to clarify a few matters concerning the report and the reality of how things happen in our hotels. Contrary to what the initial report claimed, our audit revealed a sales reply without specifying the necessary prerequisites. It was only in the case of 12 hotels out of 197.
This figure, I think, shows that there is a gap between the allegations and the reality in the field. Furthermore, I think it's essential to point out that the initial report focused solely on requests for proposals. These are price requests. No stay, no reservations were made or confirmed. According to these tests, internal audit also highlighted major methodological biases in how the results were interpreted. For instance, discussions were cut short voluntarily by hotels when there was anything suspicious about requests or any requests required the presentation of identity papers and proof affiliation. These are areas that were counted as final acceptations by Grizzly. Finally, sending out simple price lists, which does not in any way guarantee the availability or a booking, were also interpreted in the same way by Grizzly.
This shows that our teams are alert and that our procedures, though maybe they can improve, but do not have any systemic shortcomings. In order to complete this internal audit, we also called on the expertise of GoodCorporation, which is an independent specialist in the field of business ethics. Their audit was highly rigorous. The target was to confront our procedures with the operational reality, covering a representative sample of 255 hotels across 56 countries, using four different common booking methods: email, telephone, online reservations using ALL, and using third-party platforms. This audit also included visits to 88 hotels in 16 different countries among our key markets. The audit enabled us to identify areas that could be improved upon and the concrete application of our procedures, and more specifically, a commercial proposition without warning signals were sent by 25 hotels, all means of communication combined.
The implementation of our WATCH programme, which is our vision's program, proved to be variable from one country to another and depending on how the hotels were operated. Finally, nine hotels did not react to warning signals, and 12 hotels took measures that were deemed insufficient. We are taking these observations very seriously and will fully include them in our plan of action. On the back of these audits, Accor is reasserting, restating its commitment to fight against sexual exploitation of children. These concrete measures, which I'll explain, once again reflect our commitment to providing a safe, protective environment in all our establishments while continuing to play an active role as leader in the global fight against this problem. These measures are articulated in three main areas.
First of all, we are making our training courses more operational, reinforcing the fact that these training programs will be compulsory to ensure that all our employees take part in these programs. They include practical cases that enable staff to identify, manage, and signal or notify suspicious situations. They cover the whole customer experience to ensure that every point of contact will be, once again, an area where we are very watchful. Secondly, we are setting up a stricter legal framework and follow-up framework. This means that we will be more demanding in our standards, in our brands, in our contracts with our owners. We are also going to intensify the way we monitor hotels who do not abide by Accor's standards in this field, applying sanctions that are clear and well applied. Finally, we are reinforcing our coordinated approach with industry and the NGOs.
For instance, we're working hand in hand with ECPAT, which is an internationally recognized organization, but with professional associations like the AHLA and the WSHA as well. This cooperation is essential if we are to share best practices, to raise awareness, and work together. These measures, which are part and parcel of our approach to human rights, are also proof of our deep and sustainable commitment to the protection of children and responsible hospitality. We will be doing this to fight against every form of exploitation. I'd like to take time to share with you the progress made in 2025 in the field of the environment and social aspects. Our sustainability strategy is based on four pillars. First of all, to anticipate for the future.
This means working hand in hand with owners to anticipate climate risk, implementing standards for renovation, more responsible renovation, continuing to decarbonate while reducing our consumption of water, energy, and waste. To activate the potential of every single talent with a great focus on human rights, ethics, diversity, and training. The third pillar consists in making the customer experience more meaningful. Finally, to work with our ecosystem, including our suppliers and local communities. These commitments have generated outcomes that I'm very happy to share with you now. We have not only reached, but we've actually exceeded all our goals, which is, I think, evidence of the very strong dynamics in our Group. For instance, we've reduced our water consumption by rented room by 5%, which was in excess of our 4% target. The proportion of eco-certified hotels reached 57%.
That's in excess of the 55% we were hoping to achieve, which confirms Accor's position as leader in the field of sustainable labels. We've also reduced food waste to 149 g per client, and 41% of the women in management positions. This is evidence that we have throughout the world in all our hotels. This progress, I think, has also been acknowledged by key players in the field of finance who have, I think, paid tribute to our achievements in climate. Our CDP score has improved from C to B. At S&P Global, we have improved by 11 percentage points to 63 out of 100, which enables Accor to join the Dow Jones Best-in-Class World Index for the very first time, ranking us among the 10% most efficient companies in the world. We can claim this level of performance now because Accor's sustainability is a fundamentally collaborative approach.
