There’s something rather reassuring about a company that remembers who keeps the wheels turning. In the rarefied world of luxury travel, where relationships matter as much as room categories and revenue lines, Accor has once again tipped its hat, this time with a flourish, by relaunching its HERA Challenge.
And not just any relaunch. This is the sort that quietly signals intent: reward the best, celebrate the craft, and do it with a touch of theatre befitting a global luxury powerhouse.
At the heart of it sits the coveted HERA Voyage, an invitation-only experience for 33 of the world’s top-performing travel advisors, scheduled for early 2027. The destination? Still under wraps. The intrigue, one suspects, is entirely deliberate.
Last year’s winners were whisked away to Cartagena, where the historic Sofitel Legend Santa Clara Cartagena, a 17th-century convent reborn as a refined sanctuary, set the stage. Paired with the beachfront indulgence of Sofitel Barú Cartagena, the itinerary blended cultural immersion, wellness, and just enough indulgence to remind guests why luxury travel exists in the first place.
It wasn’t merely a reward. It was a statement.
This year, the challenge raises the stakes.
From 1 December 2025 through to 1 December 2026, advisors enrolled in Accor’s HERA program will compete across a series of performance-driven categories. Revenue remains king, of course, but the structure reveals a more nuanced appreciation of the trade.
Performance Champions will be crowned for overall revenue and standout single bookings. Regional Stars will emerge from across the Americas, Europe, Africa & Turkey, and Asia-Pacific. Meanwhile, Brand Experts will showcase their prowess across Accor’s heavyweights, including Orient Express, Fairmont, Raffles and Sofitel, along with the ever-expanding Ennismore portfolio.
Then there’s a category that feels distinctly modern: Destination Diversifiers, rewarding those who resist the temptation of easy, repeat bookings and instead push clients towards broader horizons.
In other words, not just selling travel, but curating it.
According to Pascal Visintainer, the initiative is as much about connection as it is about competition.
“The HERA Voyage gave us the opportunity to personally recognise and celebrate the exceptional HERA members who won last year’s HERA Challenge and play such an important role in representing our brands around the world,” he said.
“It also provided an opportunity to highlight an extraordinary Latin American destination, along with two outstanding hotels, while strengthening the human connections at the heart of HERA.”
It’s a telling remark. Strip away the gloss, and what remains is a truth the industry occasionally forgets: travel is still, at its core, a people business.
Launched in 2024, HERA is Accor’s bid to modernise how it engages with the global advisor community. The platform offers a streamlined digital experience, booking tools, performance tracking, and richer property insights alongside a loyalty scheme that converts expertise into tangible rewards.
Points can be redeemed for hotel stays or retail experiences, but the real currency is access. With more than 500 luxury and lifestyle properties across 15 brands, HERA equips advisors with the breadth needed to craft genuinely bespoke journeys.
For a closer look, the platform itself is worth a visit: HERA by Accor.
From the storied elegance of Raffles to the contemporary pulse of brands like Delano and SLS, the offering is broad enough to satisfy both traditionalists and the Instagram generation, no small feat in today’s fragmented market.
What Accor has done, quite cleverly, is align performance incentives with storytelling. The more diverse and considered the booking, the greater the recognition. It’s a subtle nudge away from transactional selling towards something closer to artistry.
And that, perhaps, is where the HERA Challenge finds its real strength.
In an age where algorithms increasingly dictate travel decisions, Accor is doubling down on human expertise. It’s backing the advisor not as a middleman, but as a trusted curator of experience.
One suspects the winners of the 2027 HERA Voyage will enjoy more than just fine dining and enviable room keys. They’ll be part of a quietly influential circle, one that understands luxury travel isn’t merely about where you go, but how thoughtfully you get there.
by Karuna Johnson – (c) 2026.
Read Time: 3 minutes.
About the Author.
Karuna Johnson’s career only makes sense if you know she truly loves travel. Thai by birth, with dual citizenship, she moves easily between worlds, equally at home sharing street food in Bangkok or sitting quietly through a Sydney boardroom meeting.
Educated in both Thailand and Australia, she speaks several languages and has applied them across destination management companies and hotels, spanning sales and administration. She’s the sort who keeps things running smoothly while others are still waking up.
Her journeys have taken her across Asia, Europe, and the United States, but it’s the smaller details that stay with her: people, customs, and the stories beneath every trip.
Worldly without being showy, Karuna brings a steady, thoughtful voice to Global Travel Media, exactly what the travel industry needs.
