Insurer AXA has announced a strategic partnership with hospitality company Accor to provide medical support to guests across 5,000 Accor hotels worldwide.

The partnership will enable Accor guests to benefit from the medical services of AXA Partners, AXA’s international entity specialising in assistance services, travel insurance and credit protection. Accor guests will be able to access the benefits as soon as July, AXA said.

The hospitality giant’s guests will receive free access to medical teleconsultations, as well as access to AXA’s medical networks with tens of thousands of vetted medical professionals. The medical service complements Accor’s overall post-COVID-19 recovery plan, the companies said.

“Welcoming, safeguarding and taking care of others is at the very heart of what we do and who we are as hoteliers,” said Sébastien Bazin, chairman and CEO of Accor. “This distinctive partnership with AXA, which we have been working on for several months, makes even more sense in today’s context. In an increasingly complex environment, our 300,000 team members on the ground will be able to assist our guests and ensure their safety during their stays, turning our hotels into shelters.”

“AXA’s ambition is to move from a payer to a partner with its customers, notably providing them with innovative solutions in health,” said Thomas Buberl, CEO of AXA. “This is why AXA has become, over the last year, a world leader in telemedicine solutions. Partnering with Accor, a worldwide leader in hospitality, is a unique opportunity to enlarge people’s access to our healthcare expertise and solutions. As we are facing an unprecedented health crisis with COVID-19, this ambition has never been more relevant.”