In-house, first of all, thanks to the Heartist volunteering program launched in March 2025. We've carried out 1,800 voluntary assignments with local associations, ranking Accor among the really good performers in the market in this field. On the client side, we have mobilized clients directly via a loyalty program, which has enabled us to raise over EUR 500,000 for environmental and social causes. Finally, decarbonation would not be possible without our suppliers. We are working with some very large Groups capable of investing in this transition, but also with a very large number of small SMEs, local SMEs. In 2025, we accompanied over 1,000 suppliers in their efforts to reduce carbon emissions. The commitment of our entire ecosystem is there. The challenge is now to accelerate it in order to reach a new milestone. We are preparing this new stage for 2030, and the name is Hosting Change.
This is a very simple conviction in Accor. We are not withstanding or subjected to transformation. We are taking them on to appropriate them. This is in the continuity of what we've done in the past with a rollout on scale from 2027. Thank you for your attention, and I'm delighted to have had the opportunity to come and talk to you and will do the same again next year.
Thank you, Coline. Let's give the floor to Besma on the issue of governance.
Thank you, Sébastien. Thank you, Coline. We're going to begin with the composition of the Board, which is currently comprised of 13 directors, including two representatives of our employees. 55% are independent, and 64% are women on our Board of Directors.
This year, we'll be reviewing the term of office for Anne-Laure Kiechel and Bruno Pavlovsky, respectively Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee and Chair of the Nominations and Compensation Committee. Madame Knobloch's term of office is about to expire. At the end of our today's AGM, and subject to approval of the resolutions, the number of Directors will be 12, including two representatives of the employees, bringing the number of Independent Directors to 60% of the total. Let's now review the work of the Board. This year, the board met eight times in all, with an average participation rate of 85%. This year, it authorized the share buyback program and various projects, in particular, the launch of the sale of Accor's participation in Essendi. As you know, the Board of Directors is supported by five specialized committees.
First of all, the Audit, Compliance, and Risk Committee, which met four times in 2025 with a participation rate of 100%. This Committee prepared the annual and half-yearly accounts, but also reviewed the Sustainability Report, the implementation of the compliance program, and the various measures taken in the field of cybersecurity. The Nominations and Compensation Committee met four times with an attendance rate of 79%. It reviewed various projects, acquisitions, and disposals, in particular. The International Strategy Committee met twice in 2025 with an attendance rate of 100%. In particular, it reviewed the geopolitical situation and the impact of the situation on the Group. Finally, the ESG Committee met four times during the year with an attendance rate of 79% on average. This Committee reviewed the ESG commitments of the management and reviewed the Group's CSR policy.
The Commitments Committee met four times during the year. I propose to show you a short video by Bruno Pavlovsky, the Chair, who is unable to attend today, and who will be reporting to you on the findings of his Committee. Thank you for your attention.
Ladies and gentlemen, dear shareholders, as I am unfortunately unable to be with you today, I'm very happy to be able to talk to you by video to present the work of the Nominations and Compensation Committee, as well as the compensation of the corporate officers. During the 2025 fiscal year, the Committee's work focused on three main areas. First of all, in the field of governance, the Committee reviewed the criteria for Director independence, discussed the diversity policy, and debated the results of the evaluation of how the Board and its Committees function. Secondly, concerning appointments.
The Committee reviewed the composition of your Board, its Committees, and recommended the renewal of the term of office of Anne-Laure Kiechel, who is Chair of the Audit, Compliance, and Risk Committee, as well as the renewal of my own term of office. We are both qualified as Independent Directors. The Committee also conducted an in-depth review of the succession plan for Directors and for the Chairman and CEO. Third area, concerning compensation. The Committee determined the levels of achievement of Sébastien Bazin's performance objectives for 2025 and reviewed the compensation policy concerning him for 2026. I will now present the items submitted to you for your vote.
Information regarding the compensation and benefits paid or granted to all corporate officers during and in respect of the past fiscal year, and more specifically, on the compensation benefits paid during the past fiscal year or granted in respect of that same fiscal year to our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Sébastien Bazin. These are two votes known as the ex- post say-on-pay votes. Concerning Directors' Compensation. In 2025, a total of EUR 1,371,689 was distributed among the Directors based on their attendance at board and committee meetings. Regarding the compensation of our Chairman and CEO. Sébastien Bazin's fixed compensation remains unchanged since January 2016 at EUR 950,000. His annual variable compensation was determined based on the extent to which the objectives we jointly established were met.
As a reminder, the quantitative objectives were the current EBITDA, free cash flow, net growth of the number of rooms, as well as three ESG criteria. Namely, reduction in water consumption, the percentage of company-owned, managed, and franchised hotels that were eco-certified, and thirdly, the percentage of women holding positions at least equivalent to the level of Vice President according to the Group's internal classification. In addition, there were qualitative objectives related to communication and the implementation of our 2025-2028 roadmap, as well as talent development. After the Committee assessed the level of achievement of each of these objectives, the Board of Directors set Sébastien Bazin's variable compensation at EUR 1,556,577 gross, representing 111.2% of the reference amount of EUR 1.4 million. The maximum, may I remind you, is set at 150% of this reference amount.
