'Our customers have different ways of perceiving our properties,' says Pascal Gauvin, chief operating officer, India, Middle East and Africa. 'Travel agents are really important to us because they are our ambassadors; they sell us to their customers. Yes, people can go online, use different tools, and we have our own website through which we sell our rooms but the travel agents and wholesalers – they bring groups who do not have the ability to book themselves and they organise conferences. Let’s not forget that we are just one element of the travel agents’ plan.'
