Poirot’s additional responsibilities will follow the departure of Michael Flaxman in June 2011 as COO of Accor Americas. Flaxman leaves Accor after 27 years of dedicated service to the company around the globe. He joined Accor in 1983, and has since held a variety of operations, development and distribution roles in several countries in Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas.

Poirot assumes his expanded role following a three-year business transformation initiative that he led within the Motel 6 network, aimed at refocusing on the company’s core North American activity. The initiative resulted in three full points of market share increase for the brand and a reclaimed position as the undisputed leader in the economy lodging segment. Under his tenure, the network grew by more than 150 locations, primarily through franchise growth, reaching 1,100 locations for Motel 6/Studio 6 by the end of 2010. Under his leadership, Motel 6 introduced the contemporary, award-winning “Phoenix” prototype that will take the Motel 6 brand through the next decade.