Your Chairman and CEO was also awarded performance shares in 2025 in accordance with the compensation policy, subject to a holding period and performance conditions described in the universal registration document that you'll have the opportunity to review. As part of the ex ante say-on-pay process, you are asked to vote on the compensation policy for corporate officers for the coming year. Concerning the compensation policy for directors, it remains unchanged for 2026. Concerning the compensation policy for our Chief Executive Officer, I would like to emphasize that the Board has engaged in an active dialogue with shareholders since the last AGM, and that their comments have been taken into account. It has been decided to adjust the 2026 compensation policy in certain areas, namely fixed compensation for 2026 will remain unchanged once again, as does the reference amount for variable compensation of EUR 1.4 million.
As a reminder, variable compensation may range from 0% to 150% of this reference figure, depending on the achievement of performance targets. Quantitative objectives, which represent 80% of the variable annual compensation are, on the one hand, financial, that's EBITDA and free cash flow, and non-financial, namely net unit growth and the three ESG criteria affecting the Group's priorities, the reduction in water intensity, the percentage of subsidiary managed or franchised hotels that are eco-certified, and finally, the percentage of subsidiary managed hotels that have conducted analysis of compliance with accessibility criteria. The qualitative objectives, which account for 20% of the variable annual compensation, are based on changes in the organization and work methods with a view to supporting the strategy of accelerating franchise growth and developing top leadership. Concerning the long-term variable compensation of Sébastien Bazin.
Sébastien Bazin is eligible to receive performance shares representing up to 280% of his gross annual base salary. The structure of the performance criteria has changed in three ways for 2026 in direct response to shareholder expectations. The weighting of total shareholder return. That is, relative performance of Accor share price compared to a peer hotel index increases from 20% to 30%. The weighting of the current EBITDA or recurring EBITDA condition is reduced from 40% to 30%. This rebalancing strengthens the alignment of long-term compensation with shareholders' interests. The second change is at th e trigger threshold for meeting the current or recurring EBITDA and free cash flow conditions increases from 75% to 90%. The maximum achievement threshold for recurring EBITDA conditions is raised from 102% to 105%. This plan is thus more demanding.
Finally, the third change, in exchange for this increased requirement or more stringent requirement, the maximum vesting percentage is raised from 130% to 150% for all conditions. Final vesting may thus represent up to 150% of the number of shares initially granted, which preserves the incentive aspect of this mechanism. Just for the record, the five performance criteria for long-term variable compensation are as follows: recurring EBITDA, which is now at 30%, down from 40% in 2025. Free cash flow, which remains unchanged at 20%. The reduction in greenhouse gas emissions at 10%. The percentage of women in the, what we call VP population and above, 10%. Total shareholder return with a weighting of 30%, up from 20% the previous year. Finally, in response to requests from shareholders, the Board has sought to establish more specific guidelines for the exceptional bonus.
This bonus will only be paid in the event of a major transformative transaction that increases value for shareholders. Its cap has been raised to 100% of the total target annual short-term compensation as fixed and reference variable components. If applicable, this would be communicated and explained to shareholders. The Board has thus sought to make a relevant compensation tool aligned with shareholders' interests yet again. Ladies and gentlemen, dear shareholders, as you can see, your Board has taken steps to update the compensation policy of our Chief Executive Officer, taking into account feedback from our shareholders with the constant focus on aligning our actions with your interests. Thank you for your attention.
Thank you, Bruno. I know Bruno's probably listening to us in the U.S. if he is awake at this hour of day. Let me just say a word about something.
Who's been alongside us in the Board of Directors for 13 years and who's listening to us, too. This is Iris Knobloch. Iris was Vice-Chair, also a Senior Independent Shareholder. Iris has been with us virtually since I was appointed as Chairman and CEO. She's done everything. She's been terrific. You've been very assiduous. In fact, she has brought a very international prism to, Iris is a American, German, has lived in Britain. She's a lawyer by training, brought a lot of discipline to our work, but she's also given us a different view of the world of cinema, music, the media. As you know, she's the very happy President of the Cannes Festival , where she has been appointed as a President, as I've said.
I think she's sorry to leave us, and I'm very sorry that she's no longer alongside us, but I think it was the right time for her and maybe for us after 13 years. I'd like to extend heartfelt thanks to Iris for everything she's done. Let's now hear from our statutory auditors.
