Novotel × Seafood Souq

How Novotel is scaling seafood traceability across the GCC with SFS Audit

SFS Audit deployed across 18 Novotel properties

Spanning the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Oman

100% of seafood SKUs audited for traceability

Every product verified against global sustainability benchmarks

The Challenge

Seafood supply chains are among the hardest in food service to verify. Sourcing spans dozens of countries, species, and intermediaries, and the sector has long lacked standardised, cross-border verification. IUU fishing remains a systemic risk, and hospitality groups sourcing at scale have had limited visibility beyond their immediate suppliers. Meanwhile the bar is rising: regulatory frameworks in seafood-importing markets are tightening, and guests increasingly expect proof of sustainable sourcing rather than self-reported claims. Closing that gap requires a shared, auditable framework, not incremental fixes.

Novotel has stated a firm commitment to ocean preservation, formalised through its Ocean Positive Impact Plan and a three-year partnership with WWF France, and has framed this as going beyond baseline compliance by embedding responsible sourcing into daily operations rather than treating it as a one-off audit. Novotel Global Brand President Jean-Yves Minet has publicly framed the brand's ambition as making it easier for guests and teams to make positive-impact choices, with responsible sourcing as one pillar of a wider ocean strategy rather than a standalone initiative.

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Our Solution

Novotel partnered with Seafood Souq to implement the SFS Audit across 18 Novotel properties in the Gulf Cooperation Council region, beginning with a two-year commitment as part of Novotel's broader Ocean Positive Impact Plan and its three-year partnership with WWF France.

  • Comprehensive traceability audits Seafood sourcing and supplier practices are systematically reviewed against each property's sustainability goals and responsible purchasing policies.
  • Centralised traceability checks Full documentation audit gives hotel teams complete visibility over each seafood product's journey from origin to plate. This is powered in part by OctopAI, our own AI engine for SFS Audit.
  • Certification verification Supplier claims are assessed against globally recognised benchmarks, including the IUCN Red List, the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC), and others.
  • GDST-compliant framework The SFS Audit aligns with the Global Dialogue on Seafood Traceability standard, supporting robust digital traceability and interoperability across borders.
  • Ongoing performance tracking Properties can monitor progress over time, address gaps, and continuously strengthen compliance as sourcing practices evolve.

The partnership was designed in direct support of Novotel and WWF's shared ambition to eliminate illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing from hospitality supply chains.

The Results

  • 100% of seafood SKUs across the participating properties are now subject to traceability audit
  • Procurement teams gained a standardised way to engage suppliers and flag risk across the sourcing chain
  • The initiative reinforces Novotel's Sustainable Seafood Principles with WWF France and its global Plant-Forward food ambition
  • Beyond audit compliance, the partnership is laying the groundwork for a Novotel traceability standard, with early focus on the highest-impact seafood products first — those with the greatest sustainability risk or supply chain opacity — before extending coverage network-wide.

The first phase focuses on 18 Novotel properties across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Oman, with both Accor and Seafood Souq sharing an ambition to scale the SFS Audit across additional regions and Accor brands in the future.

Let’s Connect

Reach out to discuss your traceability or compliance needs