Jean-François Guilmard, Accor’s Chief Data Officer, a tech-savvy strategist with nearly 20 years in consulting. From rolling up his sleeves in startups to mastering data architecture and AI-driven innovation, he’s now on a mission to transform the hospitality experience. In this exclusive conversation with Julian Schirmer, Co-founder of OAO, Guilmard reveals how data and AI are reshaping the guest journey — delivering hyper-personalized stays, streamlining operations, and preparing Accor for the seismic shifts generative AI (GenAI) is bringing to travel planning.