Thank you, Chair. Ladies and gentlemen, dear shareholders, good morning. On behalf of the statutory auditors, PricewaterhouseCoopers and Deloitte, I am pleased to report on our engagement for fiscal 2025. Our reports on the parent company consolidated financial statements as well as the related party agreements that you will find in the notice of meeting. All of our reports can be found in the URD for fiscal 2025. The page numbers are displayed on the screen. As is our want, I suggest that I simply summarize the main items. Regarding our report on the financial statements, I'd like to remind you that the goal of our engagement is to obtain reasonable assurances regarding the fair and true representation of the facts, making sure that there are no material abnormalities. We looked at the different businesses and the Group's international organization.
We verify not just standard operations and also one-off items. We have implemented due diligence in accordance with applicable French standards. We have shared our findings with the financial departments of the different entities as well as the Group's finance department during our regular conversations. We have reported on how we've organized our work and our findings to the Audit Committee as well as the Board of Directors of your company. Let me start with the report found on pages 489, prepared in accordance with French GAAP. We have certified these accounts without any reservations. No technical observations have been made, in terms of the ANC 2020-02 regulation. Evaluation of equity securities is a key item of our audit, we've included in our reports our various due diligence work.
With regard to our report on the consolidated financial statements in accordance with IFRS as adopted by the EU, which you can find on pages 455 to 458. No reservations and no observations. Intangible assets and evaluation thereof is a key audit matter, and therefore, we have described in our report specific verifications performed on this issue. Lastly, we made sure that the management report does include the information as required by the law. We have also issued a special report on related party agreements found on page 379 to 381 of the URD. We have not been notified any related party agreement to be submitted to the approval of this AGM. Our report also includes related party agreements whose performance continued on through 2025, which had already been approved by previous AGMs. With regard to implementation of the CSRD directive, we also have issued report on sustainability.
This information can be found in chapter three on corporate social responsibility in the URD of the company. This report can be found on pages 290 to 293. On the basis of the verifications made, we have not found any omissions, inconsistencies, or material errors in terms of the compliance of Accor with applicable law. In terms of double materiality requirements and also sustainability presentations, and also the sharing of metrics in connection with the EU taxonomy. On the basis of such verifications, we have no material misstatements to report. There is, however, one observation, but this does not challenge the findings of the report. We simply like to attract the reader's attention to the uncertainty intrinsic to food waste. You will find this information in the URD. Ladies and gentlemen, dear shareholders, thank you very much for your kind attention.
Thank you, Julien. Wow. You get more applause than some of us. Without further ado, handing over back to Besma, who will present the draft resolutions.
Thank you, Sébastien. I will now walk you through the resolutions submitted for your approval, after which we will move on to the Q&A session. Resolutions 1 to 3 relate to the approval of the parent company and consolidated financial statements for fiscal 2025, together with the appropriation of earnings and the payment of a dividend of EUR 1.35 per share. Resolutions 4 and 5 concern the renewal of Directors' terms of office. As we said before, shareholders are being asked to renew the mandates of Anne-Laure Kiechel and Bruno Pavlovsky, both of whom are considered independent directors. Resolutions 6 to 9 relate to the remuneration of corporate officers.
Resolutions 6 and 7 concern the so-called ex- post say- on- pay votes relating to the 2025 remuneration of the directors and of Sébastien Bazin, as presented by Mr. Pavlovsky. Resolutions 8 and 9 seek your approval of the remuneration policies applicable to the Chairman and CEO and to the Directors for 2026. These are the ex ante say on pay resolutions. Resolution 10 asks shareholders to acknowledge the conclusions of the statutory auditor's special report, which confirms that no new related party agreements were entered into during the year and identifies those entered into in prior years that remained in effect during 2025. Resolution 11 seeks to renew the authorization allowing the company to implement a share buyback program, including for the purpose of share cancellation. The authorization would cover up to 10% of the share capital at a maximum purchase price of EUR 80 per share.
Finally, Resolution 12 relates to powers for formalities. Thank you for your attention. Thank you very much.
Thank you, Besma. Let's start the Q&A session. One of my favorites. Let's start with written questions.
Yes. These are questions received in writing. This is a quick reminder that I'd like to make for the people in attendance or whoever wants to ask questions online. In order to ensure smooth operations, please state your name and [company] before asking your question. Shall we start with the number of shares? How do you want to do this? All right. Let's start with questions from the Shareholder Advisory Committee: What measures have you put in place to mitigate the cyber risk of data theft?
