Overview
Accor Hotels needed stronger internal mobile development capability to support digital transformation across its global brand portfolio. emagine provided experienced iOS developers who helped improve delivery speed, backend integration and long-term engineering quality.
The Challenge
Accor Hotels operates at global scale, with a broad hospitality brand portfolio and a growing need to create connected, high-quality digital experiences for guests. As part of this wider digital transformation, the business wanted to strengthen its internal mobile development capability and accelerate the delivery of iOS applications that could support ongoing customer engagement initiatives.
The ambition was clear: build mobile applications that were both feature-rich and high-performing, while remaining intuitive for users and aligned with Accor’s digital and brand standards. But that level of experience depends on much more than interface design. Mobile products also need strong architecture, reliable integration with backend systems and delivery practices that support quality over time.
Accor therefore needed capability across several technical layers at once. The work required expertise in Swift and clean architecture, as well as experience integrating mobile applications with enterprise systems through REST APIs and Java/J2EE. It also required more mature engineering practices, including CI/CD automation and robust testing, to help accelerate delivery while maintaining stability.
This made the challenge broader than simply adding mobile developers. Accor needed engineers who could contribute to architecture decisions, work effectively with its digital department and help embed ways of working that would make applications more scalable, maintainable and reliable. Speed mattered, but so did long-term sustainability.
In practical terms, Accor needed to strengthen in-house capability while continuing to deliver new digital features for guests. The right solution had to improve development velocity, support stronger backend integration and leave the organisation with better engineering practices than it started with.
- Global brand portfolio
Accor needed mobile capability that could support digital transformation across its international hospitality brands. - iOS-focused delivery
The goal was to build high-performing, user-friendly iOS applications for guest engagement. - Multiple technical requirements
The work required Swift, clean architecture, API integration and modern CI/CD and testing practices. - Enterprise integration needed
Mobile applications had to integrate seamlessly with enterprise backend systems.
The Solution
emagine provided experienced iOS developers to work closely with Accor’s digital department and strengthen mobile development capability where it mattered most: architecture, backend integration, automated testing and delivery practices. The aim was not only to support application development, but to help create a more stable, scalable and maintainable mobile engineering setup.
The team brought practical expertise across Swift, clean architecture and modern development frameworks, while also supporting the wider technology environment around the applications. This allowed Accor to accelerate delivery of new mobile features without losing sight of long-term quality.
Phase 1: Strengthen core iOS engineering capability
The first priority was to bring in experienced iOS developers with the right specialist skills. emagine provided developers with expertise in Swift, clean architecture and modern mobile development frameworks, giving Accor stronger capability at the core of its application development work.
This helped Accor build applications that were not only functional, but better structured for performance, maintainability and future enhancement. By strengthening engineering foundations early, the team could support both immediate delivery needs and more sustainable development over time.
Phase 2: Improve architecture and backend integration
The team collaborated closely with Accor’s digital department on architecture design and integration with enterprise backend systems. This included working with REST APIs and Java/J2EE to ensure mobile applications connected reliably into the wider application landscape.
That integration work was critical because guest-facing mobile experiences depended on robust back-end connectivity. The value of the mobile application was tied directly to how well it could interact with enterprise services, making architecture and integration central to delivery quality.
Phase 3: Introduce stronger automation and testing practices
To improve delivery speed and product quality, emagine supported automated testing using Jenkins, Git, Appium and Selenium. These practices helped Accor move faster while reducing risk across the development lifecycle.
Rather than treating testing and automation as secondary activities, they were built into the delivery approach. This helped create a more repeatable way of developing, validating and releasing mobile features, supporting both velocity and stability.
Phase 4: Build for scalability and maintainability
Alongside mobile-specific delivery, emagine incorporated best practices for CI/CD and supported the wider frontend environment through technologies such as HTML, JavaScript and AngularJS. This helped ensure the resulting applications were stable, scalable and easier to maintain.
The outcome was not just a stronger set of mobile applications, but a stronger way of working. Accor gained more sustainable engineering practices that could support future delivery, not only the immediate release cycle.
Transformation timeline
Phase 1
Strengthen core iOS engineering capability
Phase 2
Improve architecture and backend integration
Phase 3
Introduce stronger automation and testing practices
Phase 4
Build for scalability and maintainability
The Results
The work improved both the quality of Accor’s mobile applications and the engineering practices needed to deliver new digital features more effectively.
High-performing iOS applications delivered
emagine helped Accor deliver feature-rich, high-performing iOS applications aligned with the group’s digital and brand standards.
Development velocity improved
Modern tooling, CI/CD automation and stronger testing practices helped improve delivery speed across the mobile development lifecycle.
Backend integration strengthened
The collaboration improved integration between mobile applications and enterprise systems, creating a more reliable foundation for guest-facing digital experiences.
In-house capability made more sustainable
Alongside faster delivery of new digital features, Accor strengthened its internal mobile capability through more sustainable engineering practices.