Jacques Lombard
Jacques Lombard's story
Following my Master’s degree, I began my professional career as a communication manager in the catering industry. After four years, I wanted to discover a new field that combined accommodation, catering and events – and I found hospitality.
I was immediately attracted by the dynamism of the sector but also by the evolution from catering, with different but complementary services. They are all linked by the same objective: customer satisfaction.
As an account manager, I work in the hotel’s internal sales department. Every day, my mission is to market our hotel and its identity to our new clients, but also to organise events: business events such as incentive seminars, trade fairs or meetings; sports events – football, rugby, volleyball, basketball, cycling and more; and family events like birthdays, weddings, Christmas…
Working at the heart of the action, my role is to coordinate our teams to ensure the success of our customers’ business. Their satisfaction is my greatest reward; it’s a job that requires versatility, rigour, operational skills and good customer relations.
I am excited by my environment, which reflects the culture of Accor: working with a cohesive and supportive team and stimulated by the rhythm of events that characterise the life of our hotel. Each day is different and allows us to meet and create relationships with a huge variety of clients: it enriches us as people and professionally.
One of my proudest moments was a wedding organised in one of our reception rooms in July 2023. For this type of event, there are many services to arrange and that has to be done down to the smallest detail.
Our clients arrived a little stressed with the idea of being at the centre of what might be the most beautiful day of their lives.
Thanks to the meticulous attention to detail, rigour and coordination of all our Heartists®, the feedback from our clients testified to the success of our event, and they sent many thanks and compliments to us. In addition to their smiles, our guests even offered us a bottle of champagne to celebrate this victory! What better way could we have closed this chapter?
For me, being a Heartist® is about working as a team, with shared values such as respect, solidarity, open-mindedness and inclusion, to create authentic experiences for our customers.
It is more than just a word; it is a DNA made up from each of our employees, their knowhow and their culture. They all work from the heart: that’s what being a Heartist® is all about.
To someone new to the industry, always work with your heart and passion. And an extra tip: versatility and interpersonal skills will be your best allies.
- Jacques Lombard
- Sales and Events Manager
- Mercure Lille Marcq-en-Baroeul (France)