Wow. What kind of measures have we implemented? We have an important Committee in the hands of Hélène Auriol-Potier, and they're looking at the cybersecurity situation and all governance issues. We have an annual audit that we perform internally. It is verified every two years by a third party, and we have a cybersecurity team that works 24/7. They work day and night, and this came as a surprise when I met them the first time. Part of their job is to actually attack us. Basically, they're attacking, they're trying to breach the company's own cybersecurity system to make sure there are no loopholes and no way in for black hat hackers. To patch the holes before they are exploited by a foreign malevolent actors. Potential ways in could be the booking system or the loyalty program. Whenever a hole is detected, we try to patch it up.
Alix Boulnois is in charge of distribution, is in charge of IT as well, and the board is reminded of that twice a year at the very least, and more often when additional work is necessary. It is probably one of the most significant risks that we've mapped, and we need to make sure we do enough. We have allocated resources. The team is in place to ensure proper cybersecurity and the report to the management team, as well as to the Board of Directors. We have a crack team, let me tell. I've been here 12 years, and I hope that nothing will change. Knock on wood, so far, no major threat. We haven't failed to contain any major threat, and there are many threats, and that's why we need to work on this 24/7.
Second question from the Shareholder Advisory Committee: What are the Group's expectations regarding the development of the new Emblems and Orient Express collections?
Expectations are high, as always, and whenever we do something, we try to do our absolute best, but these are two different case scenarios. The Emblem Collection is the crown jewel that we were missing. We needed an iconic brand. Very often, these are dream hotels, small castles, older structures that belong to rich families who never thought of hyphenating their name with a hospitality brand. We want to make sure that the location's identity remains unchanged. Via this Emblem connection, those families know that they're protecting the legacy, the nature, the identity of the hotel, and they are protected by this Emblems Collection. There's only 30 to 60 hotels. We'll never have as many as 150, 160 hotels.
The Orient Express collection is very different. We bought this brand seven years ago. We have a partnership with the LVMH Group. It is the epitome of travel luxury since 1883. This is a broad-ranging, very deep brand. It addresses train enthusiasts, travel lovers, Lalique lovers, people who have a passion for perfume, fragrances, yachting. We are growing all that over the next five, seven years. We have regular exchanges with LVMH. Every time we agree on the new direction. We are very proud of Orient Express La Minerva. It's a beautiful hotel that opened up just last year in Rome. We're also very proud of the Palazzo Donà Giovannelli, which opened up last month in Venice. Huge success. We're very proud of La Dolce Vita in Italy. We're busy renovating the original Orient Express train from 1908.
We own 17 cars, which will be entirely overhauled, updated, and the train will be available between the end of 2027 and the beginning of 2028.
Thank you, Sébastien. We have also received a number of written questions, we will post the answers on the company website. Let's take two of the many questions received. One question from [Jean-Baptiste Le Brave]. As part of developing its luxury activities, is Accor planning to assign Orient Express resources to helping to showcase the fine dining and other tourism assets of underrepresented regions?
Not so far. It's probably a laudable goal. There are many beautiful landscapes and regions and hotbeds of fine dining in France. Let's focus on our core business. Let's continue overhauling these 17 cars. We have a business model, but our business model is different than simply hopping from one European capital city to the next.
Maybe in the future, but not right now. Nudge, nudge, wink, there are people who are really good at that. Puy du Fou. Puy du Fou has the answer to your question. We designed a train which will soon be commissioned, and it will explore French culture and fine dining, and we wish them every success.
The last written question comes from Jeanne Gonseth. The management team and the board, do they still believe in standardized ibis Styles hotels? What are the highlights for 2025, and what about your prospects for the upcoming years?
Two main figures I'd like to share with you because we don't talk about it enough. First figure, easy to remember, ibis, Novotel, Mercure, accounts for about 50% of the Group's total number of rooms. That's the whole Group's history. That's what helped the Group diversify and branch out.
One-third of new openings worldwide belong to those brands, Ibis, Novotel, Mercure. It's a mainstay of our growth, and has been since the beginning. Those countries that have little or no hospitality structure, who have an emerging middle class, they need low-income and mid-scale, mid-level hotels. That was true for Latin America and Europe also, in the 1980s. It was the case in China, is the case in India, and will be the case in sub-Saharan Africa. It's a market segment that helps us to grow faster and helps us to grow the easiest in regions of the world such as developing countries. Let's take questions from the audience.
My name is [Blandine Godot]. I'm an individual shareholder. Thank you. This beautiful presentation is a journey through the world of luxury. I look forward to seeing your prospects, your outlook materialize.
I enjoyed hearing about your plan, but I do have a question of a financial nature. I noticed a dip in investments. I'm also seeing increased debt. I would also like to thank you for your TSR performance. When it comes to those adjustments, are we seeing less D&A? Are we seeing less investment? That's my question. Many thanks for your TSR policy.
Martine, [Non-English content]. Thank you. I'll ask Martine to answer that question.
Well, in 2024, we had the Paris Olympics, where we amortized broadcasting rights. Not that we've reduced, our CapEx is actually up, but 2024 was a year where that was exceptionally high because of the Paris Olympics. That's the explanation. As for the level of debt, well, the way we manage our debt is on the basis of a leverage. Our leverage is at three, which is unchanged by comparison with 2024. Our debt has not progressed any more rapidly than other criteria. In fact, approximately 7% of the capital is returned to shareholders every year in the form of dividends or share buybacks. Because of the cost of debt, the cost of debt is much lower than we expected, than the yield you expect on your investment.
We can give you 6% to 7% of the value of the company every year. With additional debt, we can pay the debt that we've decided to pay out.
[Non-English content]. Number four, please. Yes. The gentleman with the cap. Bonjour.
Good morning, and thank you for your presentation. Congratulations on the Orient Express, by the way. I have two questions.
I'm Sébastien Bazin. What's your name?
[Alex Falford from Cadiz Cannes]. Thank you for everything. I have two questions. Firstly, you get about 80% of recurring phone calls at reception. What do I mean by recurring calls? Well, these are requests of all sorts, very varied. Secondly, your RevPAR is approximately 29%, as you explained last year. I get the impression that this percentage could be substantially improved. We're talking about AI, artificial intelligence. What's your take on the idea of a chatbot, but also digitalization among clients and the people in different hotels without losing that human touch? If you could give us your take on that.
Secondly, I have a startup that's less than two months old. I visited various hotels, I've met a number of different hotel managers. I have to say, they're very interested in doing a pilot test. That said, they have told us that our startup, or our module, as we like to call it, for it to be implemented within Oracle Hospitality, that's what we call the Oracle Hospitality Integration Platform. I say this because you're undergoing a deep transformation with OPERA. Would it be possible to have maybe 10- minutes with possibly Mrs. Boulnois, my IT manager, and myself? Would it be possible to have 10- minutes to present this module and maybe be referenced? We have one hotel already running a test for us in the north of France for the last 48- hours.
It's very hot off the press, but I'm hopeful that by August or September, we could expand that.
I see you haven't come by chance. What we'll do is, as you're here, we will introduce you to. I don't think Alix is here today. I think she's traveling, but we will introduce you to a member of Alix's team. You're right, we're undergoing a deep change in our booking system, of course, as we announced with our friends at Amadeus. We are changing a lot of our technological tools. Without going into your particular case in point, but what I can tell you is that you have mentioned something very relevant, artificial intelligence. AI is not going to change everything, but will probably change maybe half of the so-called admin and repetitive functions. It's true of review management, it's true of accounting, it's true of taxation.
It also applies to HR. AI will enable us to be more efficient, to have better, more reliable training programs and make better decisions. That's the good news. AI is also going to change our customer relations. What we did on Google with keywords will now happen on what we call user-generated content. This is what people say about you, what people feel about your brand. Our customers of this, at least half of our customers, will ask their chatbot, "Where should I go on holidays? Two children, two parents, where should we go on holidays?" They're going to ask ChatGPT, Gemini, or others. "Here's my budget. I want the seafront. I want good food. I have my two children aged whatever. What are the destinations you would recommend? What hotel brands would meet my requirements?" Of course, the chatbot will have all your former data.
We need to be present on those technological tools because they're going to be a form of prescription. They're tools that still cost. You have to subscribe to them. There was a time when we used to buy keywords. We're moving on to something more sensorial, and we have to be there. We're running tests with just about everybody. If anything, we're ahead of the curve. As I said, it's in our interest to be ready, and we are. We're prepared to adapt. The only area, probably the most difficult one to manage, is not the benefits of the tool. I think that's self-evident. It's the impact on the Group's employees. We and my colleagues all need to be on board with AI without resistance. These are tools that exist and that are going to invade us, so we have to be prepared for that.
We're going to see how we're going to have to move the lines. This is something that we're perfectly or have been perfectly open about for a year and a half. I apologize if my reply was a bit lengthy, that's what I wanted to say.
[Non-English content], [Philippe Rigou]. I'm an individual shareholder. Thank you for your presentations. Always interesting, of course, two things I'd like to mention. You talked about the acceleration of Ennismore. Could you tell us a little bit more about Ennismore? Secondly, on Egypt, I'm pleasantly surprised to hear that the bookings are good for the next few months. Wasn't what I heard from this magnificent country where I've spent four years of my life. On Egypt, could you tell us something about the end of the whole Cataract and Winter Palace these emblematic hotels?
Ennismore. Okay. Ennismore is the segment with the highest growth in the Group. Ennismore has 17 brands, Mondrian, SLS, and so on, managed quite independently with the two head offices in Dubai and London. Its growth is accelerating in Asia, also in the U.S. It's a very refined, very complex segment because over 50% of the revenue stems from food and beverage. 80% of people come there just to dine because they live nearby. This is aimed at international, regional, and even local people. It's a complex combination, hinges largely on the attitude of employees, the design, the way the space has been orchestrated. That's a very significant part of our thinking. We have a crown jewel in our hands because I think we understood this segment before others. We're ahead of the pack, particularly with the American players.
It's essential that we endow Ennismore with further means to accelerate the market share it has, particularly in the U.S. and elsewhere. The management of Ennismore has asked us to step up the pace. We're prepared to do that. We need to find the best possible answers to help develop Ennismore, develop and sustain its future. Working in the two, we have two members on the Board of Directors of Ennismore, and we've two of theirs on our Board at Accor. Moving on to Egypt. I know you lived there, the part of Egypt that is expanding most rapidly is Sharm El Sheikh. That's where there's more and more hospitality capacity despite the conflict between Israel and Gaza, which is only 240 km away. Despite that, the hotels are always full.
These are all-inclusive hotels in which we are very, very good, thanks to the Rixos brand. These are people who come from abroad, mostly from Northern Europe and the east of Europe as well, with all-in packages. They don't know what they're paying for the hotel, what they're paying for the flight, but it's an all-in package. These are loyal customers that keep coming back for the gastronomy, for the seafront, and for the sun. These are people who need to be catered for. At Accor, we've opened 4,000 rooms in Egypt. Of course, safety and security of our employees are essential. You're right, that's not true of Cairo, for instance, but it is true of Sharm El Sheikh. Finally, with the Old Cataract and the Winter Palace in Luxor, it's a sad situation. This is the end of a contract.
We've been together 25 or 50 years. There was a call for tenders, as often happens at the end of a contract. We were on the shortlisted, but we didn't win. We were not prepared to pay the same amount as Mandarin to be awarded the contract. The economic reality didn't justify it. It's a sad situation because they were two jewels in the crown, but the economics were not right. Madam.
Good morning, [Annabelle Jones]. I'd like to know what your projects are for India.
We've huge projects for India, which I hinted at earlier on. It would take a long time to tell you what we intend to do, but it's easy to grasp this. In India, we have what we call 5,000 hotels with more than 20 rooms. In China, the figure is 50,000.
With no doubts, we have more hotels in Europe than in India. We've been in India for 25 years. I don't think we gauged the dimensions properly. We've decided to enter into a partnership with a well-known company called InterGlobe. InterGlobe is the founding shareholder of IndiGo, which is the biggest airline in India with a market share of 62%. Together we've decided to put all our eggs into one basket. Not the airline, of course, but though we do have a stake. The teams from InterGlobe and Accor will work together to develop our 48 brands with the specific case of Fairmont and Raffles. All others will be master franchises in India. It took us 25 years to open 70 hotels. Since that decision less than a year ago, we now have 70 hotels in the pipeline.
We've doubled the last 25 years in the space of six months, and our intention is to be one of the leaders in India over the next 20 years. For that, we needed to trust our Indian counterparts rather than send European expats. They are better than us in India. To my left, number three, I think. After that, we'll have three or four minutes left.
Very briefly, good morning. [ Abdu Belga] is my name. I've come to this AGM because I have a message that has been well thought through. First of all, this is about governance. I'm a historical witness to what my thoughts for Gérard and Paul . This is a governance problem. It's a statutory problem, by the way. Nobody is indispensable. Chairman, Gérard Pélisson, used to say the things that I've shared with you.
He used to say that at a turning point and when we know there's going to be a deep changes in our industry, which is the biggest industry in the world in terms of employment and wealth with over 10% of global GDP. Accor is way behind the top 10, yet we are ranked seventh, surrounded by giants, China, the U.S.A., among others, InterContinental, among others. I believe that the energy that's been deployed at the Group service, and I'm not a partisan supporter of Sébastien . I am a supporter, but maybe I'm speaking with a certain degree of wisdom when I say, here at today's Annual General Meeting of Shareholders', let's avoid the dogma.
We're not in Africa, where we need to impose repetitively somebody for that person to continue to be the leader. I'm a simple shareholder and with freedom of mind, and I would like to ask everybody here to think about why not? So far, he has announced in a very subtle way that this was the end of his term of office, which he announced beforehand. In a violent and brutal geopolitical environment, which will have implications at all levels, in particular in our industry, would it not be an idea to at least consider with a view to all these upcoming events that will create so much turmoil?
I can guarantee you that because when you live in a world where you're listening to people all over the world, when we're talking about education and training, I think it would be a mistake not to think and review certain statutory dogmatic positions. Thank you.
[Abdu], I'm going to answer you with a lot of sincerity. The upheaval you're talking about exists. The decisions to be taken, true. Maybe there are turning points, but for the right decisions to be taken and implemented, it takes time. I had time on my side for 12 years. I thought about this Group. I increased the number of brands from 13 to 48. We became number one everywhere except in China and the U.S.
We ventured into segments where nobody expected us, and we did that because I had time on my side, and I had the trust of the majority of shareholders and the Board of Directors. You need time. I would not have time on my side if I were to stay. I'm sure that within the Group, you will find somebody who will be better than me in having time on his side. Let me add to that, I'm not the person with the best understanding of the technological world. I understand it, but I'm not capable of anticipating it. I hope that my successor will have a much better grasp of the world of technology, and that that will enable him or her to take the right decisions. There's no question of stepping backwards.
Thank you for your question, and I do not for one second want anybody to take this Group down a different route than the one we've taken. Thank you for your question. Maybe we can leave it at that for the questions. It sounds a bit like a funeral. I'll be here until May 2028. If we find the right person beforehand, if the Board of Directors finds the right person beforehand, maybe we can conclude my term of office, but we have time. Okay. Let me thank you all for attending. Let me thank you all. It's good to see you, and we'll see you again next year. Oh, sorry. Yes, we have a few resolutions to vote. Okay. Of course, we have a vote. My apologies. Besma, you have the floor for the resolutions. All yours.
Before proceeding to the vote on the resolutions, I would like to provide the shareholder participation figures for this AGM. 6,383 shareholders are present, represented by proxy, or have voted remotely, representing a total of 1,182,000 shares out of the 284 million approximately shares carrying voting rights. The final quorum stands at 81.68%. The meeting is duly constituted and may validly conduct its business. As you know, shares that have been held in registered form for more than two years benefit from double voting rights. I would also remind you that abstentions as well as blank or invalid ballots are not counted as votes against a resolution and are excluded from the vote count. Finally, in accordance with applicable requirements, shareholders were able to vote on resolutions either remotely or online. 6,161 shareholders representing 161,612,000 voting rights chose to vote using these methods.
In light of the presentation already given, we propose that the meeting waive the full reading of each resolution. Before we begin the voting process, I would like to draw your attention to the electronic voting system that will be used during the meeting. We invite you to watch a short instructional video before voting commences.
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Let's proceed with the vote on the resolutions. Resolution 1. Approval of parent company financial statements for fiscal 2025. Please vote. [Foreign language] Time's up. Resolution carried. Resolution 2, approval of consolidated financial statements for fiscal 2025. Please vote. [Foreign language] Time's up. Resolution carried. Resolution 3, appropriation of earnings for fiscal 2025 and determination of the dividend. Please vote. [Foreign language] Time's up. Resolution carried. Resolution 4, renewal of Anne-Laure Kiechel's term of office as a Director of the company. Please vote. [Foreign language]
Time's up. Resolution carried. Resolution 5, renewal of Bruno Pavlovsky's term of office as a Director of the company. Please vote. [Foreign language]. Time's up. Resolution carried. Resolution 6, approval of the information on the remuneration of all corporate officers referred to in Article L.22-10-9-1 of the French Commercial Code. Please vote. [Foreign language]. Time's up. Resolution carried. Resolution 7, approval of the fixed variable and exceptional components of the total remuneration and benefits paid or awarded to Sébastien Bazin, Chairman and CEO in respect of FY 2025. Please vote. [Foreign language]. Time's up. Resolution carried. Resolution 8, approval of the remuneration policy for the Chairman and CEO. Please vote. [Foreign language]. Time's up. Resolution carried. Resolution 9, approval of the Directors' remuneration policy. Please vote. [Foreign language]. Time's up. Resolution carried.
Resolution 10, acknowledgement of the special report of the statutory auditors on related party agreements governed by Article L.225-38 and related provisions of the French Commercial Code. Please vote. [Foreign language] Time's up. Resolution carried. Resolution 11, authorization granted to the Board of Directors to trade in the company's shares. Please vote. [Foreign language] Time's up. Resolution carried. Resolution 12, powers for formalities. Please vote. [Foreign language] Time's up. Resolution carried. All of the resolutions have been approved. Thank you very much.
Thank you so much, Besma. For real this time, many thanks to all of you for being here. We look forward to seeing you again next year, and we look forward to continuing the discussion with you, kind sir, on your startup companies. We're looking forward to seeing you all again. Please don't switch to other brands. Stay with Accor. Thank you.